Entertaining small people is no easy feat. Between energy levels and attention spans (squirrel!), toddlers provide a world of challenges one never knew was possible.

Then there is How to do it? What’s too much? What’s too little? Am I doing too much? Too little? This part, I know, is a completely new phenomenon. When I was a child I’m pretty sure my parents either put me outside or gave me some toys and I entertained myself. Yes, I was in daycare as well. Both of my parents worked for the airlines so I had to go somewhere. However, unlike today, my daycare and then preschool did not come with the promise of having me reading and doing basic math by three years old. I went, I played, I napped, I conquered. Today it’s workbooks and writing and pre-school tuitions that cost as much as an in-state university (one of the top in NYC is $17,500 for two days a week 8:20-11:20). The pressure to get your child into a program, or order the books and activities for home is coming at you from every angle, increasing the ever present “mom guilt” or parent guilt that just You is not enough.

Living in New York City for five years brought this pressure in a whole new life. I had heard crazy rumors (singing child up for school while pregnant with said child), but didn’t believe them. Then there was dinner out at 32-weeks pregnant with our first when our neighboring table asked which wait lists we were on. Then there was the acknowledging that if you planned on living in New York and lived in certain areas, the unspoken pressure to have your child enrolled in a private school was very present. Neighbors in our building gave bewildered glances when they discovered our two-year-old wasn’t in school. I listened to moms take phone calls about their children’s acceptance for Kindergarten. AS my time in NYC grew I learned that a) Bravo’s Odd Mom Out is completely accurate (and very highly recommended) and b) I was feeling the pressure.

I knew there was never going to be private school in New York. That just wasn’t something I was interested in. But I was also a teacher in a former life and I loved to be creative and artsy so the question I gave myself was, how do I blend my creativity with my educational knowledge without being overly educational?

My now four and a half year old helped provide the answer. She loved to read and before turning three had started asking me what things said. Then there was NYC. An endless playground of opportunities. And so, like the village, I decided we would take an adventurous route in learning our ABCs. Now as my middle child approaches his third birthday I get to do it again. My focus is on fun and learning but in a larger picture sense. There will be cooking and scavenger hunts, art projects and star gazing. There will be one letter a week with five different activities. But most of all, there will be FUN.

Need something to do this summer? Feel like having some fun with your little? Join me each week for some fun with the ABCs!