Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for PreK: July 30

July 30, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! Here are three invitations for preschoolers today.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Puppet Theater Story

Your child can use sock puppets, paper bag puppets, or other puppets or stuffed animals to act out a story they have imagined. If you want to extend the activity, you can work with your child to turn a larger cardboard box into a puppet theater. Your child might also appreciate having someone write down their story and read it back while they act it out with the puppets.

In this invitation, children are working with language and literacy skills and concepts, and building their creative expression skills.

Large Motor/Adventure Invitation: Listening adventure

Your child can go on this adventure sitting in a box in the middle of the living room, walking around the backyard, or out with you in the neighborhood. Before you go, ask them what they think they will hear. Then ask them to sit or walk quietly and see what they can hear. When you get back, or their sitting time is up, reflect on the sounds together. Were there birds? Cars? A train whistle?

This adventure invites children to make predictions and carry out an experiment to see if they are correct. It also asks them to be quiet for a moment and use their ears to experience the world.

Art Invitation: Sculpting dough/clay

What has your child been interested in lately? How can they create that using clay/play dough? It will be easier to sculpt with clay, but play dough or salt dough also work. Maybe they can use the clay to create a rainbow? Or a person dancing? Or a flower?

Lakewood for Middlers: July 30

July 30, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! Here are three invitations for middlers today.

Building Invitation: Build a story from blocks

After writing their story, or instead of writing their story, invite your child to tell a story using the language of blocks. This may look like building houses for the three little pigs and knocking them over, or creating a world with tall buildings, or volcanoes. You can photograph or make a video of your child’s work so they can reflect on it later when the blocks are put away.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Bowling.

Gather paper/plastic cups or tin cans and stack them. Roll a ball and see how many you can knock over!

Intent: This gross motor activity can be done inside if it is raining! We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Sorting Flowers

Using three small jars or cups and label them “stems”, “leaves”, and “petals”. Have your child collect flowers from outside and separate the parts. Then sort each part of the flower into the three jars!

Intent: We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity helps teach the parts of a flower. It also uses fine motor skills to take each flower apart and helps the child work on sorting like items.

Lakewood for Toddlers: July 29

July 29, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! It’s the middle of the week already! We are busily preparing Lakewood to welcome children again August 5th. Here are three invitations for toddlers in the meantime.

Large Motor Invitation: Dance party!

You can offer your child’s favorite music, or try some new movement songs. Koo Koo Kanga Roo has many exciting songs, or you can check out local artist Baron Von Rumblebuss. We also highly recommend local dance studio Ninth Street Dance’s online offerings.

Dance is a wonderful way to build balance, coordination and other motor skills. Children also love to express themselves through movement.

Outdoor/Sensory Invitation: Mashing mud

With the wet weather expected today, there may be mud available near you. You can put some in a bucket or bowl and invite your child to explore the mud with a potato masher or similar tool. You can also use child-safe potting soil and have your child mix it with water in a tub.

This sensory invitation encourages children to explore the many properties of and possibilities in soil mixed with water. They can test theories, investigate texture, and build motor skills.

Art Invitation: Smush Paint.

Put different color drops of paint on a piece of paper and stick the paper inside a gallon plastic bag. Push and spread the paint around to create a beautiful masterpiece! This invitation is wonderful for children who are unsure about covering their hands in paint. You could also have them drive over the bag with toy vehicles to see what designs their tires make.

Lakewood for PreK: July 29

July 29, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! It’s already Wednesday and the final Wednesday in July at that. Here are three invitations for preschoolers today.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Working on a sensory journal

Consider starting a senses journal with your child that can be returned to day with some regularity documenting each of the senses for the day. Or you can ask the child to choose one of the questions for that day? Asking how can you represent answer to these questions on paper:

What did you see today?

What did you hear today?

What did you taste today?

What did you feel today?

What did you smell today?

The intention of this project is to continue work in language production, early writing, and to see a project grow over time with self documentation.

Art Invitation: Rainbow Tree! Find a small to medium sized, interesting looking branch. If possibly, find a bucket or pot to ‘plant’ the branch in. You want the branch to be able to stand up in the pot. Get out some paint! Have your child use different colors to paint the branches and create their rainbow tree.

** If you do not have a pot to put the branch in you can still paint it! Lay the branch out on the ground outside or on some newspaper to paint! (for an easy no-mess clean up). You can hang the branch from a string if you do not have a pot **

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Number Line Run

Draw a line down the sidewalk with chalk and marked off the numbers from 0 to 10 (or higher if your child has been practicing counting higher). Have your child walk the line while counting the numbers. You could also call out numbers and have them run to the number you called out.

Variation: Instead of writing numbers you can write letters and do similar activities. Have your child say the alphabet as they walk past each number. Call out a letter and have your child run to that letter. Perhaps they can run to each letter in their name?