Blog: Middlers

Good morning. Here are four invitations from Caitlyn and Sarah for middlers today. One of them is preparation for an invitation for tomorrow.

Fine Motor Invitation: Messing about with tissue paper
Using tissue paper, have your child tear or cut smaller bits of the tissue paper. When you have a variety of sizes of pieces of tissue paper, present your child with some empty plastic bottles, jars or other containers. We wonder what your child will do. Will they cover the outside of the containers, or problem solve how to get the tissue paper inside?

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by working on the tripod grasp, using the thumb, index, and middle finger together. It also works the hand muscles with tearing and crumpling up the tissue paper.

Art Invitation: Watercolor on coffee filters.
Color on a coffee filter using as many colors as you want. When the drawing is complete lights spray water on the coffee filter and watch the colors slowly run together.
*You may want to put a piece of paper underneath for an easier clean up*

Intent: This activity allows for a different way to explore art and creative expression by using unconventional art materials.

Music and Movement Invitation: “Going on a Dragon Hunt: Yoga Version”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyI3qukcTiI

Intent: This activity encourages big body movements and incorporates songs used in the middler classroom while at school.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Freezing flowers/leaves in ice cube trays
Part 1: Gather edible or non-toxic flowers and leaves that you find in your yard. Invite your child to arrange them them in an ice cube tray and fill it with water.

Intent: We want to encourage the middlers to get outside and use all of their big body muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity uses both gross motor and fine motor muscles.

 

Good morning and welcome back! We hope you had many opportunities to enjoy the amazing weather over the weekend! Here are three invitations from middler teachers Caitlyn and Sarah for this Monday.

Sensory Invitation: Go on a sensory walk.
What do you hear?
What do you see?
Can you find something to taste? Blackberries, Mulberries, Honeysuckle?
What can you find that is fun to touch?
What do you smell?

Talk with your child about what each of our five senses are and what they do.

Intent: This sensory activity allows for middlers to explore all of their senses while outside.

Fine Motor Invitation: How high can you build?!
Using tape, mark a few different heights on the wall. They can be increasing or sporadic. Have your child build a structure to the height you created.

Possible Dialogue:
“How many more blocks did you use for the tall structure?”
“Which structure might fall over first?”
“How tall can you build?”

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by building and creating structures. Hand-eye coordination is used and practiced in this activity.

Art Invitation: Create with glue and sand.
You will need:
A bowl of sand, dirt, glitter, or something of similar texture
Glue bottle (liquid school glue)
Paper
A small spoon

Have your child ‘draw’ with the glue on their piece of paper. They can make shapes, designs, or just squiggles. Then have your child use the spoon to pour sand on the glue. Pour the extra sand back into the bowl when you’re done. Then repeat with another design!

Intent: This activity allows for a different way to explore art and creative expression by using unconventional art materials.

Happy Friday! Here are three invitations from Caitlyn and Sarah. Next week will be a normal week for Lakewood at Home, and we are taking a week off the following week to regroup.

Sensory/Art Invitation: Sand Painting
Fill a few small containers with some sand (do not add too much sand, or your sand paint will become too thick). Pour some colored paint in the sand. Have your child use a paint brush to paint with the colored sand! We would suggest using two or three colors for your child to paint with. They will notice that the paint will help the sand stick to create the multidimensional painting.

Intent: This sensory activity allows for middlers to explore the different texture of their paint when mixed with sand. This experience will be different as they see the differences of painting with textured sand paint versus normal paint.

Fine Motor Invitation: Creating shapes with magnatiles or shape blocks. Your child can create shapes free handed, or you can draw a large shape out for them or tape it on the floor and have them use their blocks to create that shape.

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by building and creating shapes. This allows for your child to work on shape recognition.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Tree Bark Rubbings
Long easel paper is ideal, but printer paper will work fine for this activity! Tape your easel paper or printer paper to the side of a tree in your yard. Grab some crayons that have the wrappings removed. Let your child start coloring on the paper. As they color they should notice the patterns from the tree bark showing through on the paper.

Intent: We want to encourage the middlers to get outside and use all of their big body muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity uses both gross motor and fine motor muscles. Your child will explore the best and easiest ways for them to color horizontally on the tree trunk!

Good morning! Here are three invitations for middlers today from Caitlyn and Sarah.

Outdoor/Nature/Finw Motor Invitation: Leaf people.

Gather various leaves from your yard. Use the leaves to create people. This is a chance to talk about what the body looks like. 

“How many arms/legs do you have?”

“How many feet?”

“What does your face look like?”

ECT..

Intent: This invitation is an opportunity to talk about bodies and use materials in a creative way.

Sensory Invitation: Making (Salt Dough) Dinosaur Fossils

Part 1: Make your salt dough. Combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and ½ cup warm water. Have your child help mix the ingredients (this is an activity we did with them when we were in the middler room!) Make sure you get all of the lumps out! Make a small ball of the mixed dough, then press it flat with the palm of your hand.

Part 2: Make your fossils! Using small dinosaur toys/skeleton toys, gently press them into the dough. Gently lift the toy to reveal a fossil impression! You can use the side of the dinosaur or make footprints with the toy’s feet.

**Extension: add other objects to make prints in the dough… other animal toys, small leaves or sticks. Let your kids get creative!**

Part 3: Cooking your “fossils”! Preheat your oven at 250 degrees. Line your fossils up on a baking sheet and bake for 1-2 hours. Remove from the oven once they are hard.

Optional Part 4: Paint your finished fossils!

Intent: This sensory activity allows for middlers to create from start to finish. This activity uses multiple steps. The stirring of ingredients help strengthen fine motor skills. Let your child be creative by choosing different objects to make into fossils. Discuss with your child what a fossil is!

Music and Movement Invitation:
Five Big Dinosaurs
Five big dinosaurs gave a huge roar.
One went exploring, and then there were four.
Four big dinosaurs walked by a tree.
One stayed to eat leaves, and then there were three.
Three big dinosaurs heard a loud “Boo!”
One ran away, and then there were two.
Two big dinosaurs sat in the sun.
One fell asleep and then there was one.
One big dinosaur wanted some fun.
It went for a swim, and then there were none!

Dinosaur, Dinosaur
Follow along chanting the song while doing the movements it says!
Dinosaur, Dinosaur,
Turn around.
Dinosaur, Dinosaur,
Stomp the ground.
Dinosaur, Dinosaur,
Show your claws.
Dinosaur, Dinosaur,
Snap your jaws.
Dinosaur, Dinosaur,
Turn around.
Dinosaur, Dinosaur,
Sit back down!

Intent: This activity encourages big body movements and imagination.