Welcome back! It looks like it will be a beautiful day in Durham. We hope these invitations for 2’s and young 3’s will engage your young child today, or any day you want to offer them.
Sensory Invitation: Making Fizzy Cloud Dough
Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup baking soda, ¼ cup veg oil
Let your child play around with the mixture to see how it feels. They can shape and mold the cloud dough. When ready, start by adding just a few drops of vinegar to the mixture and watch it fizz! Experiment with how much vinegar you add to see how much the mixture will fizz!
** This may turn out to be a fairly messy experiment depending on how much vinegar you add. Please make sure to cover the surfaces you use or do this experiment outside for an easier clean up.**
Intent: This allows the middlers to watch the physical properties of the cloud dough change immediately after adding the vinegar. In one invitation they get to experience different feelings of the mixture both before and after the addition of vinegar.
Fine Motor Invitation: Sorting by colors. Use a marker to divide a big piece of paper into six sections. At the top label each section with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Sort cars, animals, blocks, etc. by color. Count how many objects you have for each color.
Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by using their hand muscles to pick up and place each item on the paper.This activity promotes the use of the pincer grip by grabbing some of the smaller items with their thumb and index finger. This activity also enhances cognitive development by incorporating matching and color recognition.
Art Invitation: Using your toy cars, dip the wheels in paint and create tracks with the cars. If possible use cars with different sized or shaped wheels.
Intent: We encourage the middlers to continue using art materials to express their creativity. This will allow for your child to work on a simple project (painting) with unconventional materials (the car wheels).
Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Play Simon Says and include big body movements.
“Mommy/Daddy says jump up and down.”
“Mommy/Daddy says run and touch the tree.”
“Mommy/Daddy says go find a stick.”
“Mommy/Daddy says crawl on the ground.”
Variation: Have your child ask you to do the movements.
Intent: Get outside and enjoy the nice weather and beautiful spring scenery. This invitation also encourages careful listening, and following/giving directions.
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