Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for PreK: July 27

July 27, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Welcome to the final week of the Lakewood at Home blog. This week we are going to revisit some of our favorite invitations from the past four months, adding some ways to extend the invitations or modifying them for different age groups. Enjoy!

Sensory Invitation: Gel sensory bag. For this invitation you will need a gallon zip-top bag (freezer bags are sturdier than storage bags) and a squishy substance to put in it. Aloe vera gel, hair gel, water cooked with cornstarch and cooled, and shampoo all work well. You can add food coloring if you would like or an assortment of small objects such as sequins. Seal the bag and let your child explore.

This invitation provides a way for children to increase small motor skills and explore the world in a different way.

Art Invitation: Paint with cotton balls

Invite your child to paint with not a paint brush, but with some cotton balls. Ask your child how might you use them to make art? Will they use the cotton balls to solely paint, or will they become part of the painting?

The intent of this is to give the child freedom over how they want to use a certain medium. In the classroom we have put out cotton balls, craft sticks, and leaves to paint with and it is always wonderful to observe and hear about the choices they make.

Large Motor Invitation: Freeze Dance

Before beginning this invitation, tell your child what is going to happen, “while the music is playing we will dance, then it will stop and we have to freeze and hold our bodies still until it starts again.” Play a favorite song and dance. Pause the music any time to stop dancing.

This invitation builds listening skills, self-regulation, and large motor skills. We often sing, play music during times of transition to engage our bodies in a safe and constructive way.

Lakewood for Toddlers: July 27

July 27, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Outdoor Invitation: Neighborhood Walk

Take a walk anywhere around your home! You can do this with your child riding in a wagon or stroller, or go at your toddler’s walking pace. During a nature walk take time to notice the world with your child: the sky, the trees, and ground. What are the signs of Spring you can see in your neighborhood?

Intent: Sometimes the walk is more important than the destination because it is where we observe the most.

Sensory Invitation: Sand (pouring, scooping)

Sand is such a wonderful material for young children to explore. An empty dish tub or storage bin makes a perfect sensory bin. For easier clean-up, place the bin on a shower curtain liner, old sheet, or table cloth. A measuring spoon, tablespoon and a container are plenty of tools for scooping and dumping, filling and pouring.

Fine Motor Invitation: Investigating string, yarn or ribbon

Invite your child to play with string, yarn, or ribbon. Ask your child what can you create? What does the string remind you of? What can we do with it?

The intent for this invitation is to have the child create something by weaving, tying or anything else they can imagine. This way they are finding ways to use the item creatively, problem solving all while giving those fine motor muscles a work out! For young toddlers, cut pieces of string/ribbon/yarn 6″ or shorter. Use as many different textures as you can find.

Lakewood for Middlers: July 27

July 27, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Fine Motor Invitation: String, yarn, or ribbon explorations

Invite your child to play with string, yarn, or ribbon. Ask your child what can you create? What does the string remind you of? What can we do with it?

Sensory Invitation: senses collection

Invite your child to collect things from around the house or outside. Using touch, sight, and smell, what can we observe about the objects? Perhaps your child notices they have many objects that are smooth, can they find more objects that are similar? How about different?

The intent of this activity is to have the child focus on what their senses are telling them and in turn relaying those thoughts to us. We have always noticed an interest in textures when children are exploring objects that feel wildly different.

Large Motor Invitation: Freeze Dance

This invitation builds listening skills, self-regulation, and large motor skills. We often sing, play music during times of transition to engage our bodies in a safe and constructive way.

Lakewood for Toddlers: July 24

July 24, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Happy Friday! We made it through another week! Here are three invitations for toddlers for today.

Dramatic Play/Sensory Invitation: Coffee shop water play

This invitation would work well outside or in the bathtub. You will need some water, cups, something to serve as a coffee pot, spoons, and possibly a coffee filter or two and sand or soil if you are outside. We know it has been a long time since families could hang out in beloved Durham coffee shops like Cocoa Cinnamon and Nolia. Today we wonder what your child will do with materials similar to those they might find in a coffee shop or that they might see when someone at home makes a cup of coffee. What steps do they investigate doing on their own?

Art Invitation: Finger paint

As a final art invitation this week, we would like to suggest finger paint followed by water play to wash off. You can use many kinds of washable paint as finger paint, but it may not have the alluring, silky texture of finger paint. We definitely recommend using cardboard or thicker paper for this invitation, or embracing the holes that often happen when children work with paint and their fingers. What are they exploring as they make the holes and enlarge them?

Building Invitation: Block building with vehicles

As a block building invitation this week, we wonder how your child will engage with blocks and vehicles. These could be trucks and interlocking blocks, strollers and unit blocks, or wagons and alphabet blocks. Your child might engage in transporting, filling and dumping, exploring ramps or something else entirely.