Happy Friday! Here are three invitations from Caitlyn and Sarah. Next week will be a normal week for Lakewood at Home, and we are taking a week off the following week to regroup.
Sensory/Art Invitation: Sand Painting
Fill a few small containers with some sand (do not add too much sand, or your sand paint will become too thick). Pour some colored paint in the sand. Have your child use a paint brush to paint with the colored sand! We would suggest using two or three colors for your child to paint with. They will notice that the paint will help the sand stick to create the multidimensional painting.
Intent: This sensory activity allows for middlers to explore the different texture of their paint when mixed with sand. This experience will be different as they see the differences of painting with textured sand paint versus normal paint.
Fine Motor Invitation: Creating shapes with magnatiles or shape blocks. Your child can create shapes free handed, or you can draw a large shape out for them or tape it on the floor and have them use their blocks to create that shape.
Intent: This activity incorporates fine motor development by building and creating shapes. This allows for your child to work on shape recognition.
Outdoor/Nature/Gross Motor Invitation: Tree Bark Rubbings
Long easel paper is ideal, but printer paper will work fine for this activity! Tape your easel paper or printer paper to the side of a tree in your yard. Grab some crayons that have the wrappings removed. Let your child start coloring on the paper. As they color they should notice the patterns from the tree bark showing through on the paper.
Intent: We want to encourage the middlers to get outside and use all of their big body muscles to enhance gross motor development. This activity uses both gross motor and fine motor muscles. Your child will explore the best and easiest ways for them to color horizontally on the tree trunk!
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