Lakewood at Home

Happy Friday! It’s going to be pretty warm today, and all weekend. We hope you have found some moments of peace and joy this week and wish you a wonderful weekend!

Outdoor Invitation: Outdoor water play

Cooling off with water outdoors can be as simple as a bowl of water, something to stir with, and some natural materials. Here we picked herbs (mint, rosemary and lemon balm) to add a scent aspect to the sensory exploration. Children can pound the herbs using rocks to release their scents, or make soup by putting them in the water.

Sensory Invitation: Checking in on/ cleaning up the carpet of paper

On Monday, we invited you to create a carpet of paper with your toddler in a corner of your house. Is it still there? What is the paper like now?  Your toddler can now explore ripping and tearing the paper, crumpling it into balls, and tossing those into a box for recycling.

Reengaging with this invitation asks toddlers to explore more deeply. Ripping, tearing, and crumpling use fine motor skills while toddlers investigate the physical properties of the various types of paper.

Fine Motor Invitation: Bottles and craft sticks

In this invitation children are given an opportunity to explore enveloping and enclosing schema. You will need a bottle with a small neck and some craft sticks (aka Popsicle sticks), small sticks from the yard, or other long, thin objects. Set a dish of sticks next to the bottle or bottles and invite your child to explore. You can also offer a funnel.

This invitation is one we have suggested before and we are revisiting it again here because it is such an excellent one for toddlers. You might see what else they can find around the house that fits into the bottle, or offer a variety of bottles with differently sized openings.

Happy Thursday! Today should be warm and lovely for an adventure.

Large Motor/Outdoor Invitation: Leaf Collecting adventure

Where can you find leaves around your house? Are there any in the refrigerator? What about in the yard? What textures and shades of green can your child find? Take a small cup or basket and see what your child can find. Before you begin this adventure, talk with your child about which leaves are okay to collect. 

This adventure invitation is an avenue to exploring texture, nuances in color, different shapes and leaf composition. It also encourages children to move and explore the world.

Art/Fine Motor Invitation: Leaf designs

For this invitation you will need some leaves, perhaps the ones your toddler collected on their adventure, and an empty frame, reflective surface, or sheet of paper. Invite your child to see what kinds of designs they can make with the leaves and explore them with their fingers. If you have found and collected herbs, they might also explore the different smells.

In creating designs children are building fluency in creative expression, using and refining motor skills, and learning about the world.

Language/Literacy Invitation: Harry the Dirty Dog read by Betty White

Over the last few weeks, we have been searching for high-quality read alouds for young children. Last night we discovered Storyline Online and Betty White reading Harry the Dirty Dog. Storyline Online has many other books, most of which are longer and suited to children with fairly long attention spans. Your toddler might also enjoy Michelle Obama reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar.