Blog: Middlers

Good morning! We are really excited to bring you three invitations for middlers today. Hope you are well.

Connecting with nature/Science Invitation: Get to know a plant

Today we hope your child can find some time to get to know a plant. It could be a plant outside, or a houseplant. We can think of at least two ways your child might approach this. First, they could do some scientific work: what does the plant look like, what shape are its leaves, how tall is it, what other creatures are living on or around it, etc. They might also go in a different direction: what kind of name would they give the plant, what do they think it likes (or dislikes), what is its favorite color, etc. Your child might want paper and colored pencils or crayons for their work, or perhaps access to a camera.

Fine Motor/Design Invitation: Light table work

Working on the light table, whether homemade or a tracing light pad, is very engaging for young children. It provides an opportunity to explore light and shadow, transparency, translucence, and color in different ways than a tabletop. You can set out a variety of materials for your child to explore on the light table. The teachers in the infant-toddler centers of Reggio Emilia sometimes spread a thin layer of sand on their light table and invite children to explore making marks with their fingers.

Fine Motor/Art Invitation: Contact paper collage

This invitation is related to the glue collage invitations we have offered in the past. Today we hope you have access to contact paper (sometimes called shelf paper). You could also create sticky paper by spreading a thin layer of glue on a piece of cardboard. Attach the sticky paper to a table or other flat surface with circles of tape on the back. Offer an array of small, lightweight materials such as pieces of tissue paper or fabric flower petals and invite your child to explore the materials.

Good morning! It’s Wednesday again. This week looks like it will continue to be full of thunderstorms. Here are three invitations for middlers, two of which will create a different set of sounds.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Storyteller’s workshop (audio recording)

Today we are thinking about sound and how we now have the technology to record stories right at our fingertips. You can use a voice memo app or other recording device to record your child telling a story. They might want to tell their story while drawing or building the imaginary world from blocks. Younger children might enjoy telling a familiar story with a sibling or caregiver. For example, filling in the building materials in “The Three Little Pigs” with silly objects generally delights young children.

Sensory/Fine Motor Invitation: Sensory bin with tongs 

For this invitation you will need a medium to large container, a sensory material like sand or small gravel, and some larger objects as well as a pair of tongs or tweezers. Arrange the materials in the container and invite your child to use the tongs or large tweezers to remove them. They may also want to use the tongs to arrange the objects in a different way. Using tongs and large tweezers builds fine motor muscles.

Music/Science Invitation: Water xylophone

Last week we offered an invitation from the Museum of Life and Science using jars and water to explore the different colors that make up black ink. Today we again turn to this amazing community resource and an invitation using jars and water to explore sound! Use the following link to find easy-to-follow instructions for creating a water xylophone with your child.

Good morning! Here are three invitations for middlers today.

Art Invitation: Mono-printing with loose parts

We are so curious about what children will think about this art process! This post from Fairydust Teaching explains the process very clearly. We hope it will be an interesting technique for children to explore and open new worlds of creative expression.

Fine Motor/Building Invitation: Block building

Today we suggest setting out some blocks with a few loose parts like small fabric swatches, animal figures, or clean plastic lids. You could get out the same interlocking blocks as yesterday and see how your child’s creations grow and change with the addition of loose parts, or set out a different type of block. 

Social/Emotional Invitation: Connect with a friend!

Connecting with friends these days is a very different experience these days. It is difficult, but not impossible, for middler-aged children to practice physical distancing. You might be able to find a friend whose family is comfortable with your children kicking a soccer ball back and forth, or for planning some socially distanced water relay games (each family is its own team). Your child might also enjoy a videochat tea party or block building play date. Video puppet shows and dance parties are also ways to connect in real time. Your child might also have enjoyed sending (and possibly receiving) mail over the last three months and you can set out paper and drawing/writing utensils for them today. Whatever you and your child come up with, we hope it helps them feel connected with the world in some small way and brings them joy.

Good morning! We hope you had a fun and safe holiday weekend. Here are three invitations for middlers on this first Monday in July.

Sensory Invitation: Summer moon sand

You can use regular sand, kinetic sand, or homemade moon sand (8 parts flour to 1 part baby oil) for this invitation. Spread the moon sand in a large storage bin or small plastic pool and add a variety of summery accessories. These could be natural materials like shells, driftwood and stones, or sandcastle supplies like pails and shovels. Invite your child to explore what they can do with the sand and other materials.

Fine Motor/Building Invitation: Interlocking blocks

Interlocking blocks (Duplo or Quattro blocks) are often offered as a fine motor invitation in the middler room at LACS. While these do use fine motor skills they also engage other areas as children build and explore. When children count how tall their towers are they are using pre-math skills; when they build strong houses for the three little pigs, they are using their imaginations; and when they fit blocks of different sizes together they are exploring concepts in geometry and often building persistence.

Art Invitation: Crayons and paper

Today we are wondering how children might express how they felt hearing or seeing fireworks over the weekend using crayons and paper. Was it exciting? Was it a little frightening? What would their feelings look like? Identifying and expressing emotions are important social-emotional skills. This might also simply be a time for creative expression using crayons and paper.