Blog: Middlers

Welcome back to another week of Lakewood for Middlers! It looks like this week is going to be wet and possibly stormy. Here are three invitations from Caitlyn and Sarah for Monday, May 18.

Fine Motor Invitation: Shape sorting. Tape different shapes on the floor and find various objects in your house that are square, circle, triangle, etc. Sort the items by their shape.

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by encouraging the middlers to use their hand muscles to pick up and place the items. It also incorporates cognitive development by identifying shapes and sorting them.

Art Invitation: Painting with pine cones
Have your child collect some pine cones from your yard or neighborhood
Separate the top portion of the pine cone with a knife or scissors (this is an adult job), leave three or four rows of leaves on the top portion
Pour paint (3-4 colors) into small jar lids/containers (big enough to fit the base of your cut pine cone)
Using the stem of the pine cone for a handle (or just gripping the top) have your child dip it into the paint and create their art on a piece of paper!
Ways to paint with pine cone:
Swipe the cone across the paper
rotate/spin the cone in a circular motion
Use the cone to stamp on the paper

Intent: This art activity introduces natural materials found outside into a creative project.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Sink and float experiment with natural materials. Find different natural materials outside such as leaves, flowers, rocks, sticks, etc. Fill a bin with water. Have your child predict if they think the item will sink or float before they put it in!

Intent: This invitation builds motor skills and encourages “thinking like a scientist.”

Happy Friday! It’s the end of another stay-at-home week, you did it! It’s going to be warm today, Caitlyn and Sarah have several ideas for cooling off.

Sensory Invitation: Make your own popsicles!
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh fruit of your choice
2 tbsp honey

Instructions:
Puree fruit and honey in the blender until smooth
Poor into ice pop molds
** If you do not have ice pop molds, add liquid to an ice cube tray or muffin tin **
Freeze for at least 8 hours, or until popsicle is solid

Intent: This is a great activity to do outside since it is supposed to be warm today! This activity allows the middlers to create their own snack treat that they can enjoy in the warm sunshine today.

Fine Motor Invitation: Open and close clothes pins. You can clip the clothes pins on a wire basket or just on a piece of paper.

Added variation: color the clothes pins different colors and have your child clip them on by color.

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by encouraging the middlers to use the pincer grip to open and close the clothes pins. It also incorporates cognitive development by identifying colors and sorting them.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Water Play! Run through the sprinkler or play with the water hose. If you’re playing in the sun, look out for misty rainbows! 

Intent: It’s going to be hot today! Get outside and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful spring scenery. We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development.

Happy Thursday! It looks like it’s going to be perfect weather for a bear hunt!

Sensory Invitation: Scooping Ice and Water. Add ice, cold water, and scoops/measuring cups to a bin. You can also add food coloring or glitter for a fun effect. 

Intent: This is a great activity to do outside since it is supposed to be warm today! This activity allows middlers to explore the senses of touch, sight, and hearing.

Music and Movement Invitation: Go on a “Bear Hunt” today! You can see if your neighborhood has organized a stuffed animal “bear hunt,” or sing along with this video.

Intent: The middlers LOVE singing during meeting time and all throughout the day. We want to encourage the middlers to keep singing every day and will give examples of some of their favorite songs! This activity also uses your child’s big body and will encourage gross motor development.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Rock/Pinecone drop. Tape paper towel/toilet paper tubes to your house or fence outside. Find rocks or small pinecones to drop through the tubes.

Intent: Get outside and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful spring scenery. We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity encourages fine motor development by using the hand muscles to pick up objects and drop them through the tubes.

 

It’s Wednesday! The middle of the week. We are excited for a slightly warmer day today. Here are some invitations from middler teachers Sarah and Caitlyn. Enjoy!

Fine Motor Invitation: Collage with 3-D Items. Find different materials in your house for collage such as string, cardboard, buttons, craft sticks, sequins, beads, etc.

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by encouraging the middlers to use their hand muscles to put glue on the paper. They can use the pincer grip to move and stick the items on the paper.

Art Invitation: Draw using stencils. If you do not have stencils you can use flat toys, blocks of different shapes, or cookie cutters.
Optional: Color in the shapes you made with the stencils.

Intent: The middlers used stencils a lot while at school. This activity uses a lot of fine motor skills as the middlers will have to hold the stencil and trace around it.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Play I Spy with your child outside, looking for interesting items and animals in nature.

Possible dialogue:
“I spy something green that moves in the wind”
“I spy something small and black that crawls on the ground”
“I spy something green that grows out of the ground”

Intent: Get outside and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful spring scenery. We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity also uses perception and observation. Sit in nature and have your child observe and appreciate their surroundings.