Good morning! Here are three invitations for middlers today.
Sensory Invitation: Exploring herbs
You can offer this invitation with dried herbs and spices from your pantry, or fresh herbs from a garden (or the grocery store). If you are using dried herbs, pull out bottles of herbs and spices (avoid things that are very spicy such as cayenne pepper). Invite your child to open the lids and smell the contents of the bottles. You can narrate what you see your child doing and initiate conversations. We suggest using open ended questions like, “what would you cook with this?” or “what does this remind you of?”
If you are using fresh herbs, you can also have your child explore the leaves and stems with their fingers, you can add questions about how the herbs feel and how they are similar and different. Much of this work will be adult noticing and narration of what the child is doing.
Cooking Invitation: Making basil sauce for pasta
You can make this simple pasta sauce using a mortar and pestle or a food processor. Your child can work with you peeling the garlic, washing and measuring the basil, grinding things in the mortar and pestle.
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup packed basil leaves
- ⅓ cup olive oil or more as needed
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese (or parmesan)
- Kosher salt as needed
Mortar and pestle method: Combine garlic and basil leaves in the mortar and pestle and grind until smooth-ish. Slowly add the olive oil and continue to blend. Add cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Serve on pasta or rice.
Food processor method: Combine everything in a food processor, pulse until blended. Serve on pasta or rice.
Art Invitation: Painting
Today we invite you to think back over the past several months, thinking about the paint offerings you have set out for your child. What was their favorite? Do they prefer finger paint, watercolors, tempera paints with brushes? Was there something they were tentative about trying? Consider setting that up again and inviting your child to explore. You can add richness to the invitation with different colors, brushes, or a different canvas.
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