Good morning! It’s Wednesday, the middle of another week. Here are three invitations we hope will engage your preschool-aged child today.
Language/Literacy Invitation: Animal Storytelling
Invite your child to select three animals (stuffed, figures, or drawings) to be the main characters of their story. They can create a scene or setting for the story, or pretend the couch is a mountain or the family room floor is an ocean. How will the animals get across? Where are they going? What will they encounter along the way?
The intent of this invitation is to encourage children to create and tell stories. Using animals as the main characters and having them act it out makes this invitation accessible for children at many stages of development. You can extend this activity by making a video or series of photos and having your child edit the video or make the photos into a story book. They might also want to illustrate the story once they have acted it out with animals.
Outdoor/Art Invitation: Brighten someone’s day with a sidewalk chalk message/art piece
The teachers at Lakewood Avenue Children’s School are always thinking about how children are an important part of the larger community. During a recent staff conversation, teachers wondered how children can contribute during this difficult time. One idea that came from Durham Mutual Aid was for children to create works of art and words of encouragement in sidewalk chalk to brighten the days of passersby. This invitation requires adult supervision for children working on /near sidewalks. Ask your child what words and drawings might cheer someone up after a difficult day. Invite them to draw those pictures and write or dictate those words in sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk.
This invitation builds empathy and community mindedness. It also uses fine and large motor skills.
Nature/Science Invitation: Backyard/window/neighborhood bird/animal watch
All you need for this invitation is a place where your child can see outside, a piece of paper, and a pencil. You can make a chart, or just invite them to sketch what they see. We are wondering:
What kinds of birds and other wildlife can you see if you sit still and watch? Will you see a bright red cardinal or a blue jay? What about a reddish-purple house finch? Maybe you will see a big, fat carpenter bee buzzing around. How might you keep track of what animals you see?
If your child, or you, are excited about this invitation, you might check out iNaturalist.
This invitation encourages children to stop, breathe, and notice the natural world that can be found in even the most urban of environments. It asks them to use their scientist skills and might involve chart-making or sketching.
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