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. Simone Leigh the artist, makes mixed media-sculptures and installations, as well as videos, through which she positions the beauty and complexity of blackness. She was born in 1967 in Chicago and received her bachelor’s degree in art and philosophy. She has made history as the first Black woman ever to represent the United Stated at the Venice Biennale in 2022. She has risen to the status of the one of the top artists working today. Introducing children to such an empowering artist is great way to expose them to the beauty and importance of her art as well as celebrating her amazing accomplishments during #blackhistorymonth. To inspire a child to recreate some of her monumental sculptures and art, print images of her work and display them to provoke & inspire the child to create. Provide recycled materials, straw, clay, tempera paint, glue, and paintbrushes. Invite the child to create just like Simone Leigh. For more Black History Month Activities about race, civil rights, artists, musicians, authors, food, public figures, and so on click here !

One of my favorite process art invitations from Meredith of @homegrownfriends book Art Play! is Magic Drawing Cars. It is such a great mixture of action and process art that always engages children. For more of her amazing ideas check out this previous blog post ! Before doing art reading the story Love is a Truck by Amy Novesky (Author), Sara Gillingham (Illustrator) is a sweet book to read with Valentine's day approaching. From dump trucks to ice cream trucks, this rhythmic ode to trucks is a great story to read over and over. After reading the invitation you can set up this invitation by grabbing trucks just like the story, butcher paper , tape, and Colorations Tempera Paint Sticks in Valentine's Day Colors. Simply invite the child to explore, move, create, and play! Action art is a combination of two things children really love to do: create and move. It involves art where the focus is on the process rather than the finished product, where children are exploring and experimenting that stimulates the child's learning from discovering and creating. “We all know that children prefer to be active, and action art incorporates the child’s need for activity with the always important need for creativity. The art experiences are based on the philosophy that children will learn from the process of creating, and that the finished product is the result of that process, not the goal.” – MaryAnn Kohl and Barbara Zaborowski

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. The difference is that arts are included, ranging from visual arts, language arts & physical arts to music + more. STEAM focuses on sparking imagination and creativity through the arts in ways that naturally align with STEM learning. These three STEAM invitations are as follows: Floating Hearts, Mixed Recycled Hearts Collage, & Hidden Colored Hearts. Floating Hearts: You will need a sensory tray filled with water. Markers , cotton rounds, & scissors. Cut the cotton rounds into hearts, followed by tapping dots with markers onto the hearts. Invite the child to drop the hearts into the water and see the beautiful colors escape the cotton rounds. Mixed Recycled Hearts Collage: You will need a piece of recycled cardboard, bubble wrap, cupcake liners, cotton rounds, glue, scissors, tempera paint , and paint brushes. Cut out one big heart out of recycled cardboard followed by a whole bunch of different shapes and sizes with the other materials. Invite the child to glue the hearts all over the large cardboard heart followed by painting. Hidden Colored Hearts: You will need a heart shape cupcake tin, liquid water colors or food coloring, baking soda, vinegar, and droppers . Place drops of liquid water colors or food coloring at the base of the tin. Fill each tin with baking soda hiding the colors. Provide vinegar and droppers and invite the child to experiment and surface the hidden colors.

Butcher paper invitations are great for being able to do more than one process. You can draw out the outline of images and create a loose parts invitation for a couple of days and then get even more use out of it by doing art. The book Smooch!: A Picture Book Celebrating the Enduring Power of Love written by Karen Kilpatrick and illustrat ed Germán Blanco is perfect for reading during the month of February for Valentine's Day. The diverse characters showcase the permanent bond of love in a relevant, relatable, and reassuring way where many can see themselves within the book. To extend the literacy experience with this two part invitation you will need butcher paper , black marker, tempera paint sticks , acrylic ice rocks , wooden hearts , flat marbles, and gems. Draw out hearts and smooches all over the butcher paper followed by inviting the child to 1st decorate the drawing with loose parts and 2nd let them color or paint it however they want. 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. Coloring is a gradual process. By offering toddler thick sturdy materials such as these tempera sticks is a great way for your child to explore and experiment. It's all about putting their hands with these tools and letting them scribble and color all over the place rather than give instructions and color in the line. While this isn‘t 100% process art driven it has great value to create an invitation such as this that makes them feel as active collaborators in their learning process. A butcher paper filled with images from the book deepens their literacy skills and comprehension to the story, makes the child pay attention to all the details in the drawings, enhance color recognition, fine motor skills, and provide more language development as they talk about the images in the book and on the paper.

The newly released I Am Golden written by Eva Chen and Illustrated by Sophie Dao is a beautiful story about celebrating the Chinese American identity of a child. Through stunning imagery and meaningful text children will be inspired to be able to manifest their self-love for they are golden. This is a great book to read during the #LunarNewYear since it shares so many beautiful aspects of the Chinese culture. To extend the literacy experience through the arts creating a mix media collage inspired by the book is a great way to deepen the connection of the story. To set this invitation you will need a recycled cardboard box as the base, lucky money envelopes , pom poms , recycled bottle caps, pipe cleaners , glitter , glue , red/yellow/golden tempera paint , red/yellow/golden/orange tempera paint sticks , paint brushes, chop sticks and cotton balls. Invite the child to create the beautiful colors and symbols of the story. Experimenting with different medias and varying textures always brings a special spark of interest and engagement because of the open ended process for children. Children who engage in process art learn to think with an open mind, to look at situations creatively, and empower their talents. They develop critical-thinking skills through making self directed decisions about what works and what doesn’t on their own, how to mix colors to create new ones, or how to make certain movements to create designs. By creating freely children gain confidence while acquiring so many skills. It gives them a foundation to look at the world with the confidence that they can accomplish any goal. Visual arts also deeply affect children, for it is one of the most important forms of communication and expression. When children create, they are proud to be unique and take risks, while honoring their innate creative artistic style. Which is a perfect way to connect the story's message!

Mae Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut who became the first black woman to travel into space. February is Black History Month, and Mae Jemison is an exceptional figure to teach young children about. Reading the book Mae Among the Stars written by Roda Ahmed and illustrated by Stasia Burrington is a great way to share the life of Mae. The story shares Mae's curiosity, intelligence, and determination from a young age that will inspire to reach for the stars, dream big, aspire for the impossible, and persist with imagination. After you read the inspiring story you can set up a small world play where the children can explore being an astronaut through play. To set up this small world play you will need a sensory tray, black sand , rocks, space figurines , and planets . Simply invite the child to explore, imagine, and play in space just like Mae. Small world play accompanied with sensory materials are a great way for extending literacy, language, imaginary play, and tactile play. Through play they can reenact what they see in stories and deepen their understanding to the concepts of the book. This type of play can be defined as where children accept and assign roles, then act them out. When children engage in play they break through the walls of reality, use their imagination, pretend to be someone or something different from themselves, explore different worlds, and have actions to go along with the roles they have chosen to play.This type of play is an integral part of the developmental learning process by allowing children to develop skills in such areas as abstract thinking, literacy, math, & social studies, in a timely natural manner. They are able to play and manipulate a variety of materials and textures that stimulate their mind & body while deepening their connection and understanding of the book. For more Black History Month Activities and Invitations check out this 20 here !

There is no denying that children love to use their imagination especially during pretend play! A fun way to enhance your dramatic play areas is changing it up with a creative theme. Since Valentine’s Day is coming up setting up a Sweet Sweet Treats Bake Shop is a great way to explore in role playing . Children’s Factory #gifted this Birch Toddler 2-in-1 Kitchen Set is perfect for any dramatic play center. To set up the rest of the bake shop you can provide baking tins, cookware, plates, bowls, and baking tools. You can place pretend treats and sweets. To ignite their imagination even more adding loose parts such as (acrylic ice rocks, rocks, wooden hearts, gems, and flat marbles) is an even more open ended way to enhance the process of their play. After you setup simply invite the child to 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 by doing. The child will build social and emotional skills, language skills, problem-solving skills, take risks, and become who ever they want to be. If there is one thing we need to encourage children to do more is imagine , and through dramatic play they will! After all play is the work of a child.

To explore many of the the traditions of the Lunar New Year inviting a child to explore one of the symbols the citrus fruit which represents promising luck, prosperity, and a long life is a fun way to learn about the culture. Having mandarin oranges around the during the New Year is said to bring riches into your life. Before engaging in creating the sensory soup you can bring items from the holidays such as the lucky red envelope, money, tigers, mandarins, fire crackers , dragon , cherry blossom s, and more to open up a discussion about all of the beautiful aspects of the Lunar New Year. Next you can set up a sensory bin with water, sliced citrus, chop sticks, tongs, ladles, and cups. We are lucky enough to have an orange tree at one of our center that is overflowing with oranges so we sliced some up and placed it in the sensory bin. Simply invite the child to explore by inviting them to make sensory soup. Making pretend soup with a variety of materials is not only a great way for the children to enjoy some water play with but it can incorporate exploring so many senses. Children are able to scoop, pour & transfer materials from one container into another with a variety of utensils & containers. The containers & utensils help encourage exploration of measuring & mixing. Whenever water play is incorporated in an invitation 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 water flow through increased force); effects of gravity (water runs downhill) etc. With all that math & science happening in an open ended way there is plenty of language development when a child discusses the ingredients, how they will create their mixtures, & so forth. The social learnings from water play include collaboration, concentration, turn taking, problem solving, perseverance, self-regulation, & more. Children also gain physical learning through water play, such as precision in pouring, eye-hand coordination, & other skills. Exploring water combined with materials is captivating, engaging, engrossing & absorbing to almost all children.

Young children are very curious about the sights and sounds in the world around them and interested in exploring them. They are naturally drawn to the properties of light. Whether it is through shadows, rainbows, reflection, colors, or the sun, they experience the properties of light in the world around them at all times. Light has a way of focusing their attention and illuminating new perspectives. Connect to USB cable provided to charge. Knock or tap the cylinders to activiate the light. Invite the child to explore and PLAY! Discount School Supply #gifted this illuminating set of Light Up Glow Cylinders which are perfect for open ended light exploration. The loose parts cylinders are ideal for children to experiment, explore and discover using them for one to one correspondence, sorting, pairs, sequencing or finding their own ways of using these glowing cylinders to be a snake, a fence or even a rocket.They are also a great addition to dancing activities, children can twirl and whirl to the music and light up their movements. You can also use them on light tables or pictured here with acyrlic mirrors. Adding the sensory element of placing it on a mirror opens their mind to a whole new perspective of exploration while providing a reflective process. Since they are so versatile they are a resource that can be used in construction, loose parts play, math activities, sensory areas, music + movement, and imaginative play.

Another afternoon activity with Grow Maple is set for this Thursday 1/27 @ 4pm. Join us on IG Live as we make Emotion Sensory Bottles. Here’s what you’ll need: ✔️5 Clear Recycled Bottles ✔️Food Coloring or Liquid Water Colors (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black or Brown.) ✔️ Droppers or pipettes . ✔️Water ✔️ Loose Parts (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black or Brown): Rocks, Bottle Caps, Rubber-bands, Pom Poms, Pipe Cleaners, etc. ✔️Super Glue Before creating the emotion sensory bottles reading books about emotions such as The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions or A Little SPOT of Emotion Series to unpack feelings with color helps children identify emotions and feel more in control. Tapping into both socio-emotional growth and color concepts is an approachable way to talk about the foundation of Social Emotional Learning . Since the Social-Emotional aspect of a child is the foundation that supports all areas of development, the stronger awareness a child has of emotions the more equipped the child will be in all areas of development. To create the emotion sensory bottles pour the water into the clear container with a little bit of room, add 1-3 drops of Food Coloring or Liquid Water Colors with droppers / pipettes drop the loose parts into the bottle, place super glue around the rim of the cap, and seal shut.

With Valentine's day just around the corner the Book Robot in Love written by by T.L. McBeth is a great book to read followed by a STEM Invitation with Loose Parts. The heartwarming story is about a robot who creates gifts for another robot that he falls in love with. After reading the story, you can integrate the literacy experience with a STEM invitation to build a Robot with Picasso Tiles and Loose Parts. You will need the P icassoTiles® 100 Piece Set Magnet Building Tiles.PicassoTiles® Piece Set Magnet Tiles as well as Exc ellerations® Metal Loose Parts Set of 3 . Simply invite the child to create a robot with the tiles and metal loose parts. STEM invitations with Picasso Tiles have a natural progression that touch so many layers of learning. Children have to learn how to move and manipulate various shaped tiles, big and small, as well as have the fine motor control to “click” them into place. Whenever a child builds it helps children enhance their visual-spatial skills and encourages thinking and reasoning. It involves focus and patience that children need to work slowly and carefully to be successful at creating their designs. These skills are what make children become well-rounded, independent and successful adults. By adding loose parts to the STEM invitation you provide another layer of inventiveness for the child to explore. Since loose parts are dynamic in nature, it brings about authenticity of formulating ideas and you can see a child's creativity shine in their creations. Using their imagination through this process boosts cognitive, academic, language and social growth. Through creating, children learn to experiment, take risks, and make new discoveries about how things work while building their own self confidence, once they have created a masterpiece.

The book Ten Ways to Hear Snow written by Cath Camper and Illustrated by Kenard Park is a perfect book to read about discovering the world around you on a wintry day. After reading the story, to integrate the literacy experience through the arts is great way to deepen a child's comprehension and connection to the book. You can do this by creating an invitation to create buildings in the snow with paint swatches, cardboard, glue , shaving cream, scissors and paint brushes. All you need to do is visit a paint or hardware store grab a variety of paint swatches. If your child is old enough you can have them cut the swatches into different shapes and sizes. Next have them glue the paint swatch buildings onto cardboard. Now for the fun part, the snow! Mix glue and shaving cream together and simply invite the child to paint snow. Art invitations are some of the best ways to promote literacy and brain development in early childhood. When we intentionally integrate art with actually literacy experiences this will develop reflective skills that will promote writing, printing awareness, spatial relations, visual literacy, verbal creativity. Integrating the arts and literacy involves combining opportunities to develop critical thinking skills and enhance their communication abilities while providing children with opportunities to express by way of a creative outlet. Literacy experiences open a child's imagination to think big while art provides children to express their creativity with authentic self-expression—the freedom of choice, thought and feeling.