Lakewood Avenue Children's School

Preschool Ages 1-5

Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for Middlers: June 3

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Good morning. This has been a very difficult week for many of us. If you are struggling with how to talk with your children about current events, we recommend the following resources for families:

Here are three invitations from Sarah and Caitlyn for middlers for this hot and sunny Wednesday.

Fine Motor Invitation: Play dough and Hammer
Using two or more different colors of play dough, have you and your child roll out some balls. Once the balls are made, place them on a tray and call out a color for your child. Whichever color you call out, have your child “smash” it with a hammer (your child can use a toy hammer or a real one with help and supervision).

Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by having your child use the hammer and their arm/hand muscles to smash the play dough balls. This also an opportunity to work on color recognition.

Art Invitation: Continuing with the Hammer, do some hammer art! This activity will most likely get messy, so do it outside!

Put blobs of paint on a paper and cover the paint with cotton balls. Then have your child smash the cotton balls with their (toy) hammer and watch the paint splat!

Intent: This activity allows for a different way to explore art and creative expression by painting on a material that is not typically used for play. This activity includes fine motor development by using the hammer and arm muscles adding a gross motor invitation as well.

Music and Movement Invitation: The Itsy Bitsy Monkey
The itsy bitsy monkey
Climbed up the coconut tree.
Down came a coconut and hit him on his knee!
OWWW!
Out came a lion,
Shakin’ his mighty mane,
And the itsy bitsy money
Climbed up the tree again.

Five Little Flowers
Five little flowers growing in a row,
The first one said, “I’m purple you know.”
The second one said, “I’m as pink as pink can be.”
The third one said, “I’m blue like the sea.”
The fourth one said, “I’m a very red fellow.”
The fifth one said, “My color is yellow.”
Then out came the sun, big and bright,
And five little flowers smiled in delight.

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

Lakewood for Toddlers: June 3

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Good morning. It looks like today will feel like summer in Durham with pretty warm temperatures, so we have put together some invitations to help your toddler stay cool and engaged today. In light of current events we also wanted to share this resource from NPR about talking about race with children, it also includes links to other resources.

Art/Sensory Invitation: Finger paint

It is going to be warm today, so we invite you to set up some finger paint for your toddler. This cool, squishy sensory and creative expression invitation is the perfect prelude to water play. Finger paint often becomes a full-torso experience, so be prepared. If you are running out of finger paint, it is fairly simple to make your own. Remember to allow time for it to cool, but not become too bouncy.

Fine Motor Invitation: More muffin tin sorting

If your child was interested in the muffin tin sorting invitation, what else could you offer for them to sort? Perhaps they have a collection of small farm animals, or you have some fabric scraps or pieces of different kinds of string. You could also take this invitation outside and invite your child to collect and sort herbs or non-toxic leaves and flowers. You could also offer muffin papers. Separating them and putting them in the tins is an excellent fine motor challenge and invites exploring one-to-one correspondence.  

Large Motor/Outdoor Invitation: Wet sponge toss/throw

This invitation will work with a kitchen sponge, but a bath sponge or clean car wash sponge would work even better. Set up a bucket of cool water and the sponge outside and invite your child to dip the sponge in the water and toss it at a target. A small basketball hoop, hula hoop, another bucket, cooperative older sibling or parent will work. You can play catch with the sponge as well. This invitation builds tossing/throwing skills.

 

Lakewood for PreK: June 2

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Good morning! For caregivers this morning we wanted to offer this post on myths by Jodi Wert of Wert Knowing and her ImagiNATION blog series. Many staff at Lakewood have had the honor of working with Jodi in the past and have found her insights valuable. Here are three invitations for preschoolers as well.

Fine Motor Invitation: Shadow Puppets

After doing quite a few informal investigations of light and shadow, we are curious about what your child will think of shadow puppets. To make shadow puppets, you will need a darker space, a light source like a flashlight, and your child’s hands.

Sesame Studios has a simple video how-to for making shadow puppets. 

Your child might also be inspired by this short video of shadow puppets using paper cut-outs from Paperhand Puppet Intervention.

Building/Science Invitation: Trucks and ramps

All three classes have been engaged in explorations of slope, acceleration, velocity, and gravity through ramps. Today we are curious about what would happen if you invite your child to add a second layer to the ramps like a highway overpass. Would they like to sketch their design before building? How can they document their work or have you document it? 

Art Invitation: Tape and paper

Invite your child to create something with paper and tape. You can provide plain tape or colored tape or a variety of different types of tape. Offer the tape with child scissors and paper and see what your child can create.

This invitation offers a place for creative expression, working on connecting schema, and promotes planning and motor development.

Lakewood for Middlers: June 2

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Good morning! Caitlyn and Sarah have some wonderful invitation ideas for middlers today, including a cooking invitation!

Sensory/Cooking Invitation: Make fresh squeezed orange juice or lemonade. Squeeze a few oranges to get all of the juice out and drink up. See recipe below for an easy healthy homemade lemonade!
INGREDIENTS
5 cups water, divided
1/3–1/2 cup honey (or other desired sweetener)
1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 5–6 large lemons)
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup of honey and turn heat to medium. This is called a simple syrup, and it prevents a big clump of honey (or sugar) sitting at the bottom of the pitcher while you stir forever to get it to dissolve.
Once the honey is dissolved (this may take up to 5 minutes), pour it into the bottom of a half-gallon pitcher or glass jar.
Add the lemon juice and remaining 4 cups of water and stir well.
Taste and adjust sweetener, if desired.
Homemade lemonade is most refreshing when served cold and/or over ice.

Intent: This sensory activity allows for middlers to explore the senses of taste, smell, sight, and touch.

Art Invitation: Tin foil painting.
Spread out a piece of tin foil and paint on it! We wonder how the paint will behave differently on the foil and what your middler will notice about that.

Intent: This activity allows for a different way to explore art and creative expression by painting on a material that is not typically used for play. This activity includes fine motor development by using the hand muscles to paint.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Nature Shapes
Have your child go around outside collecting natural objects from outside. These could be twigs, rocks, pieces of bark, grass, flowers, etc. Once they have a full basket/collection have them organize and separate each different natural item. Now they can start making shapes with their items. Some examples could be making a circle out of rocks, or flowers. Making a square from blades of grass. Some may be easier to demonstrate shapes than others.
Extension: What shapes can you find around you outside?

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 gives an opportunity to talk about different shapes and what makes each shape different and unique. It also helps the middlers work on grouping and sorting materials with similar properties.