Play-dough is an early childhood staple and quite possibly is one of the most powerful hands on learning props for early childhood development. Using playdough supports a child’s social, language and literacy, science, math, and cognitive skills—all while letting them experiment, come up with their own ideas, satisfy their curiosity, problem solve, and be creative as ever. These are all skills that help children learn and succeed in their learning journey.  The beauty of pairing loose parts and playdough is that it truly provides endless opportunities to enhance their imagination and harness their creativity. By adding loose parts to be on hand during playdough play it will encourage and deepen their play. This type of exploration with loose parts lets the child truly shape and create according to their own vision. Loose parts also provides unique inspiration, challenges them to think, & encourages them to be creative with unusual things. This is not only a creative way to create from an artistic point of view, it is a way that encourages brain development, scientific experimenting, mathematical thought, risk taking, & trial/error learning. Through this kind of creating, children are really creating: using what they have and what they already know, and combining that to create a whole that’s greater than the parts. "When ideas meet with hands, extraordinary things happen.  Thoughts give shape to the materials and the materials remodels the thoughts and then the things we do grow along with our own growing ."  Salvador Allende Preschool Identity Book To set this invitation you can provide playdough (homemade/store bought), tools (  Sensory Dough Balls , Wooden Textured Rollers, Wooden Tools) tray filled with any type of loose parts (acrylic rocks, bolts, flat marbles, buttons, grappats, translucent shapes) all on a tuff tray. Here is the play-dough recipe we have used for years: 2 Cups of Flour  2 Cups of Salt  2 Cups of Water (add food coloring or liquid watercolors to create the color desired)  2 TBSP Cream of Tartar  2 TBSP Oil  Heat a non-stick pan to very low, pour flour, salt, water, cream of tartar, and oil on the pan all together. A little trick we do for the color to evenly disperse is add the coloring to the water prior to putting it in the pan. Continue to mix the ingredients until it hardens. Typically 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and roll the play dough around on a cutting board until it cools down. Store in Tupperware or a Ziplock Bag and enjoy!

#WomensHistoryMonth  is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society. While there are so many ways to celebrate and honor trailblazing women from around the world, reading books and integrating them with an invitation is truly a powerful way to connect the two. Here are some ways to learn more about Women's History Month: 1. Invitation To Celebrate Women's History Month 2. 7 ways to Explore Frida Kahlo 3. Yayoi Kusama- Collaborative Invitation to Create Yayoi Kusama ,  Invitation to Create Just like Yayoi Kusama 4. Billie Holiday- Invitation to Paint Billie Holiday 5. Kamala Harris- Kamala and Maya's Big Idea Small Play World Sensory Bin 6. Georgia O'Keefe- Georgia O'Keeffe City STEM Building ,  Invitation to Paint Georgia O'Keeffe's Calla Lilies & Irises   7. Alma Woodsey Thomas- Three Ways to Explore Alma Woodsey Thomas , Alma Woodsey Thomas Art 3 Ways , Alma Woodsey Thomas Textured Water Color Art , Alma Woodsey Thomas Loose Parts Play 8. Howardena Pindell- Collaborative Circle Collage ,   Invitation to Create Mix Media Art , Invitation to Create like Howardena Pindell Two Ways 9. Ruth Asawa- Invitation to Create Just Like Ruth Asawa 10. Amy Sherald- Color Match Amy Sherald's Art 11. Simone Leigh- Simone Leigh Sculptures 12. Selena- Selena STEM Small World Play 13. Maryam Mirzakhani- Invitation to Explore Shapes Like Maryam Mirzakhani

Alma Woodsey Thomas was an American artist and educator whose exuberant colorful paintings used the techniques of pointillism and abstract expressionism. She became the first African-American woman at the age of 80 to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art.  After reading the books   A Blaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas  and  Alma's Art  we also looked at printed out images of her creations. To honor her influential work for  #blackhistorymon th  we set out three invitations to recreate her art work in order to inspire children to become creative just like Alma. 1.Mix Media Collage: In a tinker tray we provided wooden mosaic squares and cubes, square stickers, tissue paper, glue and canvases. The children were invited to create just like Alma.  2.Loose Parts on the Light Table: In a tinker tray we provided translucent shapes, acrylic rocks, and a light table. The children were invited to create just like Alma.  3. 3-D Cardboard Structure: We placed together rows of rectangular recycled cardboard boxes. Provided tempera paint and brushes. The children were invited to paint just like Alma.   Here are other ways to explore Alma Woodsey Thomas through invitations: Alma Woodsey Thomas Art 3 Ways Alma Woodsey Thomas Textured Water Color Art Alma Woodsey Thomas Loose Parts Play

Black History Month, for parents and educators can present a wonderful opportunity to discuss and expose race, civil rights, a rtists, musicians, authors, food, public figures, and so on to celebrate the groundbreaking impact that Black History paved for so many. Educating children from a young age about the many achievements of Black History and how it has shaped cultures worldwide, provides for concrete learning experiences that permit children to build an understanding that will impact their learning, attitudes, and beliefs about diversity and multicultural education. To gear up for Black History Month here are 20 Black History Month Activities. Stay tuned for some new upcoming ones in the next couple of weeks. 1. Black is Beautiful 2 .Invitation to Explore Black History Music with a Record Player 3. Invitation to Explore the Black History of Farming 4. Invitation to Frame Kehinde Wiley Art with Loose Parts 5. Color Match Amy Sherald's Art 6. The Hill We Climb STEM Invitation 7. Alma Woodsey Thomas Loose Parts Play 8. Invitation to Explore Science 9. Invitation to Color Jean-Michel Basquiat 10. Kamala and Maya's Big Idea Small Play World Sensory Bin 11. Invitation to Create Mix Media Art 12. Invitation to Create Marsha P. Johnson Flower Crowns 13. Southwest Sunrise 14. Invitation to Paint like Stevie Wonder 15. Invitation to Paint My Rainbow 16. The Old Truck Small World Play 17. Invitation to Paint Billie Holiday 18. Invitation to Create Many Shapes of Clay 19. Invitation to Plant Growth to Dream 20. Invitation to Paint the Blues 21. Reginald Laurent Collage Art 22 . Alma Woodsey Thomas Textured Water Color Art 23. Two Ways to Create like Jean-Michel Basquiat 24. Simone Legit Sculptures 25. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Guitar Process Art Painting 26. Collaborative Howardena Pindell Circle Collage 27. Alma Woodsey Thomas Art 3 Ways 28. Invitation to Paint the Blues with Musical Paint Brushes 29. K ehinde Wiley Collaborative Canvas Collage 30. Invitation to Create like Howardena Pindell Two Ways

Howardena Pindell  is an American painter, filmmaker, and mixed media artist. Her work explores texture, color, structures, and is often political. After looking at images of her art, to honor her work for #BlackHistoryMonth  we invited the children to create her recurring motif of the circle art in two different ways.  1. Collaborative Circle Collage: To set this invitation we placed a large piece of poster board as the canvas and provided a variety of circular materials ( dot stickers , tissue paper , coffee filters ,etc.), washi tape, and glue . We Invited the children to create just like Howardena Pindell.  2. Invitation to Explore Circular Loose Parts: T o set this invitation we placed a large frame and corkboard, provided circular loose parts (wood rings, wood cookies, woodbits, flat marbles, recycled bottle caps, acrylic circles, cds, grappats, buttons, and more). Invited the children to create just like Howardena Pindell.  Black History Month presents a wonderful opportunity to discuss and expose race, civil rights, artists, musicians, authors, food, public figures, and so on  to celebrate the  groundbreaking impact that Black History paved for so many.  Educating children from a young age about the many achievements of Black History and how it has shaped cultures worldwide, provides for concrete learning experiences that permit children to build an understanding that will impact their learning, attitudes, and beliefs about diversity and multicultural education.

Infant/Toddler Dramatic/Pretend Play Space//Our Infant/Toddler room's Dramatic Play Space got the perfect new addition with this new  Island Kitchen  from Discount School Supply to complete the enhancement of the area. In the area we have baby dolls + accessories, play food, dish sets , and our Children's Factory As We Grow Sofa  and Chair . The Kitchen has been a perfect addition for for encouraging collaborative and dramatic play, which helps to develop imagination, communication, problem solving, and language skills. The kitchen has a cooker hob, removable sink, oven, dishwasher, storage cupboards, corner storage shelves and a breakfast bar (at one end) and the height makes it perfect for use in our infant/ toddler room. Did you know play is critical to a child's emotional, social, physical, and cognitive development during the most formative years (0-5) when most of their brain development occurs. Research has found the executive function of the brain develops through dramatic/pretend play and this significantly aids in so much of their success in learning later on in their journey. Play, however it may be, should be the primary focus of a child's day and since  dramatic/pretend play is such a beneficial and crucial part of early childhood development, play spaces like this truly honors the needs of and development of children.  Dr. Karyn Purvis, scientists have discovered that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain, unless it is done in play, in which case it only takes 10 to 20 repetitions. In this space, possibilities are truly limitless, the children will become whoever they want to be, create freely, explore curiosity, imagine wildly, mirror preciously, collaborate creatively, and DO whatever ignites their play. After all, " Play is the work of children," Jean Piaget.

Since children are born with a sense of wonder and a passion to understand the world around them, they instinctively and constantly ask questions, observe, and try out solutions. These two science experiments were such lovely ways to explore science concepts.  1. Hidden Colored Hearts: In a heart shaped cupcake tin and silicone wrappers we placed Colorations Liquid WaterColors as the base and then covered the color completely with baking soda. In plastic beakers we provided vinegar and twisty droppers. The children were invited to experiment and surface the hidden colors all through the power of a chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar. 2. Frozen Heart Flower Excavation: We used our leftover flowers from our Love Potion invitation and froze them in our silicone heart moulds. We provided water with liquid watercolors and twisty  droppers  and invited the children to excavate & release the flowers from a solid to liquid state. 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 and 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 and 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, and so much more. These are all lifelong skills that will help them throughout the rest of their lives.

To continue exploring hearts, we set out an invitation to create a mixed media collage with a whole bunch of different heart art materials. Creating with different textures, colors,and sizes, always brings a special spark of curiosity and engagement because of the ending materials that creates a unique process for children. We provided poster paper as their canvas, a variety of different colors & textures of heart stickers, cellophane hearts, colored foil hearts, colored coffee filter hearts, and glue. The children were invited to create!  The beauty about mixed media collages is that since there are no rules it is a never ending process where it can be out for the children for any amount of time for them to keep revisiting and adding more materials over and over. This type of process art allows children the time to explore freely, be in control of the outcomes creatively, & let them discover art in their own way.  Giving this freedom to create builds their confidence, fosters their cognitive skills, & when they become aware of having the capability of all the different ways to do art, they will make predictions, plan it out/problem solve, and their creativity continues to become limitless.  Time is a gift, and giving the time to create in different ways, empowers children to build a strong foundation of expressing themselves while honoring their innate creative artistic style.

There are so many fun ways to incorporate Valentine's Day Activities in your home or classroom. Whether it is STEM, Loose Parts Play, Process Art, Literacy, and more, there are so many ways to incorporate different invitations. Since the meaning of love can be represented and understood in so many different ways, representation, inclusivity, and having open discussions about what love can be an enlightening for everyone. Exposing children from a young age to understand the meaning of love and all the beautiful ways you can see/experience love is are a great way to lay a strong foundation for children. Here are some activities and invitations you can recreate! Stay tuned for more in the next couple of weeks. Invitation to Create Cardboard Hearts 2. Words and Your Heart 3. Homemade Love 4. Keith Haring Love 5. Love is Love Loose Parts Invitation 6. Invitation to Build and Create LOVE 7. Invitation to Build a Robot in Love with Picasso Tiles + Loose Parts 8. Love Makes a Family 9. Smooch! Loose Parts & Coloring Butcher Paper Invitation 10. 3 Heart STEAM Invitations 11.Love is a Truck Process Art Invitations 12. Sweet Treats Bake Shop 13. Icy Hearts and Shapes STEM Exploration 14. Pinch of Love Sensory + Loose Parts + Dramatic Play 15. Geometric Heart STEM Exploration Two Ways 16. 3-D Assemblage Heart Sculpture 17. Invitation to Create Love Flower Soup 18. Invitations to Create Love Potions 19. I Drew a Heart 3 Ways

I Drew a Heart by Gillian Sze (Author), Naoko Stoop (Illustrator) is the perfect book to read during the Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day. The lyrical book celebrates a multigenerational diverse family, creativity, and love through showcasing a little boy spending the day drawing all kinds of hearts as a reminder of his favorite memories.  After reading the story we invited the children to create hearts in numerous ways just like the little boy in the story. The early years are all about setting the foundation for the rest of a child’s education. Creating inviting and intentional ways for children to mentally, academically, and physically prepare for writing/drawing in open-ended ways helps get them ready through developmentally appropriate practices and engaging manner that ignites their curiosity and wonder for learning.  Invitation to Draw a Heart in the Sand: On our light table we placed Prewriting Sand & Light Table Tray where the children were invited to try drawing in the sand with their fingers.  2. Invitation to Make a Heart: Play-dough and heart stencils were placed in a tray and the children were invited to create the shape of heart however they wanted to.  3. Invitation to Decorate Hearts: On a large piece of butcher paper we drew a variety of different sized hearts, provided loose parts (recycled bottle caps, translucent & colored pebbles, flat marbles, acrylic & wooden hearts, gem cubes, and ). The children were invited to decorate the hearts.  When a child is invited to explore, create, and play with open ended materials such as this, it gives them the opportunities to work on spatial awareness, exposes them to different formations of shapes/lines/designs/letters/numbers, attention to detail, enhancing their language skills as they communicate what they see or what they are doing in, developing attention span, and ultimately they are enhancing/building those pre-writing/fine motor skills so that writing/drawing will come at ease once they are ready!

So much of the magic of early childhood is creating wondrous concoctions. Today we invited the children to create potions with Colorations Liquid WaterColors & Metallic BioColors, Flowers, Dish Soap, Water, Potion Bottles, Loose Parts, and of course lots of LOVE.  Inviting a child to create any type of concoctions encourages so many levels of layered learning while they create and explore materials. When a child is adding, scooping, pouring, transferring, picking, mixing, and stirring ingredients it fosters creativity and enables children to experiment with science and math concepts. Children begin to understand and investigate math concepts with ideas such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than, etc. Science concepts are introduced through exploring physics principles such as the effects of force (increasing the waterflow through increased force); effects of gravity (water runs downhill), observing the state  of materials changing (solid to liquid), color theory (mixing to create new,  etc.   The social learning comes together while they collaborate, concentrate, take turns, problem solve, persevere, and self-regulate with all the materials. Children also gain physical learning (fine & gross motor, eye-hand coordination) through the precision in pouring/mixing/transferring/scooping/etc. Through sensory play, they are exploring all of the materials (water, nature, soap, bottles) through all of their senses  which helps retain information better and at their developmental level. All to say, however, a child creates through invitations such as this, in a sink or bathtub, or the great outdoors, makes it engaging, all encompassing, and ultimately helps encourage the continuation of igniting that spark of curiosity when exploring science, math, language, color theory, and natural materials.

During the Lunar New Year lanterns provide illumination, are said to be lucky charms, and a wish for the bright future. Lunar New Year, which includes many Asian Countries, is filled with festivities, customs, and plenty of feasts where the arrival of spring and the start of a fresh year is based. After looking at real images of lanterns from around the world we invited the children to paint and decorate lanterns for our upcoming annual Lunar New Year Parade this week. We provided white lanterns as their canvas, Colorations Liquid WaterColors, Twisty Droppers, and gold stickers. All aspects of this process, from painting on different media (3-D Object) to trying to manage the movement of the lantern, exploring gravity as they see colors dripping downward, while using their fine motor skills with the droppers and peeling the stickers, enhances and challenges a child‘s way of thinking creatively. Every time we provide children with the opportunity to create art all on their own and in a variety of ways, we are reminded of how engaging and important process art is. Art gives the child an opportunity to be completely immersed in the process of creating in a unique way! The beauty of learning about celebrating different cultures is that it can help children understand, respect similarities and differences, and they understand who they are in context of race, ethnic group, culture, religion, language and familial history. It also provides children with meaningful worldly information and can introduce concepts from anthropology, history, religion, geography, etc. Whether it is celebrating the art, music, food, symbols, traditions, and so on of a culture, exposing children to different elements of a culture provides more knowledge and understanding of the world while making every child feel seen and heard in their community.