Welcome to the final week of the Lakewood at Home blog. This week we are going to revisit some of our favorite invitations from the past four months, adding some ways to extend the invitations or modifying them for different age groups. Enjoy!
Outdoor Invitation: Neighborhood Walk
Take a walk anywhere around your home! You can do this with your child riding in a wagon or stroller, or go at your toddler’s walking pace. During a nature walk take time to notice the world with your child: the sky, the trees, and ground. What are the signs of Spring you can see in your neighborhood?
Intent: Sometimes the walk is more important than the destination because it is where we observe the most.
Sensory Invitation: Sand (pouring, scooping)
Sand is such a wonderful material for young children to explore. An empty dish tub or storage bin makes a perfect sensory bin. For easier clean-up, place the bin on a shower curtain liner, old sheet, or table cloth. A measuring spoon, tablespoon and a container are plenty of tools for scooping and dumping, filling and pouring.
Fine Motor Invitation: Investigating string, yarn or ribbon
Invite your child to play with string, yarn, or ribbon. Ask your child what can you create? What does the string remind you of? What can we do with it?
The intent for this invitation is to have the child create something by weaving, tying or anything else they can imagine. This way they are finding ways to use the item creatively, problem solving all while giving those fine motor muscles a work out! For young toddlers, cut pieces of string/ribbon/yarn 6″ or shorter. Use as many different textures as you can find.
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