#WomensHistory  Month is March. Throughout this whole month we have been exploring women’s contributions to history, culture & society. The famous female artist Georgia O'Keeffe was born & raised in Wisconsin. Her clear, bright paintings show the beauty she found in the simple, natural things around her. She loved to paint mountains, seashells, flowers, & even animal bones she found in the desert. Georgia often rearranged the natural things she saw, & simplified them. Exposing children to the arts through reading books, creating art, and exploring at a young age exposes them to various styles & techniques of art. After reading books about her, looking at images of her art, we invited the children to create her art in two different ways. 1. Invitation to Create Shells with Loose Parts: We provided images of her art work with shells, flat marbles, seashells, and place mats. The children were invited to create their own O'Keeffe inspired shells. 2. Invitation to Still Life Paint Skulls: We provided images of her art work with bones, decorative cow skull, fake flower, leaves, branch, tempera paint, paint brushes, and paper. The children were invited to paint their own O'keefe ginspired paintings!

Did you know from ancient history to the present decorating eggs have been an important symbol in many cultures. They often symbolize life, renewal, fertility, and rebirth. Many cultures throughout the world share similar traditions in decorating them for special celebrations.  Colored eggs appear on Persian haftsin made for the new year known as  Nowruz,  which is celebrated at the vernal equinox. Here are four ways to decorate eggs for whatever you may celebrate:  1.Marbled Eggs: Place shaving cream as the base and drip Colorations liquid WaterColors on top. Provide eggs (these are paper ones from Target). Invite the child to roll the egg around in the different colors.   2. Tie Dye Eggs: In a spray bottle mix water & liquid watercolors. Invite the child to spray the eggs.  3.Drip Eggs: In cups place tempera paint with a little bit of water to loosen the texture of the paint. Invite the child to drip paint onto the eggs.  4.Sparkly Eggs: Provide clear glue & Colorations spring colored glitter #gifted from Discount School Supply. Invite the child to glue glitter all over the eggs.

Rumi–Poet of Joy and Love Small World Play// Award-winning Iranian-American Author & illustrator Rashin Kheiriyeh has so many amazing books & her newest Rumi–Poet of Joy & Love honors the famous Persian poet on the 750th anniversary of his death. Since we are continuing to explore Persian culture & with Nowruz just around the corner, learning about one of the best known & most widely read poets in the world is even more special.  The book introduces children to Rumi’s life, enchantment with birds + books, & his greatest teaching: Love is in us & everywhere.   To extend the literacy experience I made the story come to life through a small world play invitation in our tuff tray. With flat marbles, rock blocks, bird figurines, wooden peg dolls, Grimms wooden toys, turquoise mosaic pieces, grappats, and aquarium tank plants to recreate the beautiful colorful imagery & ornamental details just like the book.   Exploring these materials through open-ended play is a great way for extending literacy, language, imaginary & sensory play. Through this play they can reenact what they see/hear in stories, & environments around them to deepen their understanding of the world. They are able to play & manipulate a variety of materials & textures that stimulate their mind & body while deepening their connection & understanding of the world. All through the magic of books and play.

Most of us know that art is important for children. But beyond why it is important for them to create art it is just vital to expose children to famous artists. Art connects us all. It can take us through history, introduce us to other cultures, the world around us, and to ourselves. Therefore the more a child is exposed to the arts, the more techniques they are aware of, the more they can problem solve to think critically, the more they can creatively express themselves, the more accepting they are, and the more beauty they can see in the world around them. Art is one of the fundamental components of what makes us ALL uniquely human. Since we have been learning about Nowruz, today we learned about Reza Abbasi who was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid period c. 1565 – 1635. He spent most of his career working for Shah Abbas and he is considered to be the last great master of the Persian miniature art.  After reading the Meet Reza Abbasi by @readwithyoubooks, talking about his art & looking at what he has created, we invited the children to adorn his beautiful art with frames + loose parts. As they created the frames, more discussion opened up in detail about the art, the children created patterns, compared the different materials they were using, counted and sorted the loose parts, collaborated together to create masterpieces, all while learning about another aspect of Iranian culture! We have a couple of the Meet the Artist  books, which are a great introduction to the world of art where they weave interesting facts with art as the artists are engagingly introduced with their masterpieces. Throughout the books the artists point out significant details and personal touches in pieces that have captured the world with their beauty.

Since children are born with a sense of wonder & a passion to understand the world around them, they instinctively & constantly ask questions, observe, & try out solutions. Through these types of invitations children build a foundation for future scientific learning that can directly influence their interests later in life. Children are programmed from birth to be scientists & by tapping into their natural predispositions early on, we can nurture and establish a positive approach to science that will stay with them into the future and foster a lifelong lover of science or any subject for that matter. Providing these opportunities supports the development of other skills & attributes such as: communication skills, collaborative skills, team working  perseverance, analytical, reasoning, problem-solving skills, expands their vocabulary, encourages them to extend & embed their learning through related literacy/numeracy, honor creativity, develops patience, turn taking/listening, organization, attention to detail, & so much more. These are all lifelong skills that will help them throughout the rest of their lives.  Today we learned all about chemical reactions through the magic of Rainbows!  As they experiment with the components the children experience seeing & creating a chemical reaction. This gives the opportunity to explore their environments as they learn about cause/effect, cycles of nature, the ability to make comparisons, chemical & physical reactions & exposure to the properties of matter. 1.  Fizzing Frozen Rainbow: We set out a rainbow of frozen baking soda mixed with Colorations®  liquid watercolors from Discount School Supply , twisty droppers, & vinegar. The children were invited to create a chemical reaction by squirting vinegar onto the rainbow cubes. 2. Erupting Rainbow:   We placed Colorations Liquid watercolors in each bowl then filled it up with vinegar. In the beakers we placed baking soda & spoons. The children were invited to create a chemical reaction by pouring the baking soda into the vinegar.

With flowers blooming everywhere & better weather ahead in spring, our newly #gifted  Natural Outdoor Explorer Table with Scale   from Discount School Supply came just in time to explore & create!The outdoor table comes with wet play sinks & a bench top wooden scale set. This is a unique way to immerse children in mathematical learning outdoors. The buckets are included & can be detached & used to carry materials for weighing. To set this invitation we foraged some flowers from around our playground & yard. We provided bowls, ladles, whisks, utensils, pitchers, measuring cups, pots, along with water mixed with Fluorescent Bio Color Paint. The children were invited to mix, measure, weigh, pour, create, & explore. Inviting a child to create & explore in this type of environment with these materials encourages so many levels of learning. When a child is adding, scooping, pouring, mixing, transferring & stirring ingredients it fosters creativity & enables children to experiment with science & math concepts. Children begin to understand & investigate with ideas such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than. Children also learn physics principles such as the effects of force (increasing the waterflow through increased force); effects of gravity (water runs downhill) etc. The social learnings from creating together include collaboration, concentration, turn taking, problem solving, perseverance, self-regulation, & more. Children also gain physical learning through precision in pouring & hand eye coordination. Sensory play through exploring the colored water & foraged flowers with their senses is engaging & helps encourage exploration of science, language, color theory, & natural materials.

Yayoi Kusama  is a female Japanese contemporary artist. She is one of the world’s most iconic & celebrated artists working today. Her work primarily consisted in sculpture & installation, but she also has been active in painting, performance, film, fashion, poetry, fiction, & other arts. Since #WomensHistory  Month is March, reading books about influential women & integrating them with an invitation is truly a powerful way to connect the two. We read the books Yayoi Kusama Covered Everything in Dots and Wasn't Sorry by Fuasto Gilberti  and Yayoi Kusama From Here to Infinity by Sarah Suzuki and Ellen Weinstein.   After recently visiting the SFMOMA to see the Infinite Love Exhibit, these four invitations were heavily inspired by the unforgettable universe of luminous color, endless reflections, and circles.  1. Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love: The Infinity Mirror Rooms were room-sized, experiential artworks that transport viewers into dreamlike universes of seemingly endless reflections. To recreate the first one we provided clear acrylic boxes, transparent counter circles , magnetic wands, and invited the children to explore on a light table 2. LOVE IS CALLING: The second infinity mirror room is darkened, mirrored room illuminated by inflatable forms that extend from the floor and ceiling, gradually changing colors. We invited the children to paint the sculptures followed by covering them in dots. 3. Aspiring to Pumpkin’s Love, the Love in My Heart: To recreate her sculpture we invited the children to paint white pumpkins with yellow paint and cover them in black dots.  “Pumpkins have been a great comfort to me since my childhood; they speak to me of the joy of living. They are humble and amusing at the same time, and I have and always will celebrate them in my art.”  4. Mushrooms:  Her psychedelic mushrooms series inspired this loose parts invitation. We provided wooden mushrooms and flat marbles. The children were invited to decorate and recreate their own versions of Yayoi's art on an acrylic mirror.  “Dots are symbols of the world, the cosmos. The Earth is a dot, the moon, sun, the stars are all made up of dots. You and me, we are dots.”— Yayoi Kusama

#MaeJemison is a female engineer, physician, & former NASA astronaut who became the first black woman to travel into space. March is #womenshistorymonth, and Mae Jemison is an exceptional figure to teach young children about. We have been reading the books  Mae Among the Stars ,Little People, Big Dreams: Mae Jemison, and Mae Jemison. These stories share Mae's curiosity, intelligence, & determination from a young age that will inspire to reach for the stars, dream big, aspire for the impossible, and persist with imagination. After reading these stories we set up three invitations where the children can explore being an astronaut going to outer space! 1. Space Small World Play// In our #tufftray we placed black kinetic sand, rocks, flat marbles, acrylic gems, planets, and  space figurines . The children were invited to explore, imagine, discover, and play in space just like Mae. 2. Galaxy Spray Painting// In our @discountschoolsupply spray bottles we poured in Metallic BioColor Paint and diluted it with water. Placed butcher paper on the ground and galaxy tablecloth as a point of inspiration. The children were invited to create a galaxy.  3. Recycled Cardboard Spaceship// We created a spaceship out of recycled cardboard boxes. Provided black and white tempera paint. The children were invited to paint!

After reading the book Have you Ever Seen a Flower written and illustrated by Shawn Harris and being inspired but he Fluorescent Colors it was a no brainer to extend the literacy experience through the arts with BioColor® Paint  from Discount School Supply and painting with flowers! In the enchanting story you see a child experience the beauty of a flower with all five senses which reminds us of how a child sees the beauty and wonder in everything around them. The vibrant imagery and simple story reveals how a single flower can ignite so much curiosity. To integrate and extend the story setting up an invitation to recreate the flowers through the arts is a great way to deepen the connection and comprehension. There is no such thing as “correct tools” in art. Anything that encourages fun and creativity is a tool in the arts. Why in this world would anyone settle for just paint brushes when there is a world of possibilities out there? The children loved exploring the different ways they could use the flowers. Up and down. Side to side. Going in circles. Printing and swaying different strokes. Mixing the colors. There was definitely some problem solving to do from beginning to end, creativity was flowing, fine motor skills were enhanced, and their creativity was beaming. The paper was cut into similar imagery from the book to create a collage representing the fields of flowers that will be sold in our upcoming annual Pre-K Art Auction.

This past week my youngest son celebrated his second birthday! Since he looks up to his big brother so much, he has recently become completely enamored with "Big Buzz" from the movie Lightyear.   Main Table: With a galaxy table cloth, we reused our cake stands from the past couple of years to display cupcakes and figurines that were from his brother's Lightyear collection. The stunning balloon stacks are from @partygirlcompany.  Now for the fun part! The invitation stations.  T'Kani Prime Small World Play: Somewhere in uncharted space, 4.2 million light-years from Earth, and SC-01-class Exploration Vessel named "Turnip", its crew arrived and landed on the planet T'Kani Prime. In a tuff tray to recreate T'Kani Prime I placed kinetic sand, real and plastic rocks, fake vines, trees, lightyear figurines, spaceships/vehicles.   Hyperspeed Crystal Station: Buzz Lightyear manages to create this crystalline fuel with the help of his robot cat Sox. The crystal is the only way to reach hyperspeed and leave the planet, which is Buzz's mission. In the water table I placed sensory bottles, plastic test tubes, crystals, acrylic rocks, water, twisty droppers, and liquid watercolors. The children were invited to create their own crystalline fuel.  Lightyear Galaxy Slime: Since Buzz is jetting in and out of the galaxy, I set up a slime station to explore the galaxy and planets. I set up galaxy slime, planets, fine motor clampers, and this dish dividing racks which are perfect for exploring the viscosity of slime.  Star Command SpaceShip Station: There are several spaceships Buzz uses in the movie. In a tuff tray I provided wooden rockets for the children to paint with Metallic Bio Color Paint and Paint Brushes.  Past Birthday Celebrations:  Cowabunga Dudes! Smash and Crash it’s Cyrus’ Monster Truck Bash Two Fast Birthday Party Two Fresh Farmers Market Birthday one-a-saurus

Signs of spring have been showing with flowers starting to bloom after all the rain. Today we explored some leftover flowers from Valentine's Day and even from our outdoor space. We set out vases filled with the flowers, a light table that displayed dissected flowers, magnifying glasses, an observational magnifier with a mirror, and the book What‘s Inside a Flower by Rachel Ignotofsky. The book introduces and explores the life cycle of flowers from seeds to bloom, teaching them how they grow through science, as well as showing the parts of a flower through stunning imagery. From a very early age, children are curious about the world around them. As they learn and grow, experiencing nature with all of their senses is a critical part of their development. Providing opportunities of exploration of the natural world allows young children to create a positive lasting attachment to the environment and flourish as healthy individuals.  Exploring the natural world through hands-on science is an important and effective way that children learn. Hands-on science activities encourage children to observe and manipulate items from the environment, while making observations, predictions, and even experimenting to test out what they are experiencing.  Science such as this invitation gives children the time and space to explore, experiment, question, discover, and understand nature all while also stimulating their curiosity, encouraging them to use all of the five senses, help to build vocabulary, and create a love for learning.  As always to get more use of our materials, we made flower soup with the flowers, water, bowls, beakers, pitchers, serving utensils, and liquid watercolors,  during outdoor play!

Blue: The Many Ways I Feel (The Colors of My Life) by  Nancy Johnson James   (Author),  Constance Moore   (Illustrator) is a book about an emotional ode to the color blue—and the blues—from writer Nancy Johnson James and illustrator Constance Moore, the creators of Brown: The Many Shades of Love and Black: The Many Wonders of My World, The Many Ways I Feel .  Nancy Johnson James is an African American poet, educator, activist, and children’s book author. Her book's intentions are to nurture creativity, deep thought, environmental consciousness and self-esteem. In the story a child  describes all the beautiful shades of blue they feel while discovering that one has the power to change one’s many blues. Today after reading the story we invited the children to create with the many shades of blue. We provide liquid watercolors, bio color metallic and fluorescent paint, tempera paint sticks, markers, oil pastels, and crayons.  The Social-Emotional aspect of a child is the foundation that supports all areas of development. The stronger awareness and support a child is provided, the more equipped the child will be to navigate their growth in all aspects of their life. Social-Emotional development heavily affects & influences the child, therefore providing and using as many tools as possible early on will only benefit the children in an impactful way. Young children acquire social and emotional competencies in ways that are often different from how they acquire competence in the naming of letters or numbers. Social-emotional skills emerge through children’s experience in close relationships and the var­ied exposures that occur in relational experience, such as shared conversa­tion, warm nurturance, and intentional guided learning capacities for sociability, responsibility, and self- control. Just as with anything in the learning process of a child, the more you provide language + literacy along with hands-on experiences that explore social emotional development, the stronger the foundation is established for the child.