Lakewood Avenue Children's School

Preschool Ages 1-5

Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for PreK: June 12

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Happy Friday! We know there are a lot of things on many people’s minds and hearts these days. We hope the resources we have shared for families have been helpful. Next week is a regular week for the Lakewood at Home blog, and then we will be taking a week to reflect and reevaluate. Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Science/Sensory Invitation: Making bread in a bag

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon size zip-top plastic bag
  • 1 cup all purpose or bread flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/4  cup sugar
  • 1 packet yeast (rapid rise or regular) (2 ¼ teaspoons if you are scooping it out of a jar)
  • 1 cup warm water (95-degrees)
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 teaspoon salt

 

Open the zip-top bag and fold the top back. You can set it in a bowl with the fold over the rim of the bowl to support it. Place 1 cup all purpose or bread flour, sugar, and yeast in the bag.Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, and yeast packet in the bag. Add 1 cup warm water. Seal the bag, pressing out any air.

Invite your preschooler to shake the bag to mix everything together really well.

Set the bag aside to rest for 10 minutes (proofing). This might be a good time for a snack, or to do some puzzles or read a couple of books…

After ten minutes, the dough in the bag should be bubbling.

Add the two cups of whole wheat flour, the salt and the melted butter

Seal the bag, and mix until the dough pulls away from the side of the bag. Your child can shake the bag, punch it, wiggle it, etc.

Pull out dough and place on a floured surface.

With floured hands, knead dough for 5 minutes (You and your preschooler can do this together!), until it feels fairly smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a greased loaf pan (8 ½ x 4 ½ or 9 x 5 will work, or you could do 2-3 mini loaf pans).

Lay towel over the loaf pan and set it in a warm spot in your house. Leave the loaf to rise until it has risen to 1 ½ times its original size, 45 minutes to an hour. During the last 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until dark golden and the loaf makes a hollow sound when you thump it on the bottom.

Fine Motor Invitation: Magnets and cookie sheet

For this invitation you will need a cookie sheet or other metal pan, and a collection of magnets. These could be Magnatiles, alphabet magnets, Tegu blocks, or any other small magnets. You can prop the cookie sheet up so it is a more vertical surface, or leave it horizontal. Invite your child to explore building and making patterns. 

Dramatic Play Invitation: Fabric and stuffed animals

Loose parts add richness and more scope for imagination in dramatic play. This morning, offer your child fabric to use with their favorite stuffed animals or dolls. They might want to create outfits, blankets, or a tent for their inanimate friends. Make sure you talk first about expectations for the fabric (is it okay to cut it, for example).

This invitation is an avenue for creative expression, building fine motor skills and using cognitive skills. 

 

Lakewood for Toddlers: June 11

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Good morning! We are hoping it will be a little cooler today. Here are a few invitations to share with your toddler today.

Art/Sensory Invitation: Collage with glue

Collage with toddlers is a very sticky experience. You will need a sturdy substrate like a piece of cardboard, some small pieces of paper, and washable glue. Invite your child to explore how they can attach the small paper to the substrate. They may also explore how the glue sticks to their fingers, how their fingers stick to the paper, etc.

Dramatic Play Invitation: Exploring fabric and stuffed animals

This morning for a dramatic play invitation, set out some pieces of fabric or scarves with some stuffed animals and see what happens. Children might use them as blankets, wrap the stuffed animals, or make themselves capes! Loose parts like fabric provide avenues for creative expression and innovation.

Fine Motor/Design Invitation: Monochromatic exploration III

Recently we proposed offering a selection of materials that were the same color and seeing what your child would create with them.  This is the third iteration of that invitation. Today we are wondering if you offer things that are a different color, how might their engagement be similar or different. Will their interactions with the materials be different with a different color? What will they notice about the texture, shape, or hue of the materials?

Lakewood for Middlers: June 11

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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.

Lakewood for PreK: June 11

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Good morning! Here are three invitations for preschoolers on this Thursday in June.

Sensory/Fine Motor Invitation: Button/bead sorting and stringing bin

In an empty storage bin or shoe box, offer a variety of large beads or buttons and some wire or string. Sorting and stringing use cognitive and fine motor skills.

Art Invitation: Window watercolors

Use painter’s tape to tack paper to a window. Set watercolors, a small container of water, and a paper towel or rag. You may also want to put paper towels on the windowsill. Invite your child to paint something on the paper. We wonder if they will notice the paper become transparent when they add paint. How will painting vertically change their work? How will painting with light coming from behind influence what they do?

Outdoor/Large Motor Invitation: Simon/Simone says

This invitation can be used inside or outside. Invite your child/ren to play Simon/Simone says. Take turns being the leader and coming up with fun movements. This invitation uses large muscles while building listening skills.