There is no doubt the amount of excitement that is coming with halloween. When a child shows extreme interest in a subject matter, creating invitations to build upon their curiosity honors their learning process by letting them be active collaborators. While it may steer away from your planned lessons, curriculum, concepts or theme, it provides for a meaningful experience to guide a child's exploration in something they are interested in or what is happening in the world around them. A meaningful way to learn about skeletons is to explore through X-Ray images, loose parts (q-tips & bones), and skeletons on the light table . Integrating hands-on experiences with a variety of materials to explore whenever possible is an important way to reinforce new concepts, categorization of images and objects for children. It encourages children to participate in their abilities to naturally differentiate items. As they observe and explore the materials their language and understanding of bones is enhanced. The child will categorize and repurpose the materials and when you set it on a light table it provides to be an excellent source of visual sensory input. Children are naturally drawn to the glow of the table and are often calmed by the visual stimulation as they explore a the center. “Light has a way of focusing our attention and illuminating new perspectives.”

The book Gilbert the Ghost by Guido Van Genechten has become a staple in our house. The story is about a special ghost who doesn't like to be scary because he wants to be polite. After getting in trouble with the school principle he is sent to the abandoned tower where he finds his way of staying true to himself while becoming friends with a cat. After reading this story almost every night, we created last years Spooky House STEM Invitation to inspire creating a STEM + Small World Play invitation to recreate the story. First I created the two main characters (Gilbert + Cat ) out of Cardboard and painted it with acrylic paint. Then set up Excellerations® Building Brilliance® Magnetic Clear , LED tea lights , wooden ghosts , spiders, webs, and mini tombstones . You can either set up a small world such as this to recreate pages from the book and simply let the children explore and build upon the invitation. Another option is loosely set up the materials and let the children build it from start to finish. Extended the literacy experience through STEM and Small World Play deepens their comprehension of the story, builds upon their language, and honors their interests with what's going on in the world around them. The best part about integrating books and hands on learning is that it further ignites their curiosity and wonder of the world all through the power of a story.

Finger gyms are great for enhancing fine motor skills because a child is literally using their hands and minds to make this activity work. These three invitations are an ideal challenge to be able to grasp objects with their whole hand or with thumb and index finger, in order to refine their fine motor activities such as lacing beads on a string, writing, cutting, etc. later down the line. Finger gyms teach children how to be patient and strategies about how they can start and finish a task. While these invitations may look easy and simple, it does take a bit of planning, problem solving and consistent thought process for the child to succeed. It teaches a child how to guide and use their hands and fingers so that they can grasp the items effectively and efficiently. Acorn Transfer Invitation: To set this invitation you will need acorns, play acorns , or felt acorns. A bowl and tweezers. The child is to transfer the acorn with the tweezers. Pumpkin Bands Invitation: To set this invitation you will need rubber bands , hair ties , or geoboard bands and pumpkins or gourds. The child is to wrap the bands around the different pumpkins or gourds. Fall Scented Sensory Scoop: To set this invitation you will need Putka 'Pumpkin' Pods , cinnamon sticks , cups, and wooden scoopers . The child is to scoop the sensory materials into the cups with the scoopers.

Halloween is approaching and slime the perfect sensory play staple when creating invitations this time of year. To set this invitation you will need a sensory play tray , spooky cups, cauldrons , testing tubes , spooky critters , skulls , and any other halloween items that will be inviting and enticing. Slime has the strangest characteristics in that it flows somewhat like a liquid, spilling out onto the table, but is very obviously a solid. It is ooey and gooey and cold to the touch as it flows between your fingers and down your arms. It clings to your hands, but it is not sticky, and very easy to clean up! This Discount School Supply slime is reusable, cleans easily, safe and allergy-free. Note anytime there are loose parts or non-edible materials are provided to a child, supervision is of the utmost importance to ensure safety. While this looks like messy play , it is so much more than that. It provides children with an exciting tactile and sensory experience that inspires their curiosity, allows them to explore the world around them and enhances their learning, language and creativity. Children learn through experimentation and discovery and messy play encourages children to explore new textures and manipulate different materials through touch.

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 and Latinx 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. Reading the story My Two Border Towns by David Bowles (Author), Erika Meza (Illustrator) is about a boy who lives on the U.S. Mexico border. In the book he visits his favorite place on the other side with his father where they eat their favorite meal, visit his Tío Mateo at his jewelry store, eat a cold delicious treat from the paletero, and pickup up items at the pharmacy. Their final stop is the checking in with their friends seeking asylum where they provide much needed supplies to the families. This book is the story of many, and sharing the care for the community, exploring the culture and life of another country, and opening the discussion of the complexity of the reality of our world is a great way to expose children. To extend this literacy experience a STEM invitation is great way to make the story come to life. You will need wooden block homes , magnetic tiles , wooden peg dolls , and a truck. If the child is old enough invite them to recreate the two cities and a bridge and let them reenact the story through play. This process will deepen their comprehension of the placement of the two border towns as well as connect and act out what happened in the story.

Picasso Tiles are magnetic shaped blocks that are quite possibly the most versatile STEM learning tool for children. Whether you simply let children play with the tiles all by themselves or add elements to enhance the experience their are many benefits to a child's development through block play. Block play with any building materials has a natural progression. Children have to learn how to move and manipulate various shaped objects, big and small, as well as have the fine motor control to “click” them into place. Building helps children enhance their visual-spatial skills. Encourages thinking and reasoning, these skills are what make children become well-rounded, independent and successful adults. Involves focus and patience, children need to work slowly and carefully to be successful at creating their designs. Using their imagination boosts cognitive, academic, language and social growth. When building, children need to decide what will or won’t work. Through building, children learn to experiment and make new discoveries about how things work. Builds confidence, once that masterpiece is finished, children are so proud of their accomplishments. It increases their belief in themselves. Here are six ways to enhance building with Picasso Tiles : 1. Build with Tiles: Simply let the children play and explore with the tiles. The Picasso Tiles we used are P icassoTiles® 100 Piece Set Magnet Building Tiles. PicassoTiles® Piece Set Magnet Tiles. PicassoTiles® 100pc Marble Run Building Blocks . 2. Build on a Mirror: Acrylic mirrors are an excellent source of visual sensory input and provides visual feedback for experiments! Children are naturally drawn to the exploration of reflection, perception and appearance and it is a rather calming experience as they explore. 3. Build on a Magnetic White Board: A magnetic base board while provide another dimension of building which will heighten their play. 4. Build on a Light Table: Children are often calmed by the glow of the table and the visual stimulation enhances their experience as they explore to further enrich their play. 5. Build with Tea Lights: Yet another way to add visual sensory input that is a way to let the child explore light play. 6. Build on a Ramp: An elevated surface will have the children challenge to think in different and creative ways.

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. Reading the story Paletero Man by Lucky Diaz and Illustrated by Micah Player celebrates the strength of a community coming together to enjoy ice pops also know as Paletero. With musicality and Spanish words the book spreads the theme of generosity and kindness. To extend the literacy experience through the arts you can invite a child or the children in your classroom to create their own Paletero. You will need: cardboard paper , craft sticks , glue , liquid water colors , twisty droppers / pipettes , and rock salt or idolized salt . Cut out the shape of a Paletero, place a thick base of glue, and sprinkle thick salt all over. Let it dry. Then invite the child to paint the salt with twisty droppers or pipettes.

After reading the story Piggies in the Pumpkin by Jennifer Rofe , setting up a Small World is great wat to extend the literacy experience. Small world play is simply when children explore figurines, loose parts, and sensory materials that reenact scenes from nature, books, fairytales, or a subject matter of interest through hands on play. When small world play is accompanied with sensory materials it is great for many areas of development. It enhances comprehension, language, imaginary and tactile play. Through small world play that is connected to a book they can correlate and understand what they see and hear in the story. 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. To set this invitation you will need a sensory bin or tray . Farm life animal figurines , wood rounds , natural blocks , rocks , pumpkins, farm mobile vehicles, faux pumpkins , and mini scented pumpkins.

I am so excited for my friends Grow Maple to launch today, and stand by their efforts to move the world of parenting forward. Maple makes parenting easier by helping parents manage the load together, because it’s not 1950— it’s 50/50. Download the App Here! Founder Michael Perry explaining Maple's mission to help households make the shift from 1950 to 50/50 here. For the past couple of months it has been truly been amazing to continue to watch Maple evolve and be part of this process. Doing a collaboration for monthly Afternoon Activities for families and their littles has been such an honor Invitation to Paint on Ice , Invitation to Create Flower Soup , Nature Portraits , and Recycled Wall Collage Painting . Can't wait to do more together! As a mother, your mind is constantly racing to make sure your family is taken care of at all costs. The mental and physical load we take is something that truly is miraculous and a force to be reckoned with. As an administrator of preschools and early childhood advocate, communication and planning to reach efficiency throughout the day is essential for me to feel centered. Organization and follow through clears my head and makes me reach my full potential. This is where Maple steps in to make sure it all happens with and for myself, my community and my village together. From the applications effortless accessibility to the endless resources provided, Maple continuously helps makes this journey easier. It is without a doubt a gift to the future of parenting. #growmaple Lastly, if you haven't already Save the Date: Wednesday September 15th, 12-1pm PDT. Join us for a Zoom Panel Discussion about an open conversation about education in the USA, with a panel of experts to help parents navigate the learning journey for kids. In honor of school starting, Grow Maple is bringing together a panel of experts to have a real conversation around the future of education and what parents need to know. Free to register here. Panelists: Stephanie Powell Dua - Co-Founder and President of Homer Fernande Raine - CEO and Founder, Got History Yasmeen Kamrani- Preschool Administrator & Founder of Tinkerwonderplay Lauren Ezzell - Moderator, Maple

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 exploring collaging and creating sculptures. To set this invitation you will need a recycled cardboard box, paper rolls, glue , tempera paint , and brushes . Before you start you can show images, read stories, or watch a video on famous artist who are known for this art form. Artist such as Louise Nevelson, Arman, Jean Tinguely, John Chamberlain, Robert Bradford, and. Leo Sewell. Next invite the children to glue the materials how ever they want, let it dry. Once the sculpture is dry let the children paint all over the the 3-D Art. 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, fine + gross motor skills, 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 artists 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 different forms of art.

Christian Robinson‘s new line at Target ignited our playroom’s wall of wonder refresh + play sapce! His art embodies creativity, curiosity, inclusivity, wonder, and what better way to make that a part of a child‘s environment. Whether it is in a classroom or your home, I hope this inspires you to create a space that fosters creativity for children as much as #christianrobinsonxtarget does for our world. "The learning environment...is the 'third teacher' that can either enhance the kind of learning that optimizes our students' potential to respond creatively and meaningfully to future challenges or detract from it." Loris Malaguzzi The environment plays a central part in a child's meaningful learning, fostering creativity, values we want to communicate, and a child's identity. Creating a space that honors that space while empowering a child's curiosity provides thriving environment where they can evolve in the becoming best version of themself. Comfy Corner: Play Tent. Play mat inside is Toki Mats. Parachute Throw Pillow. Wooden Tool Bench. Kitchen: Table Grow Wild Co . Tribal Rug . Kitchen from Kidkraft (painted it). 12345 Shelf from Homegoods. Melissa & Doug 6 Piece Play Set. Wonder Wall: Black Shelves , Wooden Houses from Target Dollar Spot, Mondo Lllama Wooden Rainbow . Wooden peg dolls . DIY Lion Placemats. Grimms Wooden Toys . Parachute & You Matter Wall Art. Butterfly Chalkboard . Rainbow Tapestry White . Play Mat is by Yay Mats.

Grab your dinosaurs and get that paint party started! To set this invitation you will need Colorations Tempera Paint , cupcake tin, paint brushes , two trays, construction paper, and dinosaurs . Place tempera paint in the cupcake tin. In the first tray place the dinosaurs on the base and invite the child to paint on them however they want. In the second tray place construction paper at the base and invite the child to dip the feet of the dinosaurs into the paint to stomp around the paper. Tray 1: Invite the child to paint on the dinosaurs. Tray 2: Invite the child to dip the feet of the dinosaurs and stomp on the paper. Both processes are great for building language, speech, social & emotional development, color recognition, fine motor skills, recognizing the parts of the dinosaurs, sensory + pretend play, similarities and differences, categorization creativity and so much more. This type of play through art brings that large world down to their size, so they can have some measure of control over it. Playing and painting with dinosaurs gives them a venue to become more aware of the species, reenact how the dinosaurs would act, and truly letting their imaginations run wild as they create on unusual canvases + tools.