For little ones, everything in the past is often referred to as “yesterday.” On a summer day, they may say, “Yesterday I built a snowman.” Understanding when something in the future will actually occur is a challenge as well.
We’re going to Washington state in June to visit our son, daughter-in-law, and four grandkids. The older three grands understand a June 4 arrival date for their miles away grandparents. But our 2-year old Sebastian would have a difficult time realizing the amount of time still “to go” before we come through the front door.
So I made this paper chain for Sebastian and mailed it to him, asking his mom or dad to remove one link of the chain every day at breakfast. As the chain gets shorter, so does the time for out-of-town Gram and Grandpa to arrive.
It was fun to make, using his favorite color: orange. Plus it gave me something to do while waiting for June 4 to get here. I am beyond excited!
Check out my other articles about Visiting Grandkids:
Share your ideas in the Comments section below.
I did this for my own kids as a countdown to Christmas. Forgot all about it!
I absolutely LOVE this idea! So creative and interactive! So did you begin the chain with the date you arrive and count backwards? And did you mail this to him? I know younger kids have no concept of time so this is helpful even for an older kid. My granddaughter (7) is counting the days when she and her papa will visit us. She’s already got her bag packed! Thank you for this lovely idea.
Oh, Sylvia, you made my day. So glad you like the idea!
Yes, I started with our arrival date and work backward. I made the links out of construction paper and folded the links flat so I could mail it in a 5 x 7 envelope.
Enjoy making your chain and most of all enjoy your visitors!
Jane