Lakewood at Home

Lakewood for PreK: May 12

May 12, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! It looks like it is going to be a lovely Tuesday.

Fine Motor Invitation: DIY bead maze/tree

This invitation asks children what they can create with wire and beads. If you do not have craft wire or “fuzzy wire” (pipe cleaners or chenille stems), you can use a wire hanger. Your child may want to wrap the wire around a stone or brick to give their sculpture/maze a solid base. What will they do? What stories will they tell as they twist and curl the wire and slide beads on?

Science Invitation: Exploring ramps and friction

We were intrigued by this post about exploring ramps and friction. The middler and preschool classes were both exploring ramps and acceleration over the winter. We are curious about what children in these age groups will do if we add friction into the equation. You can encourage your child to think like a scientist by asking them to predict what will happen if you put different materials on the ramp and try to send a car down. Will it be different with fabric? What about with foil?

Outdoor/Large Motor Invitation: Friction and slides

This extension of the ramps and friction invitation takes the question outside. What might happen if your slide (existing, or one made from a splinter-free piece of wood) had something else on it? What if you are wearing different pants? Does that change how quickly you go down the slide?

Lakewood for Middlers: May 12

May 12, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! It looks like it’s going to be a little cool for May on this Tuesday morning. Here are some invitations Caitlyn and Sarah hope will inspire your middler inside or outside.

Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Gather various items in nature for the fine motor activity such as rocks, flowers, small sticks, etc.

Intent: Get outside and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful spring scenery. We want to encourage the middlers to use all of their big body and fine motor muscles to enhance gross motor development.

Art Invitation: Painting rocks

Have your child search for small and large rocks outside that they can paint! The middlers can use these painted rocks to add some beauty to your yard, and they can also incorporate them in today’s fine motor activity.

Intent: Painting on a small surface area takes a lot of focus and fine motor control. This activity will allow your child to focus on their fine motor skills and allow for their creativity to shine through with their color choices and painting they create.

Fine Motor Invitation: Spatial Awareness Nature Puzzle. Draw different shapes on a piece of paper and have your child fill it in (like a puzzle) with various nature items.
Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by encouraging the middlers to use their hand muscles and pincer grip to move the nature items. This activity also encourages spatial awareness by encouraging the middlers to stay within the lines of the shape and watching how much room they have left.

Lakewood for Toddlers: May 12

May 12, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! It looks like it’s going to be another slightly cooler Tuesday.

Fine Motor Invitation: Mirrors and natural objects

One thing many people associate with Reggio-inspired schools is the use of mirrors in the classrooms. Mirrors present opportunities to see things from different angles, to see the world reflected in new ways. Today we are wondering how your toddler will interact with a mirror and lightweight natural materials (leaves, flowers, etc.). How might they use the mirror as a design surface? Will they spend their time looking at their own reflection?

This invitation calls for a reflective surface, such as a mirror, that can be placed flat on a piece of carpet or low table. You will also need some natural materials or, if your child is no longer putting things in their mouth, colorful buttons or pom poms.

Large Motor Invitation: Climbing

Many toddlers seem driven to climb anything and everything. At Lakewood, the space is designed to promote exploration of this skill in low-risk ways. How can you make space for climbing today in your home or yard? Piles of pillows? A ramp made from a piece of wood? Could they climb in and out of a laundry basket or onto a series of boxes?

Climbing engages balance and coordination as well as helping toddlers learn planning and risk assessment.

Outdoor/Art Invitation: Sidewalk chalk

We love sidewalk chalk for the way it combines creative expression with large and small motor skills. It can also be the catalyst for new discoveries. Sidewalk chalk can lead to a group musical art piece when children discover it makes a ringing sound when dragged along a metal gate, it can lead to an exploration of size and shape when it is poked partway into a knothole in a deck. What might your toddler discover today with this open-ended material?

Lakewood for Toddlers: May 11

May 11, 2020 by betsy Leave a Comment

Good morning! Welcome to another week of Lakewood for Toddlers. We are so glad you are joining us. This week we will be revisiting and expanding on some previous invitation, as well as suggesting some new and different ways to engage your toddler.

Sensory Invitation: Reggio Children Carpets of Paper

We continue to be inspired by the amazing work of the educators of the preschools and infant-toddler centers of Reggio Emilia. This week we encourage you to look at their invitation: Carpets of Paper. This will require you to find a small amount of floor space to dedicate to it for the week.

This invitation provides space and time for toddlers to explore different textures and other qualities of a variety of paper. It is an opening for a long investigation into the properties of paper.

Music Invitation: Connecting with sounds

Perhaps last week you and your toddler went on a sound adventure, listening for all the sounds you could hear at home through a window, or out in your neighborhood. Today we are wondering how many of those sounds your toddler remembers. If you go on a shorter sound adventure today, will you hear the same things? What sounds can they make using things from around your house or yard?

Large Motor Invitation: Scarf dancing

We suggested this invitation previously as it is a favorite in the toddler room at Lakewood. Select lightweight scarves or pieces of fabric that will float behind your child as they twirl or run. This is the perfect large motor activity to share outside on a sunny Monday. You can also use scarves to play peek-a-boo at home, or over video chat. This can be especially helpful if your toddler is struggling to connect with loved ones through that medium.