May is the literacy celebration month. The child becomes an author — writing, illustrating, and sharing their own book. All the reading and letter work leads to this creative milestone.
Story mapping turns reading comprehension into an active process — identifying character, setting, and problem in a familiar book prepares the child to build the same structure in their own.
Pick any activity from Core Experiences or Skill Builders below.
May is the literacy celebration month. The child becomes an author — writing, illustrating, and sharing their own book. All the reading and letter work leads to this creative milestone.
This month the child doesn't just read stories — they write and illustrate one. Beginning, middle, end. Character. Problem. Solution.
Maths lives inside stories: 'There were 7 birds. 3 flew away. How many are left?' This curriculum month makes maths narrative.
Publishing a book — even a stapled, hand-drawn one — is one of the most empowering experiences in early childhood.
May is the literacy payoff month. Everything built so far — the name recognition, the letters, the phonemic awareness — comes together here. The book doesn't have to be long or perfect. It has to be theirs. For many caregivers, the author's chair moment — when the child reads their finished book aloud — is one of the most unexpectedly emotional points of the year. Give yourself permission to be moved by it.
This month's 20 experiences are designed for 3–5 learning sessions per week over 4 weeks. Adjust pacing based on your child's engagement and your family schedule.
↓ Setup & Planning — readiness, materials, zones & daily rhythmStory mapping turns reading comprehension into an active process — identifying character, setting, and problem in a familiar book prepares the child to build the same structure in their own.
Retell a familiar story at bedtime from memory; ask 'How does the story begin? How does it end?'
Story Mapping and Story Baskets work perfectly indoors. Rainy days are ideal writing days. Use the sound of rain as inspiration for a story setting.
If your child is beginning to notice story structure in books you didn't plan — identifying the problem, wondering about the ending — their comprehension is sophisticated and growing.
Planning before writing makes the writing better — the book plan scaffolds the whole project, and story maths problems show how numbers live inside narratives too.
Talk about the planned book at dinner — who is the character, what is their problem?; look at picture books together for illustration style inspiration.
My Own Book is an indoor activity. On rainy days, add atmosphere and create an author's studio with a special writing spot, a lamp, and quiet music.
If your child's story has characters they care about, even if the plot is simple, they're writing from authentic creative investment. That produces better readers and writers than technically correct but emotionally flat work.
This is the creative heart of the month — writing, editing, and designing a cover are all one process, and the child's engagement with their own story makes every skill more meaningful.
Share the book draft with one trusted reader (family friend, grandparent); ask for one thing they loved about the story.
Oral Storytelling works anywhere. Use the rain as a story prompt: Once, it rained so hard that... and let the child finish the tale.
If your child is willing to revise their writing — even one word or one sentence — without distress, that editing instinct is a significant literacy milestone. Most adults find it hard too.
The Author's Chair is the culmination of five months of reading and writing — sitting in it and reading to a real audience turns the child's work into something genuinely published.
Read the finished book to another person; ask 'What would you write about next?'
If Market Day cannot go outdoors, set up the market stall between two chairs in the living room. Indoor markets are just as fun.
If your child's finished book is messy, illustrated in ways that don't match the text, or shorter than planned, it is still a real book and a real achievement. Display it somewhere they can see it.
Use a story map to plan: Who is the character? Where do they live? What is the problem? How is it solved? How does it end?
Read a familiar picture book first. Map it together as a model before the child creates their own.
Map a familiar story together. Name the character, setting, and problem.
Plan an original story using the map template. Draw and label each section.
Write full sentences in each section of the map. Use the map to write a complete first draft.
Map a second story and compare its structure — do all stories follow the same shape?
Write one sentence for each section of the map to retell the story in the child's own words.
Tell a story about a real event from the child's own life and map it together.
Stories on screen have the same structure as books — setting, problem, solution.
Daily events have natural narrative structure — beginning, middle, and end.
your child can tell you what happened at the beginning and the end of the story.
Invite your child to retell the story in your heritage language — or share a favourite story from your own heritage as the model to map.
Write and illustrate a 4-page original picture book. This is the month's culminating work. Every child, at every level, can complete this.
Use the story map as a guide. One page per story section: beginning, problem, events, ending.
Dictate the story to a caregiver. Draw one illustration per page. Add a title.
Copy or write one sentence per page using phonetic spelling. Illustrate each page in detail.
Write 2–3 sentences per page independently. Add a dedication page, author bio, and back-cover blurb.
Make a wordless picture book — tell the entire story only through illustrations.
Make a second copy and gift it to someone — a grandparent, a friend, or a neighbour.
Share the finished book with a real audience and watch the child experience themselves as an author.
Studying real books helps the child understand craft, structure, and intentional choices.
A bedtime story told by the child — made up on the spot — builds narrative confidence.
Write or dictate one page of the book in your heritage language. A bilingual book made by your child is a powerful artefact — it tells them that both languages are real and worthy.
Study one picture book author across three days: read their books, notice their style, and learn one fact about them. This builds literary awareness.
Choose an accessible author: Eric Carle, Mo Willems, Mem Fox, or similar.
Read two books by the author. Find one thing the same in both.
Compare illustration styles, vocabulary, and themes across three books.
Write a 'review' of one book: title, author, favourite part, and recommendation.
Write a letter to the author sharing what you liked most about their work.
Make a display that groups the author's books by theme, character, or setting.
Look up whether the author has any videos or talks online — watching them brings the study to life.
Libraries make it easy to find all of one author's books gathered in one place.
Revisiting familiar authors builds reading confidence, pleasure, and critical thinking.
Each morning, solve one story-based math problem. The context makes abstract number sentences meaningful.
Write or tell the problem. Have counters available for physical solving.
Act out the problem with objects. Count the answer.
Draw the problem, write the number sentence: 7 − 3 = 4.
Write your own story problem for a caregiver to solve.
Use drawings instead of objects — draw a maths story and then solve it.
Record the story problem as a number sentence: "3 + 2 = 5, just like in our story."
Create maths stories from real events: "We had five bananas, we ate two — how many are left?"
Any story can become a maths story with one well-placed question.
Toys and figurines are ready-made characters for maths story problems.
Tell the story problem in your heritage language — counting and solving in two languages deepens both mathematical and narrative understanding.
The child sits in the Author's Chair to read their completed book to an audience. This is publication day.
Set up the chair before the session. Treat this as a real event: introduce the author, clap after.
Read the book aloud. Show illustrations to the audience.
Read and take one question from the audience.
Give a brief 'author talk': what is your book about? What was hardest to write? What are you most proud of?
Record a video of the child reading their book — watch it back together and celebrate it.
Invite a family member or friend to be part of the next author's chair audience.
Start a family reading night where each person shares something they've written or read.
Sharing at the library, at a gathering, or with a new person builds the habit of voice.
Being a generous, attentive audience member is part of the author's chair skill set.
Introduce the sharing ritual in your heritage language. The phrase 'I wrote a story' in the family's language is a small but powerful marker of bilingual authorship.
Each child reads or tells their story from the Author's Chair. The audience gives one 'warm' response — something they liked.
The child gathers a small collection of objects — a feather, a button, a tiny toy animal, a shell, a piece of ribbon — and arranges them in a basket or on a tray as an open-ended storytelling invitation. Every choice is deliberate: what goes in, how it is arranged, and what story it might start. The Story Basket lives in the learning space all week as a creative provocation.
Walk around the home with the child and say: we are going on a treasure hunt for objects that could begin a story. Each thing you choose should make you wonder — what could happen with this?
Collect objects together and arrange them in the basket. Hold each one and ask: if this were a character in a story, who would it be? Let the child begin a story out loud using two objects.
The child arranges the basket independently and tells a short story using three of the objects. You listen without directing — just reflect back what you heard.
The child creates the basket, writes or dictates a story opening using three objects, and presents the basket to a family member as an invitation: use these to tell your own story.
Children explore the life cycle of a familiar creature (butterfly, frog, or bean plant) through picture books, sequencing cards, and a simple observation tray — filling May's science strand with living-systems thinking.
Lay sequencing cards face-down in a row. Arrange the nature tray nearby. Have the picture book bookmarked at the life-cycle spread.
Read the picture book together, pausing at each stage. Turn over one sequencing card at a time: 'What do you notice? Where does this come in the story?' Arrange cards in order together, narrating each stage.
Ask the child to re-tell the life cycle using the cards as prompts. Introduce vocabulary: egg, larva/tadpole, chrysalis/frogspawn, adult. Handle items on the tray: 'This dry bean could become — what?'
Invite the child to draw their own four-frame life-cycle diagram and label or dictate one word per stage. Prompt: 'If you could be any stage, which would you choose? Why?'
Children create a simple hand-drawn 'story map' — a beginning, middle, and end pathway — then tell an original story aloud, building narrative structure and oral language confidence aligned with early literacy standards.
Fold paper into thirds to suggest beginning, middle, end. Have props in a basket nearby. Model drawing a simple 3-scene map of a familiar story first.
Show your model story map and tell its story using the three sections. Then open a blank sheet: 'Now it's your turn. Tell me about your character — who is in your story?' Draw a simple character together in the first box.
Guide the child through all three sections: 'What happens at the start? Then what goes wrong or gets interesting? How does it end?' Child draws and narrates as they go. Reflect back their language: 'So first… then… and finally…'
The child tells their complete story from the map while you record it as dictation. Read it back together. Invite them to share it with a family member or perform it with props.
Tell the story in your heritage language first, then retell it in English — or mix them freely. Code-switching in storytelling is a natural bilingual strategy, not a mistake.
Children set up and run a pretend market stall, practising counting, one-to-one correspondence, social roles, and community vocabulary — a rich cross-strand experience grounded in Reggio Emilia's 100 Languages approach and financial literacy warm-up.
Arrange items on the stall with simple price signs. Prepare a small basket for the shopper. Brief the child on roles: 'You can be the seller or the shopper — we can swap!'
Take turns being the seller and shopper. Model the exchange: 'I'd like two apples please.' Count together: 'One, two — that will be two coins.' Hand over play money, receive the goods. Keep the play warm and playful.
Introduce a simple problem: 'I only have one coin but the price is two — what can we do?' Explore child's suggestions. Introduce vocabulary: price, cost, exchange, enough/not enough. Count the total items sold at the end.
Child runs the stall independently while caregiver shops. Child sets their own prices, counts change, and can re-stock the stall. Record the day's 'sales' on a simple tally chart together.
One child is the market seller, the other is the customer. Swap roles halfway through.
Children prepare a simple snack from start to finish — washing hands, gathering ingredients, spreading or assembling, and serving — building independence, fine motor control, and real-world sequencing skills.
Set out ingredients in small bowls on a low table. Place the spreading knife on the plate. Everything at child height. Wash hands together first.
Talk through each step before doing it: 'First we wash our hands, then we choose our base, then we spread.' Do the first step together — model spreading slowly and deliberately. Invite the child to take over.
Child completes all steps with minimal prompting. Encourage slow, deliberate spreading from edge to edge. Name the steps aloud together: 'What comes next?'
Child prepares two portions — one for themselves, one for a caregiver or sibling. Child decides on the presentation and serves it on a plate with a napkin.
Name each step in your heritage language as your child prepares the snack — turning a routine into living vocabulary.
Children take responsibility for a living thing — watering a plant, feeding a classroom fish, or caring for a small animal — developing nurturing habits, attentiveness, and the foundational ethic of environmental stewardship.
Create a simple care chart together with drawn symbols: a water droplet (water today?), an eye (observe the plant/animal), a sun (near light?). Post it near the living thing.
Do the care routine together the first time, narrating each step: 'We check the soil — is it dry? Yes, so we give it a small drink.' Follow the care chart step by step. Let the child hold and pour the watering can.
Child follows the chart independently. Caregiver observes and reflects: 'You remembered to check the soil before watering — that's what a careful gardener does.' Discuss what the plant or animal needs to stay healthy.
Child takes full ownership of the routine daily for one week, marking the chart themselves. At week's end, discuss: 'Did the plant grow or change? What did our care do?'
Name each step in your heritage language as your child cares for the plant — turning a routine into living vocabulary.
Children gather their month's drawings, activities, and creations, choose their favourites, and organise them into a simple learning portfolio — building self-reflection, organisational skills, and pride in their own learning journey.
Spread all the month's work on a low table. Have the folder ready. Model picking up one piece and thinking aloud: 'I remember making this — it's my favourite because…'
Look through the work together, naming each piece: 'This is your life-cycle drawing from Story Science. This is your market-day sign.' Ask the child to point to the one they like most. Place that one in the folder together.
Child selects 3–5 pieces to keep in the portfolio. For each, ask: 'Why did you choose this one?' Scribe their words as a caption on a sticky note. Child places each piece in the folder themselves.
Child writes or dictates a one-sentence reflection on their favourite piece: 'My favourite is… because…' Child can share the portfolio with a family member and explain their choices.
Invite your child to describe their favourite piece in your heritage language — sharing creative work in the family's language makes the pride bilingual.
After reading a favourite picture book, the child retells the story by creating a visual board. They draw or cut out key characters and scenes on separate cards, then pin or tape them onto a board in sequence. Unlike a story map (Experience 1), this focuses on retelling an existing story from memory — the child must recall events, decide what matters most, and present them in order. This builds narrative comprehension and oral storytelling confidence.
Read the book together first. Then close the book and say: can you remember the whole story? Let's see. We are going to draw the important parts on cards and put them in order on this board.
Together, identify 4–5 key scenes from the story. The child draws one scene per card (stick figures are fine). Arrange the cards left to right on the board and retell the story by pointing to each card.
The child draws all the cards independently, decides the order, and retells the full story to you using the board as a guide. Add speech bubbles to one or two characters.
The child creates a retelling board for a story they choose, presents it to an audience, and answers questions about why they included certain scenes and left others out.
Every real book has a cover that tells you what is inside. The child designs a front cover for the book they will write this month: a title, the author's name (their name!), and an illustration that hints at the story. This builds early understanding of how books work as objects and gives the child ownership of the publishing process from the very start.
Look at the covers of 2–3 picture books together. Point out: the title, the author's name, the illustration. Ask: what does the cover tell you about the story? Then say: you are going to be the author this month. Let's design your book's cover first.
Together, choose a title for the child's book (this can change later). The child draws a picture for the cover and writes their name as the author. You write the title if needed.
The child writes the title and their name independently. They choose colours and an illustration that give a clue about the story. Add "by [child's name]" on the cover.
The child designs front and back covers, adds a short blurb on the back describing what the book is about, and creates a dedication page inside.
Make simple sock or paper-bag puppets and perform a short story for an audience (a toy, a sibling, a caregiver). The child creates characters, plans a beginning and end, practises once, then performs. This develops narrative thinking, voice modulation, and performance confidence.
Make one puppet each. Give yours a name and a personality trait. Ask: what will your puppet be like? Brave? Silly? Shy? Then plan: what story will they be in together?
Plan the story together: who are the characters, what is the problem, how does it end? Practise once quietly. Then perform for a stuffed animal audience.
The child writes (or dictates) a simple script: three lines per puppet. Practise once. Perform to a real audience and take a bow.
The child creates puppets, writes a story, rehearses independently, and performs a complete show with a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Children fold, collate, and staple sheets of paper to create a blank book of their own — the physical vessel for their original story. Making the book before writing in it gives the authorship experience weight and permanence. A child who holds a book they made is already a different kind of writer.
Fold each sheet in half and nest them inside each other — this is the signature. Show the child: the fold is the spine. Demonstrate where the staples go: two, evenly spaced, along the fold.
Fold each sheet together, one at a time. Stack and nest them into a booklet. Staple together along the fold. Trim the edges if uneven. Write the title on the cover together.
The child folds and collates independently, checking that pages line up before stapling. They design the cover — title, author name, and an illustration — independently.
The child creates a more refined binding — a card cover, decorated spine, and a dedication page inside the front cover. Treats the finished object with care, as a real book.
Design an original story character: give them a name, an appearance, a personality, a want, and a fear. Draw the character from multiple angles. Then invent one problem they face and how they might solve it. This deepens narrative thinking and character empathy.
Show the character profile sheet. Fill in a silly example together: a snail named Gerald who wants to win a running race but is afraid of salt. Laugh together. Now it is their turn.
Fill in the profile together with the child's ideas. You draw the character as they describe it. Ask: what does their voice sound like? What do they eat for breakfast?
The child fills in their own profile independently and draws the character themselves. You listen to any narration and ask: what would your character do if they found a mysterious door?
The child creates a full character profile independently, draws the character in two different poses, and dictates or writes a short story featuring this character facing their fear.
Children set up and maintain a dedicated writing and illustrating space — sharpening pencils, organising art materials, arranging paper, and making the space beautiful and ready. A good author knows that the right environment is part of the work. This experience makes care of the creative workspace a deliberate, satisfying act.
Clear the workspace completely first — everything off. Then rebuild it together: what does a good writing space need? Let the child decide the arrangement. Your role is to ask questions, not to set it up for them.
Sharpen three pencils together. Sort art materials into their containers. Arrange the space so everything has a clear place. Choose one special object to keep in the corner.
The child organises the full workspace independently — sorting, sharpening, arranging. They decide what belongs here and what doesn't. The space should feel ready for a real author.
The child creates a simple label or sign for their author's corner and writes a short list of what belongs there. They take responsibility for resetting it at the end of each session independently.
After a familiar book is read, the child retells the whole story from memory in their own words to a real or toy audience. No book. No prompts unless they are stuck. This builds oral narrative skill, memory, and confidence in sustained speech.
Close the book. Tell the child: now you are the storyteller. The audience does not know the story. You have to tell the whole thing so they understand. Ready?
The child tells the story with the story map available as reference. You are the audience: listen, nod, react. Offer: what happened after that? only if they get truly stuck.
The child tells the story from memory without the map. You listen as the audience. After the story, give genuine feedback: I did not know the part about the fox. Tell me more.
The child tells the story to a new audience (a visiting adult, a sibling who has not heard it) without any support from you. They manage the beginning, all key events, and the ending.
Help the child organise a personal space they own: their art supply area, their bookshelf, their bedside table, or their toy box. They decide the system (books by colour, art supplies by type), implement it, and maintain it. This builds agency over personal environment and decision-making.
Ask: what would make this space easier for you to use? Let the child identify the problem before proposing solutions. Your role is to support their system, not impose one.
Organise together using the child's ideas. You ask: where would this go in your system? They decide. You implement. Label together if helpful.
The child reorganises their space independently. You observe and ask at the end: how will you find what you need? Walk me through your system.
The child maintains their organised space over the following two weeks, noticing when it becomes disorganised and restoring the system without prompting.
Name each step in your heritage language as your child organises — turning a routine into living vocabulary.
Short, low-prep activities that reinforce what your child is learning this month. Slot them in between core experiences or use them on lighter days.
Explore Letter Y through tracing, songs, and spotting the letter in familiar words and objects.
Use a simple story to set up addition and subtraction problems — for example, 'there were 8 animals, then 3 walked away'. Solve using objects or drawings.
Work on Story Elements Sort to practise putting ideas into words and building narrative structure.
Share Read Like a Writer together, building vocabulary, comprehension, and a love of stories.
Explore Letter Z through tracing, songs, and spotting the letter in familiar words and objects.
Write addition and subtraction number sentences (equations) for problems up to 20, using numbers and symbols to record thinking.
Share Read Draft Aloud together, building vocabulary, comprehension, and a love of stories.
Practise addition and subtraction within 20 using objects, fingers, a number line, or drawings — building fluency and confidence with both operations.
Revisit letters Y and Z, with a quick catch-up round for W and X from the previous curriculum month. Use matching games and quick-fire review to reinforce the full W–Z range before the Final Alphabet Review.
Work on Edit Together to practise putting ideas into words and building narrative structure.
Consolidate key skills through Add Detail, reinforcing learning from earlier in the month.
Design the cover for the class book, combining literacy and creative thinking.
Revisit the letters covered so far with Full Alphabet Review, using matching games and quick-fire review.
Celebrate the year's writing by sharing Library Display — a proud moment connecting print to audience.
Mark the end of the learning period with Year Celebration — reflecting on growth and celebrating effort.
Number sense doesn't need a table — it lives in daily routines. Try a few of these this month:
This is one of the most common moments in home learning. It almost never means the child dislikes learning — it usually means transition is hard.
The child's nervous system is still in a previous activity or needs more predictability about what comes next.
If nothing works, read a picture book together instead. One warm read-aloud counts as a complete session.
If resistance is strong every day for more than a week, look at the time of day and the length of sessions — both may need adjusting.
A child who moves on after five minutes isn’t failing — they may have absorbed more than you realise.
The activity may be at the wrong layer (try simpler), or the child’s focus window is shorter than the plan assumes.
Three focused minutes on the core of an activity counts. Let them stop with success rather than push to failure.
If a child consistently disengages from a specific activity type, note it and try a different category for a week.
Frustration often appears right at the edge of a child’s capability — which is exactly where growth happens.
The task is at the right difficulty but the child lacks a strategy to get unstuck, or they’re tired.
Offer the Layer 1 version or switch to a sensory or creative task to restore confidence before finishing.
If frustration escalates to the point of distress, stop without comment and return to the activity another day.
A meltdown during learning time is not about the learning. It is a communication that the child’s nervous system needs something. Your job right now is not to teach — it is to help them feel safe.
Hunger, tiredness, sensory overload, unresolved earlier stress, or a transition that felt too abrupt.
Once the storm passes, reconnect before resuming — a hug, a snack, or a few minutes of free choice. Do not return to the activity in the same session. Repair comes first; the curriculum can always wait.
Learning is done for today. Return only when the child is genuinely settled — not when it feels like they should be ready.
A child who breezes through Layer 1 is ready for more depth — and that’s a good sign.
The suggested layer underestimates this particular child’s current level.
Let them lead the extension themselves — open-ended materials invite natural challenge.
If a child consistently finds every activity too easy, they may be ready for the following month’s content alongside the current one.
A child struggling with Layer 1 is telling you something useful — the current level is a growth edge, not a failure.
The activity assumes readiness the child hasn’t yet reached, which is completely normal and very common.
Come back to this activity in two weeks. A month’s growth can transform a struggle into a success.
If a skill area feels consistently out of reach, note it in your tracker notes and trust the spiralling structure — it will return in a later month.
Siblings disrupting focused time is one of the most common home learning realities. It doesn’t mean the session failed.
The other child needs connection, is bored, or doesn’t have a clear role during learning time.
Accept that this session is collaborative. Even a messy shared activity builds learning and relationship.
If sibling dynamics consistently derail sessions, shift to individual one-on-one time during nap, screen time, or quiet rest.
No materials? No problem. Every activity in this guide has a household substitute, and improvisation is a teaching skill.
Materials haven’t arrived, were used up, or the activity was chosen spontaneously.
Move to a no-materials activity: read-aloud, conversation, movement, or a wonder question from this month’s list.
You don’t need to stop. There is almost always a version of any activity that needs nothing but curiosity.
Five focused minutes beats thirty distracted ones. Short is not the same as small.
Unexpected schedule change, family need, or the day simply didn’t cooperate.
A wonder question from this month, asked at the dinner table or on a walk, counts as a complete learning moment.
There’s no minimum. Any engaged interaction with curiosity, language, or materials is learning.
You don’t have to perform enthusiasm to support learning. Calm presence is its own kind of teaching.
You’re human. Some days are harder than others, and children pick up on the energy shift.
A quiet day alongside your child — no agenda, just present — has genuine developmental value. Connection is curriculum.
If you’re unwell or in crisis, today is not a learning day. That’s a complete and responsible decision.
Mess during sensory and creative activities is a signal of deep engagement — it means something real is happening.
The activity generates physical disorder that feels like cognitive overload for the caregiver.
Move to a no-mess version: the same concepts applied through books, conversation, or movement.
Some activities need to wait until you have the capacity for clean-up. That’s a practical decision, not a failure.
Disruption is one of the best teachers. How you respond to it is a curriculum in itself.
Planned outdoor activities, outings, or routines are interrupted by weather, illness, or unexpected events.
Rainy days are ideal for reading, creative work, or sensory play. Treat the change as an unexpected gift.
There’s no disruption large enough to make the whole day a loss. One small intentional moment resets everything.
Repetition is not boredom — it is consolidation. A child who returns to the same activity is deepening their mastery.
The child has found something that feels satisfying, competent, or interesting to explore more deeply.
There’s no fallback needed. Repetition is the mechanism of learning, not a problem to solve.
If the same activity is requested for many sessions in a row, you may gently introduce a parallel activity alongside it — never instead of it.
May's book project sometimes brings up a child's self-doubt — 'I can't write,' 'it's not good enough.' When this happens, redirect to the process rather than the product. Every mark on the page is a decision. Every story is theirs. The finished book doesn't have to be impressive; it has to be finished. A note on independence this term — by this point in the year, your role has shifted from demonstrator to appreciative audience. Ask what your child would like to work on today, how they plan to start. The goal was never a child who follows instructions perfectly. It was a child who can direct their own curiosity.
Ask three questions: 'What do you love? What scares you? What is funny to you?' Every answer is a story.
Provide a scribe for the text while the child provides all the ideas. Authorship is about composition, not penmanship.
Four pages is a complete book. Don't add for the sake of length. Quality and intention matter more.
Start with just the two of you as audience. Add one more person when the child is ready.
Every child can make a book. The form adapts to every level.
Skill arc focus:
Skill arc focus:
May's primary materials are paper, staples, and imagination.
Items specific to this month — tick each as you gather it.
Specific to your skill position this month — gather these for the letter and maths work.
Reusable items used across multiple months — most families already have these. See the Year-Round Basics list.
Picture books chosen to enrich this month's theme — read one a week, or return to favourites as often as you like.
Begin each morning with a story problem: 'There were 6 rabbits. 2 hopped away. How many are left?' Math and literacy together.
Add published books by authors the child has studied. Add the child's own finished books here too — they belong.
Set up a dedicated writing and illustration space with blank books, pencils, erasers, and art supplies.
Create an 'author study' display: one author, several books, and a fact or photo about them.
Skill arc adjustments for your position:
What story, character, or imaginary world is your child living in right now? May's entire theme is imagination — whatever they're obsessed with IS the curriculum.
Match the session length to your day — everything else stays the same.
These are not learning activities — and that is the point.
This tracker is for your own quiet observation — not a report card. Mark what you notice. Three levels are available for each milestone: Exploring (just starting to engage), Growing (doing it with some support), and Flying (doing it confidently and independently). There is no wrong answer. Every child moves at their own pace.
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