Making Magic Happen: How to Create a Holiday Countdown

We've done count downs for numerous things. Count down to Kindergarten, countdown to Spring, Count down to Valentine's Day and the all important Count down to Christmas. My second son is obsessed with countdowns. He's a paradox of rigid and creative, and loves the spark of fun the ideas on countdowns provide. And enjoys the goal of getting somewhere in the count. So he's requested countdowns for everything. I can't always follow through, of course. That would be insanity! One time I joked, "How about a countdown to going to bed! Or a countdown to poop time?" He didn't catch the sarcasm. He just starting thinking about how that could work, and what types of activities could lead up to having to take a sh*t? I created this monster, I know. Little did I realize how this would grow when I started my first countdown back years ago. I was pregnant with my fourth child, we were in middle of a big move, and I needed activities to direct the kids into something structured. Behold: the Christmas countdown! I do see advantages of doing this.

Our original Christmas countdown back in 2011. Rolled wrapping paper with activity descriptions on each one.

It provides a daily structured activity. Automatically building in some family time together. Keep this in mind. Plan involved activities to fall on days you know you will be more available. Like weekends, or less busy week days.
It gives the family something to look forward to every day.
Allows a lesson in patience. "Wow! That countdown activity was fun! Let's do another one! RIGHT NOW!" Um. No.
Helps younger children with developing a sense of time and space. My kids have a better concept of the differences between a day, a week, and a month now.
Number sense and recognition, if you are using numbers.
You can prepare a lot of the daily activities in advance, and store them for later. All of your ideas are already prepared on the countdown, so even if the materials aren't prepared in advance, it's easier to plan ahead and gather supplies. I tend to do prep work all at once when I actually have time and then just gather the supplies that same day. Saves me a lot of time!
You can include specific skills or activities you want your children to focus on in the countdown. Incorporating learning objectives in a fun way is a sneaky way to focus on those skills!

So today I am working on a Halloween/Fall countdown. Albeit a little behind schedule. I'll describe the process I go through to create and execute the countdown here.

First, I go online and do my searches. I use many of my favorite blogs as well as Pinterest. Things to consider when looking things up:

Events in your area that may be of interest.
crafts
food/cooking projects
consider literature connections, incorporating STEAM objectives
I look for projects that use simple, quality materials, not kits
Incorporate nature whenever possible!

Gather the materials. I'm stringing the cardstock but clothespins work great. I cut cardstock into eighths and then stuck printed numbers on each.

Consider your calendar and busy days! I planned involved projects and field trips for school days off and weekends. Monday and Tuesdays are our busy days so I wanted to make sure that quick activities were put on those days.

I used Post It notes to label the activities on the back side of the cards. That way I can use the same cards next year or switch activities last minute or add more easily.