Blog: PreK

Happy Friday! It looks like it’s going to be a warm day today. We hope you have a wonderful Friday and a good weekend.

Scientific Investigation/Sensory Invitation: Magic Pepper and Soap

Using a plate or bowl add enough water to cover the entire surface of the plate. Sprinkle the pepper gently on the surface of the water. Have your child dip their finger into some dish soap and then poke the water! Observe what happens! 

You may want to ask while engaging in this experiment:

Is the pepper sinking or floating in the water?

What do you think will happen when you touch the water with soap on your finger? What if there wasn’t soap on your finger? 

Why do you think the pepper scatters when you touch the surface of the water with soap?

This activity is great for scientific inquiry and also some sensory play with water. 

https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/magic-pepper-and-soap-experiment/

 

Dramatic Play/Storyteller Workshop: Storytime Performance

We sent out an invitation to make a story book on Wednesday. If your child loved making a book perhaps invite them to make another, or ask them if they would like to create a play based on their story. The characters can be acted out by your child, their lovies, or other members of the family (if they are willing!). Invite your child to record their story through pictures or video so they can see the progress of their work!

This is a great way for your child to have some dramatic play, which is hard when they are away from their friends who play along with them.

Art Invitation: Colored Pencils and Paper

This simple and adaptable invitation presents and opportunity for children to increase their fluency in the language of mark-making with colored pencils. You can vary the activity by changing the type of writing surface you offer (paper, cardboard, paperboard, etc.) and the location. Colored pencils travel well so you could offer it near a window with a different view, or outside.

It’s Thursday! It looks like it might be a wet and cool spring morning in Durham. A great day for boots and a raincoat and a cup of lukewarm tea afterward.

Outdoor/Large Motor Invitation: Adventure day!

A central piece of our educational philosophy at LACS is the importance of being outside, not only on the playground, but out in the world. During this time of social-distancing, adventures look different. It may be a walk around the yard in boots and raincoat, going slowly and looking for changes, it might be a walk around your living room, or in your neighborhood depending on your situation. No matter where you walk, invite your child to take their time, to use their senses, and to wonder.

Adventures offer a new way to experience the world. Sometimes we go new places, but often we revisit to explore more deeply, to look for change, to seek answers to questions. We hope your child has a wonderful adventure today.

 

Small Motor Invitation: Observational drawing

Your child can bring a clipboard (you can make one from a piece of cardboard and a binder clip) on their adventure and draw something they see and want to remember, or they can find something in or around your home. Observational drawing is a way of looking at objects “like a scientist” and drawing what you see. Children sometimes find it helpful to look for shapes the know, to talk through what they notice about the object. A blank piece of paper and a sharp pencil or drawing pen are all they will need.

Observational drawing brings children’s attention to the shapes and details around them while building fine motor skills.

 

Building Invitation: Block map of your adventure

You can use this invitation as an extension of your child’s adventure from earlier, or set it up beforehand and have children map where they think they will go. A block map can also become the adventure for small figures or toys. If you have a limited supply of blocks, empty cracker or cereal boxes make excellent buildings.

Building representations of the world with blocks asks children to explore scale, physical properties, and cartography. Building with blocks also uses motor skills and requires persistence.

It’s Wednesday! Halfway through another stay-at-home week. Here are some invitations you can offer your preschooler today. A couple of the invitations today tie in with work the preschool class had been doing around storytelling and writing.

Literacy/Language Invitation: Storyteller’s/writer’s workshop

Staple a few sheets of paper together to make a blank book. Invite your child to pick out what tools they would like to use to illustrate their story. Early writers may want to write some of the words or letters, other children may dictate a story to an adult or older sibling.

Writing and telling stories is a powerful tool for young children. It connects their real experiences with their imagination, helps build the language of storytelling in pictures as well as words, and helps children make sense of their experiences.

Building Invitation: Block building al fresco

Moving materials to a new location can bring new life and new ideas into play. Today we suggest taking some blocks outside. You can take a large piece of cardboard to build on or a blanket to contain smaller blocks. Building outside may present new challenges as well as new inspiration for your child’s work.

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 some invitations that might intrigue your preschooler this Tuesday.

Fine Motor Invitation: Connecting clothespins and craft sticks

The preschool class at LACS has been doing a lot of work around connecting this year. They explored the possibilities of tape, string, and in March were beginning to investigate the potential of clothespins. Clothespins and craft sticks (also known as Popsicle sticks), offer many exciting possibilities for building and connecting. You could also offer binder clips and small pieces of cardboard.

This invitation is an opportunity to further explore the schema of connecting and disconnecting, builds problem solving skills and fine motor skills.

Art Invitation: Ephemeral nature collage

This invitation can be as simple as setting out an empty picture frame or drawing a rectangle with sidewalk chalk and inviting your child to collect a few small objects from nature and make a design in the frame. You can discuss how the collage will be ephemeral, meaning it won’t last. Suggest they make a drawing or you take a picture if they would like to remember their work.

This invitation builds connection to nature, encourages creative expression, and is an opportunity for children to explore texture, pattern and design.

Language and Literacy Invitation: Connect with our own Durham County Library librarians for online storytime! Today we suggest When the Wind Stops by Charlotte Zolotow. This lovely story about cycles of days and seasons might inspire some circular art projects, nature investigations, or other activities.