A-B-C, as easy as YouTube?

Truman's been showing some interest in learning letters so we're planning to focus on one letter each day. I just put together a play list for each letter on YouTube. We'll watch those, cut out an upper and lowercase letter to stick on the wall (and by the time we get through them all we'll have our own alphabet chart) and then do something with items that begin with that letter.

Today, with A we ate, smelled (he loves to smell things!) and played with an apple. Cut out apple and alligator shapes, colored and labeled them, then stuck them next to the letter Aa on the wall.

Then I got ambitious (okay, MORE ambitious) and drew three trees so he could count some apple shapes and stick them on the tree. That is where it started to fall apart. He did enjoy coloring the trees, cutting up the apples he was supposed to stick on them and unrolling gobs of the tape, though.

In these moments I just have to remind myself that doing those things were important to him, way more important than doing the activity I had set up. And in getting to explore the materials in the way he desired he was able to finally work the scissors by himself.

Now if only I could figure out what he is learning by making the house so messy, I'd be set. Although I guess what I am learning by having a messy house is that spending time with my child is much more important than cleaning.