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Over the years, I've loved creating this hands-on Invitation to Clean Teeth to help children explore the importance of dental hygiene and develop healthy self-care habits through playful, purposeful learning! To set up an engaging invitation about dental hygiene I placed an assortment of materials, including DUPLO blocks transformed into “teeth” covered in playdough “plaque,” realistic dental models, toothbrushes, floss, dental picks, water, and toothpaste/soap. Paired with children's...

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a beautiful celebration of light over darkness, hope, joy & new beginnings! Filled with vibrant colors, glowing diyas, intricate Rangoli designs & meaningful traditions, this celebration offers wonderful opportunities to introduce children to different cultures through art, literacy, sensory exploration & PLAY! Over the years, I've brought the beauty of Diwali into our learning environments through open-ended invitations inspired by its colors, patterns,...

Every year, both of my sons' elementary school comes alive with one of our community's most anticipated Halloween celebrations: Creepy Hollow! This isn't just a Halloween carnival. It's an extraordinary community-powered fundraiser that transforms Sleepy Hollow Elementary into a full-scale Halloween wonderland, bringing together creativity, entertainment, carnival games, haunted attractions, incredible food, and festive experiences for children and families, all in support of our public...

Where favorite Halloween stories, characters, and more come to life through imaginative play, sensory exploration, STEM & a little spooky magic! Halloween is the perfect time to bring beloved books, whimsical characters & imaginative worlds together through hands-on invitations to explore, create, build & PLAY! From friendly ghosts & mischievous monsters to haunted houses, magical witches & miniature Halloween worlds, these playful experiences invite children to step inside their favorite...

Pumpkin decorating is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the magic of fall! For this festive invitation, each child had their own pumpkin to transform with an abundance of colorful, sparkly & spooky loose parts. Rather than providing a design to copy, the experience was completely open-ended, giving children the freedom to experiment, make choices & create a pumpkin uniquely their own. The Tinker Trays were filled with Halloween foam shapes, adhesive & sparkly pom-poms, sequins, small &...

When the birthday girl has a creative vision, you let the magic begin! For this magical celebration, she knew exactly what she wanted: a party where she & her friends could mix, pour, scoop, stir & create their own magical potions, concoctions & elixirs. I loved transforming her idea into an immersive potion-making experience filled with color, sparkle, mysterious ingredients & endless opportunities to experiment. The table became a whimsical Potion Laboratory, overflowing with bubbling...

As leaves transform into brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow & brown, the fall season provides endless opportunities for children to observe, explore, investigate, and create through play. Over the years, I’ve used fall foliage as inspiration for open-ended experiences that bring nature into our learning environments. From painting and play dough to sensory exploration, fine motor play & small worlds, leaves offer such a simple and beautiful way to encourage children to slow down, notice...

Fall brings so many beautiful treasures to explore! Colorful leaves, pinecones, acorns, sticks & other natural materials create endless opportunities for children to investigate, create & play. For this invitation, I filled the Explorer Tuff Tray with a variety of fall nature loose parts, including acorns, pinecones & fall potpourri, and paired them with the Explore Nook™ Water Way & Mill Kit, Plastic Water Channeling Guttering, translucent buckets, pitchers & pouring tools, wooden scoopers,...

Halloween is the perfect time to mix a little spooky magic with hands-on discovery! From bubbling potions and fizzing monsters to gooey slime and frozen haunted mansions, these playful invitations encourage children to explore, experiment, investigate & create through play. Over the years, I’ve brought Halloween magic into our learning environments with open-ended experiences that spark curiosity, encourage problem-solving, strengthen fine motor skills & make learning wonderfully messy! Here...

Fall brings the perfect opportunity to explore the comforting scents of cinnamon, the excitement of apple picking, and the joy of creating our very own apple pies! From gathering apples to mixing ingredients and baking delicious treats, the season is filled with opportunities to connect children to nature, food, and the traditions that make this time of year so special. Inspired by Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie, written and illustrated by Robbin Gourley, we extended our...

Halloween is the perfect time to bring a little spooky magic into the art experience! From painting with skeleton hands and creating floating ghosts to transforming cardboard into haunted mansions, there are endless opportunities for children to explore their creativity through process art. Throughout the years, I’ve loved transforming familiar Halloween themes, favorite picture books and unexpected materials into open-ended art invitations that encourage children to experiment, investigate...

Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated September 15–October 15, is a meaningful opportunity to introduce children to the rich cultures, stories, artists, traditions & contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities. Over the years, I’ve explored Hispanic and Latino heritage through some of my favorite picture books, artists and hands-on invitation using art, STEM, loose parts, math & literacy to help children make meaningful connections. Here is a collection of some of my favorite ways to...

I Guess I’ll Go Eat Worms by Linda Liu is a remix of the classic nursery rhyme, a silly, playful story about friendship, belonging & finding connection in unexpected places all through a shared love of worms! Inspired by the story, we extended the literacy experience beyond the pages and into play with two simple worm-filled invitations. 1. DIGGING FOR WORMS-For our first invitation, I buried an assortment of bait worms, pipe cleaner worms, and yarn worms underneath a bed of soil in our Cosy...

There is something about pumpkin season that opens up endless possibilities for play. Pumpkins can be painted, rolled, washed, stacked, scooped, poured, investigated, built with, transformed into small worlds & even turned into pretend pumpkin pie. One simple seasonal object can become the starting point for art, sensory exploration, STEM, literacy, dramatic play, fine motor development & so much more. Throughout my years in early childhood education, I have always loved taking familiar...

Inspired by Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony, this invitation took the story beyond the pages and into play, inviting children to create, decorate & imagine their very own doughnuts through hands-on exploration. Please, Mr. Panda follows Mr. Panda as he offers a tray of colorful doughnuts to his animal friends. Everyone seems to want one, but there is one very important word they keep forgetting: please! Beyond its humor and beautifully simple illustrations, the story opens up a natural...