The book Dreamers is a celebration of making your home with the things you always carry: your resilience, your dreams, your hopes and history. Written by Yuyi Morales who brought her hopes, her passion, her strength, and her stories with her, when she migrated to the United States from Mexico with her son is another great way to learn about National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month. In the beautifully illustrated book there are monarch butterflies everywhere. The monarch butterfly represents the beauty of migration. The butterfly is a symbol for the right of all living beings to move freely, just like the monarch butterfly, human beings cross borders in search of safer habitats. After explaining to the children the meaning behind the beautiful symbol of the butterfly you can invite them to create their very own Monarch butterflies with paper and Colorations Tempera Paint . With folded paper ask the child to squeeze paint drops or designs on one side, fold the paper again, rub the paint around with their hands, and slowly open the paper. As they open the paper they are able to see the paint transform into a beautiful butterfly which enhances their understanding of cause and effect. Exposure to other cultures stories brings personal meaning and awareness to the classroom or home. While children’s books open children’s eyes to differences, actual experiences such as creating art have the most profound influence on helping children understand, respect similarities and differences, and comprehend the story. They begin to understand who they are in context of race, ethnic group, culture, religion, language and familial history. It provides a child with personally meaningful information and also introduces concepts from anthropology, culture, history, religion, geography, etc. Here are some other ways to invite a children to learn about the Hispanic and Latinx culture through open ended play based invitations. Paletero Man Round is a Tortilla Frida Kahlo Two Border Towns Día De Lose Muertos Pablo Picasso

After being inspired by Teachmakecreate on IG a couple weeks ago, we had to give this STEM invitation a go with Colorations Non Hardening Clay Set of 30 that was #gifted from Discount School Supply and tons of different recycled cardboard on our tuff tray. The importance of using clay in early childhood is deeply rooted in the endless benefits it has. It can be cut, pinched, rolled, squeezed and moulded into different shapes and the texture can be changed by adding water. It can be reused and recycled when it is dry or turned into a permanent sculpture. Clay provides children with many opportunities to be creative and expressive. The different texture, consistency allows children to manipulate the clay in order to help develop the child’s large and small muscles, foster eye-hand coordination, ability to focus/build attention span, be creative, learn about texture/shapes/forms/3-D objects, and while socializing with others they are communicating + collaborating while expressing feelings and ideas. When you add in another element such as recycled cardboard it creates an opportunity for STEM building which further compels the child to use the clay in an exciting way to further ignite a child’s creative process and challenge their cognitive thinking.

National Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month is a period from September 15 to October 15 in the United States for recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. Continuously reading stories that honor cultures establishes an inclusive environment where every child feels seen. The more we learn about all cultures in classrooms or our homes, the more knowledge and understanding we provide for everyone within our communities. To set this invitation first read the book Pablo Picasso written by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Teresa Bellon to learn about the Spanish Artist who changed art forever. After reading this draw outlines of different Picasso Esque drawings on butcher paper and invite children to design the art with loose parts ( rainbow grappat , rainbow stacking stones , pastel wooden balancing rocks ). When a child uses loose parts to create drawn out images, shapes, or designs invitations, 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. Here are some other ways to invite a children to learn about the Hispanic and Latinx culture through open ended play based invitations. Paletero Man Round is a Tortilla Frida Kahlo Two Border Towns Día De Lose Muertos Stay tuned for more invitations this week!

Sensory experiences are an important part of child development, but many sensory activities typically utilize the hands. Our feet are just as sensitive as our hands and this sensory walk allows children the experience of learning, exploring, and feeling with their feet. To set this up there are numerous ways you can create the walk. You can create sensory boards or in tubs/trays place sensory materials. Pictured here are both trays & wooden boards with packaging, wood bits, pipe cleaners, gem stones, fake grass, sand paper, sea shells, pom poms, furry balls, rocks, ice rocks, and slime sand. You can also do rice, pasta, dried beans, legos, rubber bands, water beads, shaving cream, ice, sand, fabric, foam, slime, or water. Invite the child to take a sensory walk and let them explore, feel, ask questions, talk about textures, and sensory attributes! Bare feet are important to optimal nervous system and brain development. There are two other sensory systems that are rarely talked about — the proprioceptive system and the vestibular system. Proprioception gives us the ability to perceive the motion and position of our bodies in space, while the vestibular system is responsible for balance and coordination. The development of both of these senses relies heavily on sensory input we receive through bare feet, especially during infancy and childhood. When activated by pressure and movement, nerve endings in the feet called proprioceptors send signals to the brain telling it how the body is oriented. When a child is allowed to be barefoot, their tactile pathways feel the surface of the ground, proprioceptors respond to pressure, and the terrain creates slight imbalances that create neuromuscular strength, spatial orientation, balance, and coordination. So let them take a walk on the sensory side!

The Mid-autumn festival is observed in China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. All over the world to worship the moon, celebrate the harvest season, and most importantly, to eat mooncake. Giving mooncakes filled with lotus paste and a salted egg yolk to acquaintances and friends because it is round like the moon and symbolize family and harmony. The book A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin is a great way to invite children to learn about the significance of mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The story is about a girl Little Star gradually eating the mooncake that her mother has baked. To extend and integrate the literacy experience you can invite the child to create their very own mooncake with play dough, wooden rollers , mooncake molds , and loose parts ( ice rocks , transulcent shapes , rainbow wooden parts , wood bits ). Play-dough is a staple in early childhood. It is a powerful way to let a child use their imagination, strengthen the small muscles in their fingers, and encourage a chil's language +literacy, science, math and sensory skills. It is quite possibly one of most powerful props for learning. Pairing loose parts with play dough provides another layer of creativity. Loose parts are dynamic in nature, which brings about authenticity of ideas. The more variables an object offers the more possibilities and creativity the object will have. Invitations with open ended materials enhance a child's free creative play, exposure to sensory elements, requires concentration, and is truly relaxing + stimulating.

If there is one thing preschool teachers have mastered is the art of hoarding materials to repurpose for STEAM invitations. Assemblage is the art of assembling materials together from objects, in this case recycled materials. The materials are used to make 3-dimensional art and often involves building, collaging, exploring, and creating sculptures. For this invitation we used recycled plastic cups, paper rolls, containers + their lids, and craft sticks . Some other options could be balloons, bottles, cardboard, bottle caps, cans, bubble wrap, and more. You can either glue the items with a hot glue gun (supervised of course) or school glue . Provide tempera paint and let them create! As they combine various materials together to explore the concept of assemblage art they are: comparing items (shapes, textures, lines, height/width, size), negative space, spatial awareness, cognitive thinking, communication/collaboration, gravity + viscosity, fine + gross motor skills, hand eye coordination, all while empowering their creativity throughout the whole process. Invitations such as this opens a child's mind to the many ways of creating art. When children learn about diverse types of art the more well rounded and creative they become. Art is a fundamental component of early childhood education therefore continuous exposure leads to seeing the world in different ways and learning about all the beautiful forms of art.

Researchers are uncovering the values of one of the most developmentally important forms of play - climbing. As humans from birth we’re explorers, thrill-seekers, problem-solvers, and above all, curious, therefore we are simply born to climb. We naturally don’t just love climbing for the excitement and the challenge - there are biological reasons at play that attract us to it. Climbing aids in mental & physical development, & has been shown to improve creativity, memory, & critical thinking abilities. Climbing works almost every major muscle group in the body, so children increase upper body strength (by using their arms and hands), their lower body (by using their legs), develop core stability, muscle control & balance when taking part in exploring a climber. Children's Factory #gifted the Butterfly Climber , Inchworm , Crawl Through Tunnel , Up & Down Two Piece Set all pictured here! All these tools inspire curious climbers & crawlers to be confident & enhance the agility for infants, toddlers, & preschoolers as they explore each soft section. Not only is this great for gross motor exploration it is also perfect for indoor & outdoor use. When you mix and match the sets it enhances the experience and provide endless opportunities. They can be lined up, moved in sequence, or used individually, so it’s great for building with as well. These sets perfectly complement one other to enhance their gross motor skills through play. Butterfly Climber Inchworm Working on gross motor skills helps a child gain strength and confidence in his/her body. It also helps them get exercise and physical activity, which is important for a healthy lifestyle. Developing these skills through play such as this helps a childs ability to do more complex skills in future activities. Tunnel Climber + Up & Down 2 Piece Set

Bodies Are Cool by Tyler Feder is a book of pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Showcasing the inclusive beauty of various skin tones, body shapes, hair types, and more. This book encourages body acceptance, confidence, and awareness. After reading a story such as this, to extend the literacy experience you can set up to invitations that will continue to conversation and learning about the beauty of the human body through open ended play. The first invitation is to create with loose parts (expired pasta, wood rounds , flat marbles , wooden rings , wood bits , decorative acorns , rocks, wooden gel shapes , googly eyes , coconut shells , agate slices ). You will need butcher or poster paper & markers in different skin tones. Draw outlines of different bodies onto the paper beforehand. Invite the child to design the bodies with loose parts. When a child uses loose parts to create on drawn out images, shapes, or designs invitations, it gives opportunities to work on spatial awareness. 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. The second small world play with diverse shaped peg dolls and magnetic tiles. Small world play is a great way for extending literacy & language comprehension, imaginary play, and tactile play. Through this play they can reenact what they see in stories, shows, experiences, and environments around them to deepen their understanding of the world. This type of play can be defined as where children accept and assign roles, then act them out. Let them play, learn, and explore how bodies are cool!

The beginning of the school year is a great time for children to explore creating self portraits and for parents or educators to observe. A child's self-portrait can reveal and support many things. As with any art, it shows the development of a child's fine motor, observation, focusing skills, self awareness, and creativity. It also can give insight into a child's self-concept and identity. In other words, it is the best way for a grown-up to see a child through that child's own eye. We Are All Works of Art by Mark Sperring is a beautiful book that honors diversity by showcasing masterpieces that celebrated how we’re all works of art in our own special way! Reading this book a great way to communicate the beauty in all our differences and open up their minds for the invitation to create their own self portraits. For the invitation to create a self portrait you will need dry erase markers , acrylic mirror , plexi or plastic clear divider. Invite the child to look at themselves in the mirror and ask them to draw their own self portrait on the clear canvas. You can also just use the mirror as the canvas. Self portraits are introspective. By exploring their “me-ness” (Loris Malaguzzi) children are learning a great deal about themselves and are enhancing various skills as they develop their observational, expressive and reflective skills. In exploring their identity children build positive reciprocal relationships with one another as well as a positive relationship with themselves and believing they are all works of art!

Have you heard of reusable water balloons ? These innovative water balloons are perfect for water play especially during this heat wave. They are also great for creating action process art. Action process art involves art activities that are hands-on active movements where the focus is on the process rather than the finished product. “Action Art projects result in products to be enjoyed and admired, but it is the process of exploration and experimenting that stimulates the child’s learning from discovering and creating…” from Action Art . To set this invitation you will need reusable water balloons, colorations liquid water colors , water, and butcher/poster paper. Fill up the water balloons and add drops of liquid watercolor into the balloons to color the water. Invite the child to throw the water balloons onto the paper to create their very own master piece! Engaging children with a combination of art, science, and gross motor action is a dynamic way to teach and expose them to a style of painting where there are no mistakes or boundaries. When children use out of the norm tools to paint they become more thoughtful and creative about the techniques they use as they experiment. They flick, splat, drip, swift, squirt, and move through so many different ways which enhances both their fine and gross motor skills. Every time we provide children with the opportunity to create art all on their own, we are reminded of how engaging and important process art is. Exploring art, color, gravity, movement, and different techniques of creating, will only enhance and open a child‘s way of thinking creatively while helping them cover so many domains of learning.

This past weekend I created a Farmers Market birthday for my best friend Justine's daughter's second birthday. She is one veggie and fruit obsessed toddler and it turned out to be such a cute theme! For the backdrop we used the wooden backdrop from Cy's Monster Truck Bash. The backdrop was created by my husband and myself with plywood, spray paint, and acrylic paint. The base of the backdrop was the actual “Farmers Market.” Crates of farm animals, farm trucks, baskets filled with veggies + fruits play food, and farmers market flowers . The signs are all linked here ( Farmers market , Fresh Eggs , Flowers , Lemonade .) The play areas consisted of a Farm Sensory Bin, Farm to Table Dramatic Play, SMOL bounce house. Farm Sensory Bin: The sensory bin is filled with Kidfetti and Farm Animals . Farm to Table Dramatic Play: Wooden Kitchen Set and Cutting Wood Play Food. SMOL Jump House The food was snacks, treats, and of course veggies and fruit galore.

Did you know that a maze improves the cognitive skills of children? Setting up an ultimate Trike Maze-45Ft ( #gifted ), is a great way to provide brain boosting exercises while enhancing a child's gross motor skills. While a child is solving the maze through maneuvering the trike , it makes them think, reason and remember. Simultaneously achieving all of these, sharpens their memory, builds their focus and increases the concentration level of their minds to a great extent. When a child rides a tricycle or bike it improves their coordination and balance moving various muscle groups, promotes development of hand-eye coordination, and enhances their arm and leg coordination as they are getting on and off the bike. All these gross motor movements are great for promoting continuous physical movement and development. As they learn to ride you will see a child beam with confidence as they master finding the way to tackle the challenges of obtaining the skills to ride. With that confidence comes independence to navigate from one area to another on their own, which also will make them more aware of different modes of transportation. While riding the bike through the maze, comes falls, bumps, bruises, and scraps. Believe it or not this will instill more safety and self awareness of themselves and those around them, as they will become more spatially aware while building their instincts. With more risk taking (riding faster, mazes, over bumps, downhill, uphill, etc.) provides for new skill sets that will lead them to be more open to try new adventures.