Good morning! It’s Wednesday and looks like it’s going to be another warm day. Here are some invitations that you can offer your child inside or outside.
Sensory Invitation: Wash muddy cars, balls, etc. in a container with soapy water. You can even make a shower for your toys by cutting holes in the bottom of a cup and pouring water into it.
Intent: We use sensory activities for the middlers to explore their five senses. This activity will allow for the middlers to enjoy multiple sensory experiences such as touch, hearing, and sight.
Art/Science Invitation: Chromatography Butterfly
Use a white coffee filter and draw a thick circle in the middle with a non-permanent marker (think about the ring around the bullseye on a target). Fold the coffee filter in half and then in half again so it’s in a cone shape. Get a short glass of water. Pull apart the coffee filter so it balances right on the glass with only the tip of the coffee filter cone touching the water. Make sure the colored marker part does NOT go in the water. Let the filter sit and watch what happens as the water begins to flow up the paper.
Note: If you do not have basket-type coffee filters, you can cut a circle from a paper towel. We had a little trouble keeping just the tip in the water, but the experiment was a success.
When completed and dry add a string or pipe cleaner to the middle to create a butterfly!
Intent: This is an art experiment for the middlers to complete start to finish. This activity helps promote fine motor development using the pincer grip. This also allows the middlers to observe how the water flows up and mixes with the color of the marker they used.
Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Color Run
On your driveway or sidewalk, color four (or more) areas (draw circles or squares) with different colors of chalk. Call out a color and have your child run to that color. Call out different colors in random orders. You can ask your child to jump, run, skip, etc. to the colored area.
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 muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity also promotes color recognition.
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