Blog: Middlers

Good morning! This is the final set of posts in the Lakewood at Home blog series. This has been such a wonderful way for us to delve deep into our philosophy and make it more visible for families in the community. We are excited to be returning to in-person school on August 5th. We are full for August, but have some openings in September. Here are our three final invitations for middlers.

Science Invitation: Experiment with baking soda and vinegar! There are lots of fun ways to experiment and observe this chemical reaction. You can make a volcano, or just observe the reaction in a cup! My favorite idea from the link below is putting the baking soda in a muffin tin or cups with food coloring then allowing your child to add in the vinegar with a turkey baster. Below is also a recipe for a cake featured on our blog that highlights this reaction as well! This is a fun science activity that works the senses and fine motor skills!

https://preschoolinspirations.com/vinegar-baking-soda-science/

 

Cooking Invitation: Wacky Cake

1 ¼ cups unbleached flour

1 cup sugar

⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 handful chocolate chips (optional)

 

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon distilled white or apple cider vinegar

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Get out all your ingredients and an 8×8-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips if you are using them. 

In a different bowl, mix together the water, vanilla, vegetable oil and vinegar. 

Pour the wet things into the dry things and quickly stir together. Remember what the baking soda and vinegar did in the science experiment? Do you see it happening here?

Pour the cake batter into the 8×8-inch pan and have an adult put it in the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Have an adult take the cake out of the oven and put it on a cooling rack or potholder to cool.

Cool the cake completely before having a taste.

Art/Fine Motor Invitation: Shape collage

Cut out simple shapes in a variety of sizes. Add some glue or a glue stick and a surface like paper or cardboard. Invite your child to create a work of art using the shapes. If you scroll down through this link, you will find examples of famous works of art that use shapes. These might be inspirational for your preschooler as they work with the shapes and glue.

Good morning! Here are three invitations for middlers today.

Building Invitation: Build a story from blocks

After writing their story, or instead of writing their story, invite your child to tell a story using the language of blocks. This may look like building houses for the three little pigs and knocking them over, or creating a world with tall buildings, or volcanoes. You can photograph or make a video of your child’s work so they can reflect on it later when the blocks are put away.

 

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Bowling.

Gather paper/plastic cups or tin cans and stack them. Roll a ball and see how many you can knock over!

Intent: This gross motor activity can be done inside if it is raining! We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development. 

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Sorting Flowers

Using three small jars or cups and label them “stems”, “leaves”, and “petals”. Have your child collect flowers from outside and separate the parts. Then sort each part of the flower into the three jars!

 

Intent: We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity helps teach the parts of a flower. It also uses fine motor skills to take each flower apart and helps the child work on sorting like items.

It’s the middle of the week again. The final Wednesday in July! Here are three invitations for middlers today.

Building Invitation: Block roads and ramps

Challenge your child to build a block road across a certain part of your home, or to build a favorite street or town out of blocks. Adding loose parts can extend this invitation. Children may also want to make buildings out of empty boxes. Are there hills along this road? How can your child use blocks or loose parts to construct ramps?

This invitation encourages children to work with scale, spatial awareness, and build problem-solving skills.

Fine Motor/Engineering Invitation: Paper towel tubes and pom pomsUsing blue tape or masking tape, attach a paper towel or other cardboard tubes to a door or wall. You can put some straight up and down and others at an angle, or make a maze if you are feeling ambitious. Children can put pom poms or small balls through the tubes. This invitation is a wonderful way for children to investigate concepts in physics, explore trial and error, and build motor skills.

Art/Sensory Invitation: Play dough or clay story

Invite your child to build a representation of their story from play dough or clay. They may interpret this in different ways; making a different sculpture for each page, creating the world of their story and acting it out, or something completely new. You can ask if you can take photos or a video of the story so they can reflect on it later.

Good morning! Here are three invitations for middlers for the last Tuesday in July!

Sensory Invitation: Wash muddy cars, balls, etc. in a container with soapy water. You can even make a shower for your toys by cutting holes in the bottom of a cup and pouring water into it. 

Intent: We use sensory activities for the middlers to explore their five senses. This activity will allow for the middlers to enjoy multiple sensory experiences such as touch, hearing, and sight.

Building Invitation: Block building with additional loose parts

Building with blocks is an important learning language for young children. It also allows them to explore connecting and disconnecting schema, create imaginary worlds, and tinker with architecture and design. After so many weeks at home, it might be time to add something new to your children’s block collection. You can offer a variety of things to inspire young builders like cotton balls, small dry sticks, shells or empty cardboard boxes. Small LED candles are also a beautiful addition. You can also invite your child to create block people to live in their creations. Have them draw people (or animals or monsters or trees) on paperboard or thick paper, cut them out, and tape them to small blocks so they stand up. You can also use binder clips to support block people if you have those. To make them more sturdy, cover them on both sides with clear packing tape before attaching to the blocks.

Large Motor/Outdoor Invitation: Neighborhood Animal Yoga

Begin this invitation by asking your child what kinds of animals live in your neighborhood. Then see what yoga poses they know, or can create so their bodies look/feel like those animals. In our neighborhood in Durham we see dogs, cats, birds, snakes, spiders, worms, raccoons, and occasionally deer or a fox. Your child might also want to be a balancing tree, a flower unfurling, or a unicorn! You can take photos or have your child draw their own yoga cards to use over and over again.

This invitation connects children to their environment using their imaginations. It also builds balance, flexibility and strength.