As the boys get older and we pick up more projects sometimes we slack on routine. In an effort to keep ourselves on task and offer more stability for the boys, particular Parker, we have reinstated our routine calendar. This time around we decided to “keep it simple” and create a blank calendar that we can laminate and reuse each month instead of coming up with monthly themes. Parker is really into Pokémon right now, so Brian suggested incorporating them into the calendar. It sounded like a great idea.

I went to bed with the boys last night while Brian stayed downstairs to work on his creatives and when I woke up, this is what was on the dining room table. [inset image] “So, this is simple?” I said to myself as I chuckled under my breath. We now have a laminated, reusable Pokémon-themed calendar with around 50 Pokémon encased in their own little Poké Balls for Parker to “catch.” Each day during the week, Parker has the opportunity to earn up to three Poké Balls and use them to catch a Pokémon at night. There are four prize options, and each requires catching a specific number of Pokémon to redeem

I helped finish up the calendar by cutting small pieces of Velcro to stick to the calendar and the backs of each Poké Ball. We left the weekends open so Parker can let loose and not worry about structure.

Calendar Objectives: To reinforce good habits and daily routines while encouraging word association and building basic math skills. Parker will practice differentiating different months of the year, days of the week and enhance reading skills by identifying the Pokémon. By counting the number of Pokémon caught, and trading them for prizes, he will build upon his basic addition and subtraction skills