Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for Toddlers: July 3

July 3, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Happy 4th of July weekend! Celebrating the beginning of the United States of America is feeling increasingly complicated, especially in the middle of COVID-19. We hope you have a safe celebration this weekend. Here are three invitations for this first Friday in July.

Sensory/Large Motor Invitation: Water play – “fishing”

For this invitation you will need a container of water, some objects like those you might have used for an earlier sink/float invitation, and a sieve or strainer. Invite your child to fish out the objects with the “net.” We’re wondering what they will discover as they attempt to remove the objects from the water. Will they decide to use their hands? Will they wade into the water? Stay close by and attentive while your toddler is working with water.

Sensory/Fine Motor Invitation: Puzzle piece search in sensory bin

This invitation works best when the material in the sensory bin is something like grass seed, birdseed, or similar. Hide some puzzle pieces from a familiar puzzle in the sensory bin and invite your toddler to find them and return them to the puzzle. They may also use the puzzle pieces for small world dramatic play.

Art Invitation: Sculpting with fuzzy wire

Today we suggest offering something simple as a sculpting invitation such as fuzzy wire (also known as pipe cleaners or chenille stems). You can anchor one or two pieces by wrapping them around a stone. Invite your toddler to explore the texture and other physical properties of the wire. How can they bend and shape the wire? What will they create?

Lakewood for PreK: July 3

July 3, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Science/Art Invitation: Creating paints/exploring pigments

Yesterday we offered an invitation that involved pounding leaves and flowers to make prints. Today, we are wondering how else your child could create paints (this might get quite messy). They might be interested in grinding old pastels or chalk, or using things like tea leaves, the liquid from cooking red cabbage, or turmeric. We wonder what children know about paint and how paint is made and how they might apply their theories to household items.

Sensory/Large Motor Invitation: Water play outside – toe diving

This invitation works with a large bin or a kiddie pool. Find some objects that sink and some that float and put them in the container with some water. Invite your child to fish the objects out using only their toes! This invitation uses balance, coordination, creativity and persistence.

Language/Fine Motor Invitation: Exploring letters (making letter stones or tree cookies)

For younger preschoolers, you might want to have an older sibling or adult write on the stones, older preschoolers or those who are very excited about writing may want to do this themselves. Gather some stones or tree cookies (thin slices of tree trunks or thicker branches) and decide with your child what they would like to be able to write. It could be a message like “Happy 4th of July,” your child’s name, a friend’s name, or the alphabet. Use liquid chalk markers, sidewalk chalk, or paint to write the appropriate letters on the stones. You might want to provide a printout of the alphabet if your child is doing the writing themselves. After the stones are lettered, your child can explore making silly words as well as the ones they intended.

Lakewood for Middlers: July 3

July 3, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Language/Literacy Invitation: Sulwe

This morning we would like to invite you and your child to share a beautiful book, Sulwe by Lupita Nyong’o. It’s a lovely story and may spark some interesting conversations in your family.

Art/Sensory Invitation: clay/playdough on a mirror

Sometimes presenting familiar materials in novel places creates opportunities for new work. Today you might consider offering playdough or clay on a reflective surface. Working with clay and playdough exercises fine motor muscles, is a medium for creative expression, and builds sensory schema.

Sensory/Large Motor Invitation: Water play – toe diving

Lakewood for Toddlers: July 2

July 2, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Happy Thursday! It really feels like July these days with warm, humid weather. Here are three invitations for toddlers.

Fine Motor/Cooking Invitation: Make your own snack (cutting practice)

This morning, invite your child to help make their snack. Depending on your child’s thoughts on food, they might enjoy making a sandwich, a tortilla roll-up, or just cutting things and putting them on a snack plate. If you are making toast, a sandwich, or tortilla roll-up, they can help spread sunbutter, hummus, or peanut butter, cut soft fruit (strawberries, bananas, etc.) with a butterknife, and assemble their creation. Make sure to allow extra time and start before everyone is extremely hungry. This invitation builds self-help skills, fine motor skills, and creativity in the kitchen.

Fine Motor/Science Invitation: Tubes and small cars

This invitation can be done in a large storage bin, which keeps the cars close, or on the floor or tabletop. If you choose to set it up on the floor or tabletop, it is possible the cars will go everywhere. Provide some empty paper towel tubes or wrapping paper tubes and cars which are small enough to fit inside the tubes. What will your child do with these materials? Will they explore slope, velocity and trajectory? Will they explore whether they can move the cars through the tubes while they are flat on the floor like tunnels?

Art Invitation: Exploring glue and collage

This art invitation is not only an avenue for new forms of creative expression, but also an exploration of the properties and possibilities of glue. We suggest offering a small cup (such as a clean yogurt cup) with a little glue in the bottom, and a variety of small collage objects along with a sturdy substrate like cardboard. Invite your child to explore how they might use the glue to adhere things to the cardboard/paper. They may want to stick things on, and then remove them, only to adhere them again.