Hi all,

I'm curious as to how others deal with the questions of how, when, where, etc, etc, from their respective children.

We're approaching our 18th visit and 4th for our 3 1/2 year old in May of '05. We go within the 1st two weeks of May every year.

Our son is now continuosly asking "When are we going to the hotel?" If we drive near the airport, we get the questions, if he watches a video with any Disney theme park related content, we get the questions. At his age, the concept of time is probably not in his skill set right now and telling him in May or 8 months from now will just confuse him more.

Any tips on an interactive type way to help understand when we're making our next visit to Disney? I was thinking of some type of calendar where you cross the days off, or something like adding the total number of days and putting that number of marble or something in a jar and when the marbles are gone, we're gone so to speak. I could do candy instead of marbles BUT...I'd eat a months worth and we'd be all screwed up again! :)

Take care all!

Bob

Time is a really hard concept for preschoolers because it's not concrete, and calendars are a little out of their ability to conceptualize. You could always do a paper chain calendar and take off one chain a day until it's time to go. But if you started it now, that would be a really long chain and it might be a bit much for a 3.5 year old!

We tell our children things based on holidays they know. For example, for something happening in May we might say: we have to have Halloween and Christmas and Easter first! By then it will be much closer to your trip and the calendar chain would be more practical.

For my older son, when I was about 5 we got him a wall calendar and circled the date so he could count months and see the holidays, etc. He could cross off the dates if he wanted to.

Adrienne

Hi, Bobcat!

I agree with Adrienne. We do the same with our daughter...we tell her things in relation to major holidays, or family birthdays. Now she understands that her birthday is after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. Of course we still get the "I wish my birthday were today and not so far away" thing, but at least she understands it.

We make paper chains for our 4 year old for everything. It really helps her to understand how long it will be till her next big "event"

We actually don't tell her about trips to Disneyland until a couple of months before we go. But we do the paper chain for Vacations, Christmas, and Thanksgiving, and the Easter Bunny, and when Grandma's coming to visit.... They work really well, and she's always excited every morning to pull a link off of her chain. :)

OK,

This may sound like a pretty dumb question and I believe I know the concept BUT, how do make a paper chain? I think that'll be a great idea. is it something that our son can assist us in making?


Dlandmon, it's always a pleasure to hear from you! Sorry I haven't had time to chat but things are slowing down and we'll catch up soon. The Sox are KILLING ME and the of course, the Super Bowl Champs are still the Super Bowl Champs! :fez:

The fantasy football season's treating me vey well...and you?

(sorry I digressed a bit)

Bob

This may sound like a pretty dumb question and I believe I know the concept BUT, how do make a paper chain? I think that'll be a great idea. is it something that our son can assist us in making?

Paper and a stapler. Cut strips of paper about an inch wide- if you're using 8.5x11 inch paper, you can just make 8.5" long strips. 11" might be easier to work with- experiment with the size you like. Make a loop and staple it together. Loop a second strip through the first and staple it. Loop the third through the second, staple. Loop the fourth through the third, etc, etc.

I would not make it too much longer than 30 to 40 days out for a preschooler.

Sidenote: with the Christmas holiday coming up, paper chains make great Advent Calendars. My mom made them when we were kids. She would write little messages on each day - sometimes about plans we had for that day or something to think about getting ready for Christmas to arrive. If you wanted to break it down to smaller events for your son, you could make multiple chains like Emma suggested. Use color papers and they can become holiday decorations, too. Serve a dual purpose ;)

Adrienne

how do make a paper chain? I think that'll be a great idea. is it something that our son can assist us in making?

I love adriennek's directions. Go here (http://www.foodfunandfacts.com/paperchain.htm) for more, if needed.

Funny, that's exactly what we do too. But, now that I think about it, our next trip is a loooong way away!

Halloween. Thanksgiving. DW's Birthday. Christmas. My Birthday. Valentines. Disney. Whew!

Adrienne, I never thought about using a stapler! We always use glue, but a stapler sounds a lot faster (and a lot less messy)

I think I'll try that next time.