Two things we can't get enough of over here are PLAY and BOOKS. Reading and playing helps to develop and stimulate a young child's brain. When the two are intentionally integrated with one another in the early childhood environment, their cognitive development is supported, language & comprehension skills are improved, imagination & creativity is increased, and lifelong love of reading is created. MerryMakers, a woman-owned business founded in 1994, created plush dolls and toys based on some of our favorite books to promote imaginative play & literacy. They work closely with the actual authors and illustrators and create toys that reflect the diverse personalities of the books.Recently we were so lucky to be gifted some new additions to our Library. Amy Wu + Books Islandborn + Book Dragons Love Tacos + Books Last Stop On Market Street + Book Gustavo The Shy Ghost + Book How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? + Books Here is one recent fun way we have set up an invitation for children to extend their literacy experience through play after reading Dragons Love Tacos. Can't wait to create more ways for children to expand their imaginations through reading and play!

Pablo Picasso Still Life Paintings & Loose Parts Play// Pablo Picasso is the Artist of the Month. We have been reading so many wonderful books to learn about the Spanish Artist who changed art forever while exploring all the ways he created art. Today we set out two different invitations inspired by his art. 1. Invitation to Still Life Paint "Mains aux Fleurs": This painting was also known as the Bouquet of Peace, Hands with Flowers, Bouquet of Flowers. Since Picasso was renowned for his style and diversity of art he chose to keep this painting simple. The painting consists of two hands holding flower stalks. We set this invitation with mannequins hands holding a bouquet of flowers and the image of his artwork as the point of inspiration. Tempera paint, brushes, and paper were provided. The children were invited to do a still life painting. Inviting children to do a still life is a drawing or a painting of an object or a group of objects is a wonderful way for the children to observe every detail in the objects, compare similarities/differences, & become more aware of details. These types of invitations to paint are amazing because it's interesting to observe each child's individual approach and creativity blossom. 2. Invitation to Create Cubism Self Portraits with Loose Parts: Picasso, is considered to be one of the pioneers of Cubism, a daring artistic movement from 1904 through the early 1920s. Cubism is often cited as the most influential art movement of the 20th century, inspiring many future modern artists, as well as other artistic fields, like architecture. In his portraits he mixed up all the features in faces and they turned out to look like 'funny faces'. We set this invitation with images of his Cubist Portraits. Provided abstract faces and loose parts. The children were invited to create their own renditions of Pablo Picasso Portraits. When a child uses loose parts to create, it gives opportunities to work on spatial awareness, exposes them to different forms of art, paying attention to detail, and enhancing their language skills as they communicate what they see or what they are doing. As they manipulate the loose parts to fit inside, outside, or around the designs they are enhancing their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and shape recognition. Loose parts are dynamic by nature, therefore the child is given the opportunity to be just as creative as Pablo Picasso.

To continue exploring all of the diverse cultures and places around the world we read the book The Shape of Home written and Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh . This story is about an Iranian girl’s first day of school in America. Through the eyes of Rashin it explores how everything she encounters is a different shape than what she's used to. From the foods, letters in the books, & children/families. When she goes to school her teacher asks each child to imagine the shape of home on a map which opens up the discussion of each child’s country that their family is originally from. This book is such a great way to open up the discussion of different cultures and countries in the classroom. After reading the book we invited the children to explore more cultures/countries through STEM building. With Excellerations® Photo Block Building Around the World #gifted , Excellerations® Photo Block Multicultural Play People , and Excellerations® See Through Blocks we invited the children to build different places around the world. STEM activities are designed to engage & stretch a child's thinking especially when they are challenged to create in new ways. The engineering & design process is a natural fit due to the fact that children already like to build & problem solve with everything. This invitation is a perfect opportunity to change a simple building activity/center & challenge them to think, create in new ways, be inspired by other cultures, places, and people around the world. Through all these trials, child(ren) are able to analyze situations more critically & come up with solutions in their own way with anything they put their mind to. They become extremely creative whether it is putting on construction gear to build or inventing new ways to build a structure. STEM subliminally provides awesome real life lessons that are so valuable + enriching to a child, and something they will carry with them throughout the rest of their life.

To continue exploring all of the diverse cultures around the world we read the book "Thank you, Omu!" by Oge Mora. The Nigerian author brings to life a heartwarming story of sharing the story about the strong female role models in her life. "Omu" (pronounced AH-moo) means "queen" in the Igbo language of her parents, but growing up, she used it to mean "Grandma." In the story everyone in the neighborhood dreams of tasting Omu's delicious stew. Omu serves her scrumptious stew and extra love to all of her community. The recurring theme we are reading in so many of these wonderful books about different cultures is that food plays an integral role in our lives. The food we eat is intertwined with culture/traditions and many of our favorite memories are associated with gathering during special celebrations, helping our community, or simply enjoying comfort food together. By exploring and learning about different foods and traditions from around the world children can learn, respect, & experience a lot of different cultures. After reading the story we provided bowls, pots, ladles, whisks, red colored water, and nature loose parts. The children were invited to create their own Omu stew! The children were able to scoop, pour, transfer, measure, mix, materials from one container to another with the variety of tools provided to create. With all that math & science happening in an open ended way, there was also plenty of language development where the children discussed the ingredients/techniques they were using, imaginations blossoming as they reenacted what was happening the book or making new creations of their own, and collaboration when they took turns/problem solved & worked as community to create Omu Stew together.

This week we are exploring all of the diverse cultures around the world. We read the book Teatime Around the World written by Denyse Waissbluth & illustrated by Chelsea O’Bryn e which is a great introduction of the diversity of teatime around the world with unique facts about different tea cultures. The pictures bring to life joyous celebration of diversity and deliciousness of a beverage that is loved around the world. After reading the book, we extended the literacy experience by providing an invitation to play filled with exploring different types of tea through smell, touch and sight as they played tea time around the world. To set the invitation we used different teapots and tea cups. Provided different flavors of tea that we steeped beforehand and invited the children to have their own tea time through play. There are so many wonderful types of play that are integrated throughout this invitation. There is water play where they are exposed to understanding & investigating with ideas such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than. This enhances their mathematical and science skills through pouring, mixing, and measuring. Their cognitive skills are built through cause & effect when experimenting with color combinations, ratios, & when they concentrate on mastering their hand eye coordination when pouring the water. There is sensory play where they enhance their sense of smell, touch, & sight through exploring different types of tea. And dramatic play where they are pretending to act out having tea time just like the book all through power of play!

The perfect role-play centerpiece for a dramatic play space is the Millhouse ™ The Home from Home Fireplace from Discount School Supply. This charming mantlepiece has become the perfect for completing our dramatic play area. The cream-colored adds to the calm and a great choice for creating a soft and calm environment. In the shelving units are baskets that were originally hidden in our kitchen but now having them on display make its more accessible to extend their play. They are filled with pretend food, dishes, aprons, cleaning tools, coffee/tea, and more! Dramatic play spaces truly ignites a child's imagination through play. Dramatic play is a crucial part of early childhood. Since possibilities are truly limitless in pretend play it encourages a child to use their imagination in its truest form. The child builds social and emotional skills, language skills, problem-solving skills, take risks, and become whoever they want to be all through the power of play!

To continue learning more about food, we read the book What's That written by Karen Chan, illustrated by Basia Tran. The story is about a child Jax, who discovers that his lunch looks very different from his classmates. While he was embarrassed at first, he finds a new friend where they share the joy of spending time cooking and eating with their families. After reading this book we extended the literacy experience by inviting the children to explore and create their own meals with all kinds of different food from around the world. Food plays an integral role in our lives. The food we eat is intertwined with culture/traditions and many of our favorite memories are associated with gathering during special celebrations or simply enjoying food as a meal. By exploring and learning about different foods from around the world children can learn & respect a lot of different cultures. Since young children learn best through play– a dramatic play invitation allows children to perform/process feelings, gain exposure to new things, learn new concepts/language, and test their own understanding of the world around them without any pressure and honor their imagination. The more we are inclusive about celebrating and exposing cultures in classrooms or our homes from a young age, the more understanding, respect, acceptance we provide for everyone within our communities. There is so much beauty in the traditions of cultures from around the world and children deserve to experience it.

The value of creating a purposeful play space for young children is something that should not be underestimated. Whether it is in your classroom, home, or playroom, being able to create and provide the optimal play spaces that honor a child's developmentally appropriate learning processes is the key to the environment being the "third teacher." When you walk into intentional space created for children you will see the children are constructively engaged and ready to be challenged in clearly defined areas. So how do you define play spaces? Zone. Zoning a space is about creating places where things can happen. It is a clearly defined area that encourages and accommodates the type of play it is intended for naturally. These Zoned Centers ultimately increase learning and facilities creative play by providing material, furnishings, and space that support it. Here are some examples of Zoned Areas also known as centers: Dramatic Play, Art Area, Science, Block Play, Comfy Corner, Sensory Table, Loose Parts, and more. Children's Factory recently #gifted this Toy & Block Mobile Storage Shelf which was perfect in creating a "zoned" Block Pay Area. In this space we have legos, duplos, wooden blocks, magnetic tiles, and anything that encourages block play. Since the area is now set up to accommodate, facilitate and challenge the child's thinking, it becomes a space where the children can continuously explore and extend the materials to gain understanding in endless ways. Any young child enters any environment competent and aware at any age. When the adult purposefully zones areas it creates an environment that naturally teaches. Children will respond positively, jump right into the space, if the areas clearly communicate and encourage the type of play they may partake in. Here are other ways to purposefully enhance your play spaces with the environment as the third teacher: 1. The Importance of Flexible Seating in the Classroom 2. The Environment as the Third Teacher 3. Dramatic Play Corner

Today we read the book, I Can Eat a Rainbow by Olena Rose, is a book that explores how it is important to incorporate fruits and vegetables into their diet. The bright and colorful book is complete with a rainbow of foods which ignited us to set up an invitation to sort our pretend food at school! We provided mixed up trays full of pretend food and #gifted rainbow translucent buckets on our tuff tray. The children were invited to sort the food by color, into the bucket that matched. Since children have a natural desire to make sense of their world, to create order, sorting attracts and engages children. Many children will start sorting things without even being taught. Sorting is a beginning math skill. It may seem that a big chunk of early math is about learning numbers and quantity, but there's much more to it. By sorting, children understand that things are alike and different as well as that they can belong and be organized into certain groups. Getting practice with sorting at an early age is important for numerical concepts and grouping numbers and sets when they're older. This type of thinking starts them on the path of applying logical thinking to objects, mathematical concepts and everyday life in general. While this invitation focuses on sorting colors, through exploring the food, it can also be a way to build their language, differentiate and learn about new food groups, communicate to collaborate, and so much more all through play!

Reading and playing helps to develop and stimulate a young child's brain. When the two are intentionally integrated with one another in the early childhood environment, their cognitive development is supported, language & comprehension skills are improved, imagination & creativity is increased, and lifelong love of reading is created. After reading the story Dragons Love Tacos, we invited the children to extend their literacy experience through playing with dragons & pretend taco food! As the children acted out the story, they acquired new vocabulary, learned to use the syntax & grammar, and gained a greater understanding of the book. These types of skills are crucial for laying the foundation for success in learning to read early on and will carry on throughout the rest of their lives. Through this type of bringing literacy to life through play, the children engage with one another, tell their own stories, connect by communicating, collaborate to create, and let their imaginations expand.

This week is Master Chef Week so we are exploring FOOD! Today we invited all the children to taste test food. First we read the book Try It by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Giselle Potter and then we read the books Little Book of Pasta and Cheese by by Christina Sicoli and Caitlin Renee Steuer. After reading the books to the children during story time, we invited the children to taste foods they are familiar with and some that they may have never tried. 1. Try It Table: We set out many fruits similar to the story, such as Snow Dragon Fruit, Papaya, Melon, Golden Kiwi, Rambutans, Gaya Melons, Pepino Melon, Baby Bananas, Figs, Pomegranate, and Guava. The children were invited to taste test whatever they were interested in. The book which inspired this table was about Frieda Capla, who was a produce pioneer that changed the way Americans eat in the 1950s by introducing exciting new fruits and vegetables, from baby carrots to blood oranges to kiwis. We read this book to show how Frieda Caplan was always willing to try something new and encourage them to do so as well! 2. Pasta and Cheese Table: We set out different types of pasta and cheese just like the books. The children were invited to taste test whatever they were interested in. The Little Books about Pasta & Cheese take children through rhythmic exploration of foods that spark questions & conversations about food & cooking. Children are able to discover & discuss colors, shapes, textures, origins, rhyming, & phonetics through reading this book first & then actually tasting what was in the book. Having a table of familiar/safe foods alongside a table of new foods lead to the children being more prone to try things out!

Every year the money we raise from our Art Walk Silent Auction goes to the graduating Pre-K class legacy gift. This year went to enhancing our existing library. Since the graduating class name was the butterflies the space honors that in special ways. In the plaque we had each graduating Pre-K paint a butterfly. This side of the wall is where all the books are organized by month (color coded) to make it easier for the teachers to pull the resources they need for story time and their invitations. There is also a display area to showcase the artists & authors of the month. On the other side is where the children can come in and let their imaginations fly while reading. A rainbow wall shelf, low to the ground shelf, & display shelves. These same butterflies were used in the graduation backdrop. And lots of different nooks & flexible seating to get cozy with a book! A huge thank you to Children's Factory for gifting the shelf , curved seating , carpet , pouf and ottoman . As well as Discount School Supply for the Environments® Nature Reading Cube.