Lakewood Avenue Children's School

Preschool Ages 1-5

Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for Toddlers: May 20

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Good morning! It’s going to be another wet day today.

Fine Motor Invitation: Transporting with bags

What kinds of non-plastic bags do you have? What might your toddler enjoy carrying around in a bag? It could be a paper grocery or lunch bag, an old purse or pocketbook, or a cloth bag. Find a variety of materials your child can put in the bag and carry from one place to another. 

This is another invitation that provides ways for children to build and explore transporting schema, builds motor skills, and builds planning skills.

Art/Design Invitation: Monochromatic texture exploration

Gather materials that are the same color. Paper, cloth, string, blocks, chenille stems, can all be included in this invitation. Invite your toddler to explore the different textures and hues. How will they arrange things? What will they do with the materials? Take a picture or two of their work as it evolves.

Limiting the color palette of an invitation opens up explorations of texture, hue, and other properties. Children use their sense of touch when engaging the materials, and begin to build design language.

Dramatic Play/Science Invitation: Tea party

A cold, rainy day is perfect for a tea party. You can set up a pretend party with pretend cups and plates and invite your child to bring some baby dolls or stuffed animals to the party. You can also set this up as a sensory invitation with a small pitcher of water, an herbal tea bag (teas with hibiscus work really well), and some small cups. You will also want towels. Your toddler can put the tea bag in the pitcher of lukewarm or cool water and watch the water change color. Then they can pour cups of tea. You can also offer some snacks for your toddler to serve.

Pouring is an important fine motor skill for toddlers. This is also a science invitation as toddlers watch the tea infuse into the water.

Lakewood for Middlers: May 19

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Good morning! It looks like it will be a very wet Tuesday in Durham. Sarah and Caitlyn have three invitation ideas for middlers today.

Sensory Invitation: Ice Cream in a Bag
Materials:
2 small resealable bags
1 large freezer bag
Dish/hand towel

Ingredients:
½ cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
4 cups ice
6 tablespoons salt
For extra flavor add in your favorite pureed fruit (we’ve added strawberries in the past)

In a small resealable bag add in the half-and-half and sugar. Add vanilla extract and/or fruit if you choose. Seal the bag, getting rid of as much air as you can. Next, double-bag it inside a similar-sized bag. Add crushed or cubed ice with the salt into a large freezer bag. You can use any kind of salt, as you won’t actually be eating it. The salt is there to lower the freezing point. Place the double bag in the larger bag, then seal it up, getting rid of as much air as possible.
Wrap the bag in a towel and SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE for five minutes or more until it thickens. Enjoy!.
*If you have not done this before, here is the link below for more details*
https://www.tablespoon.com/meals/dessert/how-to-make-ice-cream-in-a-bag

Intent: Some of our middler friends have often talked about how much they love ice cream. This activity allows further sensory exploration for touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste.

Fine Motor/Building Invitation: Building with blocks. Using any blocks that you have build a playground structure!

Intent: We miss playgrounds so much! Hopefully this activity will bring back fond memories of being with friends and making new ones in shared spaces!

This activity incorporates fine motor development by encouraging the middlers to use their hand muscles to pick up and place the blocks.

Art Invitation: Leaf Printings
You will need:
A variety of leaves; large flat (have your child collect these leaves outside and dry them off)
Washable markers (fat tipped markers work the best)
Printer paper or card stock

Lay your leaf flat on a piece of paper or paper towel. Start coloring your leaf on the veiny side. Try to add color evenly over the entire leaf, switching up colors as you go. Once your leaf is completely covered you’re ready to print! Take a damp paper towel and wipe across the blank paper (You want the paper damp, not soggy). Turn the colored part of the leaf onto the paper and press down all over so the colors from the leaf transfer to the paper. Carefully remove the leaf to reveal your design!

Intent: This art activity introduces natural materials found outside into a creative project.

Lakewood for PreK: May 19

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Good morning! It looks like the wet weather will continue today and possibly for several more days. It will be okay. Here are three invitations for preschoolers today.

Outdoor/Sensory Invitation: Mud kitchen

This week looks like it will be quite wet, so today might be a good day to set up a mud kitchen for your child. You can use clean recyclables like yogurt cups and milk cartons with the tops cut off, add a couple of spoons and some rain water and you have a much-loved preschool invitation. 

Exploring the world in the rain expands children’s sensory experiences, invites them to explore the changes that happen when it rains, and builds motor skills.

Building Invitation: Block building with lights

Cloudy days are perfect for exploring the power of light in block structures. You can offer your child LED candles or a small flashlight. Invite them to light their structure in different ways. What might change in their building as they add light?

This invitation expands the work on light and shadow as well as offering a new material to enrich block building.

 

Art Invitation: Crayons and paper

Complex things can come from simple materials. Children are often drawn to the bright colors and easy flow of markers, but crayons offer different properties and opportunities. Crayons can be used to create rubbings, to shade in large areas, or draw bold lines. Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson is a classic example of the power of imagination and a single crayon. Your child might also enjoy The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt.

Lakewood for Toddlers: May 19

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Good morning! It looks like it is going to be very wet in Durham today, great weather for splashing in puddles and making a mud kitchen.

Outdoor/Sensory Invitation: Mud kitchen

This week looks like it will be quite wet, so today might be a good day to set up a mud kitchen for your toddler. You can use clean recyclables like yogurt cups and milk cartons with the tops cut off, add a couple of spoons and some rain water and you have a much-loved toddler invitation. 

Exploring the world in the rain expands children’s sensory experiences, invites them to explore the changes that happen when it rains, and builds motor skills.

Dramatic Play Invitation: Cuddly caves/animal nests

After time in the wet world, it is comforting to find a small, cozy space to curl up with a book and a stuffed animal. You can make a fort under a table, or use a cardboard box and a pillow or blanket to create a small space for your toddler. 

Children love exploring where they fit, being cozy, and cuddling under blankets. In this work they are exploring enclosure schema, problem solving when something doesn’t fit or work the way they intended, and practicing caring for themselves and others (stuffed animals).

Movement/Music Invitation: Sleeping bunnies

The toddlers at Lakewood love this movement song!

You can find a version similar to the one we do on the Boulder Journey School’s Online Learning Database under “movement”, or on YouTube. You can find other versions of this song by searching online as well. See which version is easiest on your ears.

This invitation explores self-regulation, following directions, patience, and large motor skills.