Every monday this month Developing Minds & I will being showcasing how to integrate Literacy Invitations through play. Join in on the fun by choosing a story and a creative way to make the story come to life through invitations. Today the first literacy invitation is integrated with loose parts. The importance of loose parts play in early child hood is hugely connected to the creativity it advocates. Loose parts are dynamic in nature, it brings about authenticity of formulating ideas. The more variables an object offers the more possibilities & creativity the object will have. As a child creates they enter an environment of “what if” that promotes problem solving & theoretical reasoning. This is the foundation we want to establish early on in children: to have a higher level of learning & understanding of how things work while honoring their ability to think imaginatively. Since spring is upon us the book We Are The Gardeners by Joanna Gaines is a great way to kick off the new season. In the story Joanna & her children chronicle the adventures of starting their own family garden. From their failed endeavors, obstacles to overcome, & all the knowledge they've gained along the way. The Gaines family shares how they learned to grow a happy, successful garden. Books related to the concept explorations are motivating & appealing to children. Information can be gained from these books in context of a story. The pictures & words can impart a lot of meaning and information to help the children learn more about at topic, interact, relate their own experiences, & guide the children's inquiry. To extend a literacy experience setting an invitation to re-create the story with loose parts is open ended, engaging, & deepen their connection with the book. Join us for the rest of the month as we challenge you to create in invitation in your home or classroom, tag us and we will share it in our stories. 3/8 Nature Loose Parts 3/15 Play-dough 3/22 Art 3/29 Writing/Drawing Extension

⁣As a closure to the Developing Minds #PlayMatters campaign, we want to encourage children to play around the world. We would love to share with you some our favorites and awesome resources that the participants have developed. We will be gifting out the following:⁣⁣⁣⁣ @bamobam_: Baby Grapat Nins and Mandala pieces (small green cones, blue coins & pink flowers) @carinacastrofumeronp : Coco and Mumu Story Book @earlychildfood: Curso Para La Paz-En Español @earlychildhoodsquad: Sensory Box @developing.minds: Phonological Awareness New Teaching Guide @lwtears: Double Lined Board with chalk bits and sponges. @purplepandacompany: 32 Piece Flockmen @sumblox: Starter Set @tinkerwonderplay: Discount School Supply Loose Parts and Colorations Play-dough Kit ⁣ Here’s how to enter:⁣ Head over to Instagram! ⁣ 1. LIKE and SAVE this photo.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 2. TAG friends! Leave a comment telling us why you believe play is important in early years, each tag is 1 entry. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 3. FOLLOW all the accounts above. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 4. BONUS: Share to your stories and tag @developing.minds (we will have you send us the screen shot). That’s it!⁠ ⁠⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Giveaway will end March 3rd at 11.59PM EST ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣Giveaway is open WORLD WIDE! Winner is responsible for shipping costs outside of the USA from each shop.⁣⁣⁣⁣ Not affiliated with Instagram in any way. Winners will be picked at random and will be notified on March 5th. Developing Minds will contact the winner directly.

There is no denying that children love animals. Finding meaningful ways through play is a great way for children to learn more about them. This invitation to explore is through small world play of a tigers habitat and peek-a-gloves™ ! Two types of play that inspire one another. 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. Small worlds are great for many areas of development, including language, imaginary play, and sensory play. Typically in early childhood puppets or finger play whether guided by an adult or the child benefits the child’s development in the early years in so many ways. When you add the magic of "peek-a-boo" and peek-a-gloves you are getting the best of both worlds. Peek-a-boo helps a child understand the concept of object permanence, and these playful gloves are perfect for introducing animals. Fostering meaningful experiences is a great way to enhance play.

With so many musicians to honor for #blackhistorymonth a great way to celebrate decades of influential music is showcasing their art. Whether it is Stevie Wonder, Muddy Waters, The Jackson 5, Kendrick Lamar, Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, A Tribe Called Quest or the Isley Brothers, there are decades of music to explore. Their voices and songs changed the world throughout so many genres. There is no denying the importance of music in education. Music supports and ignites all areas of child development. Including but not limited to intellectual, social-emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. The more a child is exposed to early on the more they are able to learn the sounds and meaning of words. If you happen to have a record player you can also teach children what it is, how it plays music, and listen to some tunes while talking about the artists. After you can set up a process art invitation. You will need paper plates, Colorations markers , and a record player. Poke a whole in the paper plate, place it on the record, have the stylus placed on the edge, and let the paper plate spin while the child colors designs with the marker. Little fun fact, Stevie Wonder is a staple in our household. From being my husbands childhood hero, to the song he asked me to be his girlfriend to seven years ago (For Once in My Life), and our wedding song (Overjoyed), his music has been monumental in our lives.

2020 was really, really hard—especially for moms. In the midst of a global pandemic, families experienced more hardship and dealt with more stress around the health and safety of their loved ones than ever before. The Ten Little #MakeALittleSpace campaign is a 30-day nationwide initiative to celebrate and honor the heroic efforts of moms in big and small ways, and make a little space for them to feel strong, beautiful, and above all, acknowledged. Every mom deserves to be recognized, whether she’s an essential worker, or just making it through another day. Nominate a mom to receive a curated gift package of self-care and home essentials through our nomination form. Nominate now through 3/22. Post your favorite picture of you being a mom from this past year. Tag three or more mom friends who have also been on this journey with you and tell them to pass it on so we can celebrate you. Use #MakeALittleSpace Tag @tenlittlekids and.... Join Ten Little in their nationwide donations drive and partnership with Baby2Baby , donate to the families that need it most. Baby2Baby is a non-profit organization that provides children living in poverty, with diapers, clothing and the basic necessities that every child deserves. Baby2Baby has distributed 50 million essential items to some of the most vulnerable children across the country this past year.

The late African-American Marsha P. Johnson was a celebrated transgender activist in the gay liberation movement. Marsha P. Johnson, the “P” stood for “Pay It No Mind,” which is what she would say in response to questions about her gender. During her time the term "transgender" wasn't widely used so she referred to herself as gay, transvestite, and a drag queen. To honor her dedication to helping others and being an important figure for #blackhistorymonth inviting a child to recreate her enigmatic and timeless style is a great way to celebrate her. She was known for wearing crowns of fresh flowers that she would receive leftovers under the tables in the Flower District of Manhattan. To recreate this invitation you can print images of Marsha, laminate them, and then provide flowers in a PlayTray. Johnson said her ambition was “to see gay people liberated and free and to have equal rights that other people have in America.” 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. Talking about people such as Marsha, guiding them with the concepts, and vocabulary that enriches their understanding of a boy wanting to dress up as a girl or the other way around. By answering their questions or asking them questions, building their vocabulary, and establishing acceptance, these will lay a foundation early on about all these different possibilities, to always keep an open mind and have a stronger social emotional connection for others. This is another key reason why inclusivity matters. The Marsha P. Johnson Institute (MPJI) protects and defends the human rights of BLACK transgender people. To support donate here .

Little Persian has created Hands-On Haft-Sin™ , Greeting Cards , & Learning Materials to bring Persian culture to your classroom or home. Growing up, Persian culture was never spoken about or acknowledged throughout my education. Since my parents were immigrants they worked so hard to uphold our culture through language, food, and traditions. In order to give any child a strong connection to their culture or other ones, from a young age experiencing and being exposed lays a deep foundation of appreciation/acceptance. To see a resource such as Little Persian come about now is so amazing. This is something that would have definitely made me so proud to see in my classroom. Culture is a strong part of people's lives. It influences their views, their values, their humor, their hopes, their loyalties, and their worries and fears. Exposing children to cultural diversity is important because our world consists of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. When different cultures are introduced to children, they gain a level of understanding & perspective of others, which is needed in order to build relationships, facilitate collaboration, encourage cooperation, respect, appreciation in the future. The Hands-On Haft-Sin™ is for Nowruz (New Year) which means New Day. It has everything you need including a guide. The authentic items represent the seven important symbols of life. Life-rebirth, health, happiness, prosperity, joy, patience, and beauty. Apple: beauty/health, garlic: health, vinegar: age/patience, coins: prosperity, sabzeh: rebirth/growth, hyacinth: spring, mirror: self-reflection, senjed: love, egg: life, sumac: sunrise, samanu: affluence, candle: enlightenment, and goldfish: represent life. PLEASE NOTE: In order to ensure delivery by Nowruz, US orders should be made by March 1. International orders should be made by February 20.

In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth setting a small world play to explore farming can be great way to celebrate the innovators who changed the way we farm and shaped our agricultural landscape. Before inviting a child to explore the small world play, you can teach them about those who played major roles in making what agriculture is today. Whether it is showing images of these individuals, reading books like The Abcs of Black History , or opening simply having a conversation, this lays the foundation of how important history is. We can also hope this will inspire children to value the food they eat, brining equity and civility to farming, and continue to honor those that changed our history. Here are just a few of those that changed the farming: Henry Blair, American inventor who designed + patented corn & cotton planters. George Washington Carver, a soil scientist who pioneered crop rotation. Karen Washington, owner of Rise & Root Farm and cofounder of Black Urban Growers. Booker T. Whatley, encouraged farmers to create clientele membership clubs, selling memberships in exchange for fresh produce to provide steady cash flow. John W. Boyd Jr., fourth-generation farmer from Virginia as well as one of America's most effective defenders of civil rights. To set this small world play you can place loose parts, farm animal figurines and people , food in a PlayTray . 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. Small worlds are great for many areas of development, including language, imaginary play, and sensory play.

If you don't already follow @homegrownfriends do it now! Meredith has always been such an inspiration and her newest book Art Play! truly reflects the beauty, passion, and magic in her work. This book is such an amazing resource filled with creative easy art projects that is great start for any educator or parent who is looking to start implementing #processart. It truly honors the fact that in art there is not right or wrong way and by letting a child explore their creativity it builds their confidence to discover art in their own way. These are the projects we did! Bumpy Bubble Print using Colorations Tempera Paint and Paint Brush. Upside-down Artists using butcher paper and Colorations Tempera Paint Sticks Magic Drawing Cars using butcher paper and Colorations Markers . Favorite Color Collage using recycled tops, pom poms , pipe cleaners , feathers , construction paper , wood circles , buttons , and glue . Scavenger Hunt Sculpture using Colorations play dough , craft sticks , wood circles, and beads .

Alma Woodsey Thomas was an American artist and educator whose exuberant colorful paintings used the techniques of pointillism and abstract expressionism. She became the first African-American woman at the age of 80 to have a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art. To honor her groundbreaking and influential work for #blackhistorymonth an invitation to recreate her art work with loose parts to inspire children to become creative just like Alma. To set this invitation you can read the book Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison or show images of her art work to spark their creativity. A PlayTray filled with Translucent Shapes , color paddles , and a base to create such as the lid, mirror, or light table . When the child creates on a acrylic mirror or light table it encourages reflection, perception, & appearance which in turn provides visual feedback. Loose parts play is art in a different medium, it is more about the process of exploration not the end product. Just like process art, loose parts are materials that can be moved, carried, combined, redesigned, lined up & taken apart in multiple ways. Loose parts encourages an open ended process that has endless possibilities.

Howardena Pindell is an American painter, filmmaker, and mixed media artist. Her work explores texture, color, structures, and is often political. To honor her work for #BlackHistoryMonth inviting a child to create a mix media collage of her recurring motif of the circle, is a great way to learn about her art. The circle goes back to connecting her childhood memories. From hole punched paper, watercolor, gouache, crayon, ink, spray adhesive, and thread, the circles appeared in many of her pieces. To set this invitation you can place a variety of circular materials in a tinker tray and let the child create. This PlayTray is filled with recycled cds & container/pouch/bottle tops, dot stickers, collage materials , and buttons . The child can create layers upon layers with glue and washi tape on poster board . You can print and laminate images of her art work as a provocation to inspire similar techniques while having them explore the detail in her art. The beauty about collages is that you can keep revisiting and adding more materials over and over. #Processart allows children to explore freely, be in control of the outcomes creatively, & let them discover art in their own way. This builds their confidence, fosters their cognitive skills & when they become aware of all the different ways to do art, make predictions, plan it out/problem solve, everything comes into full circle.

In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth introducing children to the amazing history of the Pioneers of African American Scientists through an invitation to explore science is a great way to learn more about the phenomenal work they have accomplished and still continue to do every day. To begin this invitation you can print/laminate images of the scientist to discuss who they were and what they discovered. You can also create a slide show or play a video that showcases the scientist as well. Another option is to read a book or simply open up a discussion beforehand to establish a framework of knowledge. After exposing the children to who and what scientists are, you can invite them to safely explore science by becoming one! Book on the Far Left: The ABCs of Black History Book in Middle & on the Right: Dream Big, Little One Simple science staples are: vinegar/lemon + baking soda (you can add dish soap, glitter, liquid water colors to enhance the chemical reaction), mixing oil & liquid water colors, and water + liquid water colors. (Supervision is required at all times.) Scientific tools: Beakers/ Cylinders , Jumbo Droppers , Measuring Cups , Pipettes , Test Tubes , Petrie Dish , & Sensory Bin. When children are freely given the opportunity to experiment cause & effect, they use and discover so much language, figure out why things happen, and cultivate critical thinkers that can problem solve. Science taps into the "whys" of the life which supports their natural curiosities as they discover the world around them.Science in the early years is all about exploring, asking questions, and curiosity.