Painting without paintbrushes is always a good idea. After doing this process art invitation for several years now it’s safe to say painting with slinkies is always a favorite. To set this initiation you will need Colorations® 1/2 Gallon Simply Washable Tempera Paint, Rainbow set of 6 Colors #gifted, plates, butcher paper , and slinkies. Pour the paint into the plates and let child explore a whole new way of painting by dipping the slinky into the paint and creating freely. As a child uses a new tool they test and experiment a variety of ways to paint with the slinkies. They observe all the ways the slinky moves and bounces as it creates prints on the paper. It also makes for an interesting way for the child to observe how high and low the slinky moves when using their body (gross motor skills) to maneuver the tool. The whole process challenges the child cognitively and creatively to think and create in new ways. “When children explore art ideas, they are testing possibilities and working through challenges, much like a scientist who experiments and finds solutions. Art allows children to make their own assessments, while also teaching them that a problem may have more than one answer. Instead of following specific rules or directions, the child’s brain becomes engaged in the discovery of “how” and “why.” MaryAnn Kohl.

Color theory and water play is a staple in early childhood education. It comes so naturally to children to play and explore with water. Through water play children begin to understand & investigate with ideas such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than. When you add in primary colors (red, blue, yellow) they create new ones (orange, purple, green) all while enhancing mathematical and science skills through pouring, mixing, and measuring. Not to mention cognitive skills through cause and effect as well has hand eye coordination when pouring the water. To set up this invitation you set out the primary colors (Red, Yellow, Blue) mixed in water. Using Learning Resources Spalshology Water Lab and Primary Science Lab Set are great tools to enhance their process of exploring and creating. You can take it outside and place it on a table, the ground, or a sensory bin. Invite the child to freely mix, pour and measure and see how it always excites the child to create and see the new colors that they can make. It provides for so much discovery and learning all through play.

Anything that’s translucent will make for magic on any light table. This isn’t traditional block play because the items being used are out of the norm, which makes for a great STEM challenge. Colored plastic cups are perfect for STEM concepts. Whether it is sorting, patterning, color recognition, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, creative thinking, endless possibilities are provided through this type play. To set this invitation you will need a light table , neon cups , and for a fun twist glowing cups can provide for another illuminating element. When children explore the natural progression of block play, they have to learn how to move and manipulate objects, as well as have the fine motor control to “click” them into place. Building helps the child enhance their visual-spatial skills which is crucial for reading readiness. 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. Through building, the child will learn to experiment and make new discoveries about how things work. Light tables are an excellent resource for sensory input. Children are often calmed by the glow of the table and the visual stimulation enhances their experience as they explore to further enhance their play.

To continue further extending ocean exploration inviting a child to learn about the zones of the ocean on the light table is an enamoring multi sensory option. To set this invitation you will need a light table , liquid water colors (black, blue, teal, turquoise, white, yellow, gold), rectangular silicone mold , ocean life figurines , and a clear tray. Read a book such as Under The Ocean or show images of the different zones. Next if the child is old enough to mix and create the layers of ocean colors into the molds, let them do so. Once you finish your discussion, observation and exploration of the different zones through the media invite the child place the frozen color molds as the layers of the ocean (sunlight, twilight, abyss, tench). Next ask the child to sort through the figurines to predict what ocean zone they reside in. Sorting is a beginning math skill. Through sorting they understand that things are alike and different as well as they can belong and be organized into certain groups. Children learn by doing. Through hands on experiences, learning through play, enhances the process of retaining information. With the visual input of the light table, tactile exploration of ice and the different figurines and textures, along with igniting their curiosity through literacy and language sure makes for a meaningful experience. Here are some fun facts about the zones: The Sunlight Zone which goes down to about 660 feet deep. Because there is so much sunlight in this zone, this is where most sea animals live. In addition, because of all this sunlight, underwater plants can grow by using the sunlight to make food (the photosynthesis process) just like the plants on land. Some of the life that you will find in the sunlit zone are coral reefs, seals, seaweed, plankton, and algae. The Twilight Zone, which starts at about 660 feet deep and goes to about 3,300 feet deep. Because there is so much water above, this zone has a lot of pressure. No plants grow in the twilight zone because there is little or no sunlight. However, many animals live in this zone because they have developed a special adaptation to make their own light, called bioluminesence. This light helps the animal stay safe from predators, hunt for food, and find mates. Abyss; an area that is near freezing, with no light, very few animals, and is the largest part of the ocean. The last level is the Trench, the deepest part of ocean and with temperatures barely above freezing. After exploring you can invite the child to use the frozen ice cubes as paint sticks!

Squeeze, scoop, grab, and drop all together in this fine motor gym invitation. Learning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set helps children develop fine-motor and pre-scissor skills that gets them ready for writing, cutting, and more. To set this invitation you will need water, containers ( pails , cups, vase), liquid water colors , pom poms , and water beads . Drop: Water Transfer- the child uses the dropper to transfer water from the full pail to the empty. You can enhance the process by adding liquid water colors to build color recognition. Grab or Squeeze: Pom Pom Transfer-the child transfers pomp poms by grabbing or squeezing the Pom Poms and transferring them into the container. Scoop: Water Bead Transfer-the child transfers water beads by scooping them from one container into the vase. Fine Motor skills, Eye-hand coordination, Problem solving, and endless Sensory Play.

Another afternoon activity with Grow Maple is set for 7/8 @ 4pm. Join us as we make Nature Portraits. Grab your littles for a nature walk to find these materials and some items around the house you already have. Here’s what you’ll need: ✔️Gather flowers, sticks, leaves, rocks, wood scraps, pine cones, acorns, and twigs. ✔️A piece of paper, place mat, wooden cutting board, or paper plate. Next invite the child to create their own interpretations of a portrait of anyone with the natural loose parts they found in the nature walk on the face (paper, place mat, wooden cutting board, or paper plate) This type of activity stimulates children's thinking, to inspire them artistically, to empower them to take control over their learning, to open their minds, to create an environment for reflection, to challenge children, and to encourage creativity. They are able to understand their own interpretations of faces and become more aware/familiar of body parts in an open ended way. Absorbing nature around us and gathering natural materials as much as possible in the early childhood setting provides opportunity for the child to become aware of the world around them. With natural materials it is a great accessible way for a child to pay attention to all the details nature provides. It’s an amazing way children can explore textures, examine different specimens, and connect with the natural world. To extend the activity you can ask them to make critters or even famous people !

Here are three ways to do ocean small world play with something other than water. Water is always a great and easy go to but if you want to level up your invitation using water beads , dyed rice/pasta, or slime sand are great options to enhance sensory play. To set this small world invitation you will need Ocean Animals , shells , seaweed, rocks, flat marbles , and any of the three bases ( water beads , dyed rice/pasta, slime sand ). Invite the child to create their own ocean small world play. 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. When small world play is accompanied with sensory materials it enhances comprehension, language, imaginary play, and tactile play. Small worlds are great for many areas of development, including language, imaginary play, and sensory play. This type of play can be defined as where children accept and assign roles, and then act them out. To further enhance their play adding the tactile elements creates endless possibilities with materials that heightens a new depth of sensory play. 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, and social studies, in a timely natural manner. They are able to play and manipulate a variety of materials and textures with stimulate their mind and body. It encourages language development, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, focus and concentration.

After reading the book Have you Ever Seen a Flower written and illustrated by Shawn Harris and being inspired but he Fluorescent Colors it was a no brainer to extend the literacy experience through the arts with BioColor® Paint from Discount School Supply and painting with a mop! In the enchanting story you see a child experience the beauty of a flower with all five senses which reminds us of how a child sees the beauty and wonder in everything around them. The vibrant imagery and simple story reveals how a single flower can ignite so much curiosity. To integrate and extend the story setting up in invitation to recreate the flowers through the arts is great way to deepen the connection and comprehension. With poster paper, Fluorescent BioColor® Paint, & mops as their paint brushes I invited the children to paint with the bright colors. Their is no such thing as “correct tools” in art. Anything that encourages fun and creativity is a tool in the arts. Why in this world would anyone settle for just paint brushes when there is a world of possibilities out there? The children loved exploring the different ways they could use the mops. Up and down. Side to side. Going in circles. They brushed making different strokes and mixed the colors. There was definitely some problem solving to do from beginning to end, creativity was flowing, gross motor skills being enhanced, and their creativity was beaming. Once the paint dried I cut the paper into all the flowers from the book and created this collage representing the fields of flowers. We extend the invitation by washing the paint off the mops by letting them clean the concrete on the playground and paint the hug canvas we have stapled on the fence. Mopping Canvas Painting

Friends Art Lab inspired this water play invitation! Typically my go to is Colorations liquid water colors or food dye but she swears by using BioColor® Fluorescent Paint to make it more vibrant and opaque. Let me tell you this did not disappoint! To set this invitation to explore you will need beakers, cylinders , ladles, twisty droppers , pipettes , whisks, clean containers. Provide water and BioColor® and let them mix. You can do this in a large sensory bin, outside on a table with large clear bins, or in a mud kitchen. Pictured here is our Excellerations® Toddler Outdoor Set and Outdoor Kitchen Set . Water play is a staple in early childhood education. It comes so naturally to children to play and explore with water. Through water play children begin to understand & investigate with ideas such as more/less, same/different, many/few, empty/full, before/after, greater than/less than. With all that math and 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, & collaboration when creating together. The social learnings from open ended water play include team work, concentration, turn taking, problem solving, perseverance, self-regulation, & more.

This timeless STEM invitation is a low-prep invitation with so much learning packed all together. To set this invitation you can do it indoors or outside in a sensory bin, bucket, bowl, water table, sink or the bathtub with the Learning STEM Sink or Float Activity Set . Sensory Bin Bathtub Since children are natural born scientists, STEM experiments such as this teach young children physics as they explore density and buoyancy through making predications and observations as they play. As they drop each object in the water they will see which objects will float (buoyant), and which will sink (dense). Sensory Bin Guiding and providing children with experiences such as these will help children devise their own ideas about physical properties, how they can be used to describe and categorize objects, observe how things work, and become even more intrigued with how the world works. Children learn by doing, and the more they are able to tinker and experiment with tools through play, the more they become observant and aware of how the world works. Bath Tub

The beautiful story My Rainbow written by Trinity & DeShanna Neal and illustrated by Art Twink , is based on the real life experience of a mother who created the perfect rainbow colored wig for her transgender daughter. Not only is this a such a valuable book to read for #pridemonth it is something that should be read throughout the year. This literacy experience emphasizes the importance of listening, honoring, and loving people for who they are. To extend the literacy experience setting an invitation to have a child make their own rainbow hair is a great way to integrate the story through the arts. You will need a cardboard cutout, coffee filters, liquid water colors , and droppers . Simply invite the child to recreate a rainbow wig just like the characters in the book with all the beautiful colors. Helping children understand at a young age to treat others with respect and kindness can only be done so by exposure and providing opportunities to see differences. Reading stories such as My Rainbow, guiding them by being an a example of acceptance, and having conversations enriches their understanding of a boy wanting to dress up as a girl or the other way around will lay a foundation early on. Answer their questions, ask them questions, build their understanding, and establish respect about all these different dynamics. This will let a child always keep an open mind and have a stronger social emotional connection for others through accepting everyone as they are. Stories such as these are need to be in the home and classroom to uphold inclusivity for all.

Did you know that understanding measurements starts as early as infancy and develops throughout early childhood often without any adult guidance. The child‘s mind applies concepts of measurements in many of their everyday activities from infancy and throughout their childhood. Whether they are stacking blocks, weighing rocks, seeing how long a worm is, sorting objects, measurement is present everywhere and everyday in their lives. When building on children's intuitive early concepts of measurement both in formal and informal ways to develop their vocabulary and understanding of measurement and comparison through exploring will help develop a strong foundation of mathematics at a young age. Measurement is meaningful to children and Learning Resources Primary Science® Mix & Measure Set #gifted are the perfect tools to provide more exposure for children to learn through hands on play. A fun way to set up an invitation specifically exploring measuring is to place a sensory bin with the Mix and Measure Set . Provide different materials to measure such as rocks, slime, sand, rice, beans, pasta, and water. Invite the child to use the tools to measure all the different sensory materials. Since children learn best through hands-on experiences because they are using different modalities they will retain and learn new concepts while enhancing their mathematical skills. This type of learning through play helps their brain engage and create and expand their neural pathways since so many of their senses are being used. Hence why play builds brains. The more children are given opportunities of opened ended play such as this they higher their level of thinking will grow and develop.