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This STEM invitation has four ways to use the Colorations Foam Cubes from Discount School Supply. Colorations® Sticky STEM Foam Cubes come in 300 different sized pieces. They are self-adhesive foam cubes that promote creative building for art projects, STEM activities, sorting, patterns, and more! Here are the four ways to explore the foam cubes: 1) Shaving Cream 2) Craft Sticks 3) Toothpicks 4)Play-dough. Shaving Cream & Play-dough: Building with shaving cream or play dough as a “mortar” like in bricks structures, adds a great sensory element experience for children. This simple project is actually a great lesson on structures for children, especially masonry. Activities with life lesson tie-ins, especially those related to design and science. Unlike real mortar, these materials will only hold the blocks together while the children get the idea of how brick buildings are made and why they are weak under certain types of stress. When creating innumerable models through play it fosters children’s ability to create new shapes and ideas. Toothpicks and Craft Sticks: Simple supplies like toothpicks & craft sticks for hands-on exploration with different materials will allow children to learn and extend their knowledge and creative thinking skills. Pushing the ends of the toothpicks into the foam cubes or placing the craft sticks to build different shapes for structures gives the child the ability to test how to build a solid structure through a lot of a trial and error, to test the right amount of pieces, to create a solid base, and attain basic engineering skills through using their fine motor skills. STEM activities are designed to engage and stretch their thinking. Introducing the engineering and design process is a natural fit due to the fact that children already like to build. There was no wrong or right way to do this invitation and the possibilities are truly endless. There is a natural progression of ‘block play’, 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 and by adding a tactile element to it furthers their thought process. Building helps children 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. Using the imagination boosts cognitive, academic, language and social growth. When building, the child need to decide what will or won’t work. Through building, children learn to experiment and make new discoveries about how things work. Once that masterpiece is finished, a child is so proud of their accomplishments. It increases their belief in themselves.

Integrating literacy experiences through invitations to explore, deepen the connection in many ways. Books related to the explorations are motivating and appealing to children. Even more information can be gained from these books in context of a story when they are able to see it come to life. The awarding winning book Last Stop on Market Street written by Matt de la Peña and the unmistakeable vibrant diverse imagery by Christian Robinson was something I wanted to recreate in small world play. In this story CJ and his grandma take a bus ride together, discovering the beauty and wonder of the their vibrant neighborhood. P ictures impart a lot of meaning and information to help the children learn more about at topic, interact, relate their own experiences, and guide the children's inquiry. A story such as this exposes children to see a wonderful perspective. To set this small world play I placed cars, trees, figurines , school bus , and city blocks . Small world play is simply when you set an invitation to explore where children use items to engage in scenes from their own experiences, environments, books, pictures, fairytales, or to expose them to new ones. 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.

This simple invitation has many layers of learning. To set this invitation I used a recycled plastic egg carton, poured bubble mixture into the carton, and added Colorations Liquid Water Colors in the order of a rainbow, and two reusable metal straws as the tool to create bubbles. I placed translucent color paddles on the acrylic mirror as a point of reference and another means of engaging awareness of color. I love placing the egg carton filled with bubbles on a mirror as it encourages exploration of reflection, perception, and appearance which in turn provides visual feedback. The science behind the way bubbles start as just some liquid and form into a wonderful colorful floating sphere is something just so enamoring. So at any age they are great for exploration whether they can blow bubbles or just watch. The exercise of blowing a bubble encourages children to practice deep breathing which has calming effects on the body. Blowing bubbles is also good for strengthening muscles in the mouth. Children who have delayed speech may benefit from this. As the bubble mixtures creep and overlap one another, a child is able to see colors form which is another great way to introduce color theory. So much STEAM packed into one simple invitation to explore.

Sunflowers just brighten up any environment and they happen to be one of the most interesting flowers around. Depending on the age of your child before any invitation I recommend reading a story, simply opening up a discussion about observations of what they see/touch/smell, or discussing some super interesting facts about what they are exploring to ignite their curiosity. Some fun facts that are developmentally appropriate for ages three and up about sunflowers are as follows: One of the most interesting facts about sunflowers is that each sunflower is actually thousands of flowers since they are composite flowers. Sunflowers are crazy about sunshine so they love to sun bathe. They can grow to unimaginable heights. They are a versatile flower used in foods, medicines, dyes, and oils. Sunflowers symbolize cheerfulness, happiness, and positivity. After opening the child's mind to the world of sunflowers, inviting them to create their own interpretations of sunflowers with loose parts provides them opportunities to expand their learning process. What I love most about invitations with loose parts is watching how the different combinations of materials inspire the child to create different things. The loose part materials provided here are rocks, recycled pouch caps, translucent shapes , buttons , rhinestones , and scarves . You can simply place the loose parts on a table, tray, light table, or mirror. Since children are naturally drawn to light, the Guidecraft light table is another way to deepen the experience in a different medium. Mirrors such as this acrylic one encourages exploration of reflection, perception, and appearance which in turn provides visual feedback. This type of play enhances a child's free creative play, exposure to sensory elements, requires concentration, fine motor and hand strength building, relaxing and stimulating. Loose parts are the perfect for limitless possibilities, foster problem solving skills, creativity, exposure to new materials, and decision making. Through this kind of free play children are really creating: using what they have and what they already know, and combining that to create a whole that’s greater than the parts. Loose parts and free play in childhood develops the creative genius of the future. Opportunities for creativity reinforces the children's ability to engage with the world in new and novel ways, which promotes inquiry, reflection and critical-thinking skills.

Dish soap foam is such a great alternative to shaving cream! All you need is 1/4 dish soap + 1/2 cup of water + Colorations liquid water colors from Discount School Supply in a blender and mix away. To enhance this sensory filled invitation adding squeezed lemon juice in the yellow colored mixture and limes in the lime colored mixture created a refreshing scent. Developing a child’s sense of smell and touch through play will help expose them to a myriad of sensory experiences. Setting real lemons and limes for further observation and exploration in order to become aware of the different types of citrus. Squeezing and touching citrus is an excellent way to strengthen fine motor skills as well as adding another sensory element. Placing different cups, bowls and plates allows the child to experiment with pouring, measuring and mixing.

Small world play is simply when you set an invitation to explore where children use items to engage in scenes from their own experiences, environments, books, pictures, fairytales, or to expose them to new ones. Since the pandemic has put a halt to experiencing zoos, aquariums, farms, and trips, small worlds are perfect for exposure to different environments. Many small worlds incorporate sensory play materials to enrich the experience and make it more realistic. In this invitation I placed kinetic sand , spectacular sand , flat marbles, and real shells . The ocean life figurines are from Discount School Supply which also comes in set of four different habitats. 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. When we have an invitation such as this where it classifies habitats it develops the child's mathematical thinking, observation skills, ability to notice and talk about similarities and differences between things, and language skills. In addition to all of these benefits, this activity where they are able to see the distinct environments allow the child to cover some science concepts and vocabulary: habitat, predator, prey, food chain, land vs. water, the difference between the habitats, and more.

I just couldn't take these itty bitty dino party hats off without one last use in an invitation to play and explore. To set this invitation I placed shaving cream mixed with Colorations Liquid Water Colors from Discount School Supply in cupcake tins, craft sticks as candles, sprinkles, cupcake liners, dinosaurs, all in the sensory bin . These dinosaurs were ready to stomp and chomp through the cupcakes. Shaving cream is a material with endless possibilities that heightens a new depth of sensory play. When the children play with a sensory materials such as shaving cream, they are playing with a material that has a texture which stimulate the mind and body through the tactile experience. Children learn best and retain the most information when they engage their senses.

And just like that my little dino is one! This past weekend to celebrate we hosted a virtual 1st birthday party. To make his day extra special, I created his dinosaur backdrop out of recycled cardboard which I hand painted. I also created a small world dinosaur party landscape for his cake table, with loose parts and toys we already had. The ballon arch was made by Pippa and Co . , and it truly made it feel magical. The Dinosaur Kingdom line by Meri Meri which I purchased from MoMo Party . And to reminisce on every single month I used these pre-cut dinosaurs from Discount School Supply to display each milestone. While I wish we were able to celebrate with our family and friends in person, it was a dream come true to create C-Rex an unforgetabble first birthday!

Right before the pandemic hit I had ordered these Lily & River Climbers for our three centers and surely had to get one for my son who at the time just started crawling.The Little Climber is a moveable playground that will grow with your little one from their crawling stage all the way to the age of five. 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 nautrally 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 and physical development, and has been shown to improve creativity, memory, and 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 and balance when taking part in exploring a climber such as Lily and River. The other benefits of climbing are: Improved Dexterity: Through climbing, children begin to develop their fine motor skills including dexterity, grip and grasp. Climbing Confidence: Young children may feel nervous when facing climbing for the first time, but through trial and error and risk-taking, children will learn to be more open to begin taking on new climbing challenges every single day. Physical Strength: Climbing allows children to build their physical strength and gross motor skills leading to a healthier and active lifestyle. Problem-solving skills: When approaching new climbing challenges, young children develop critical thinking skills when discovering different routes to climb and traverse. Risk Taking: Climbing equipment allows children to manage and assess risk which is an important life skill to learn from a young age. Children will begin to understand when they are doing something that is too dangerous while discovering their limits when overcoming challenges. Most importantly they will have a deeper awareness of their body. Our Little Climber is pretty much always out. Since the local parks are closed because of COVID-19, we sometimes even take it outside when the weather is nice. To enhance the experience and encourage more challenges I also add these activities from time to time: 1) Grab the Rainbow Scarves- I attached these movement scarves to ignite him to climb up and pull the scarves. Our simply explore the colors and texture. 2) Ball Pit Slide- The great option about the ramp is you can get rock climbing option and flip it over to used it as a slide. I place our ball pit for him to slide in. 3) Ramp- Experimenting with cars and balls on the slide side of the ramp to test which will go faster or slower. 4) Placing the Ramp on Different Heights- You can adjust the ramp to different heights gradually to encourage risk taking.

Feet are often forgotten as a wonderful tool for painting as well as exploring the sense of touch. Our feet are just as sensitive as our hands and this invitation to paint allows the child the experience of learning, exploring, and feeling with their feet. 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, spacial orientation, balance, and coordination. This invitation has multiple layers of sensory integration for little feet to explore. First I tapped cardboard on the cabinet, followed by different textures for the canvas (bubble wrap, foam wrap, and paper), and Lakeshore Learning Foam Sensory Paint . Placed my son on his back and simply squirted the Foam Paint on his feet and on the canvas and let him paint!

Inviting children to explore their senses is not only a great way for children to enjoy some water play with herbs from the garden it incorporates nature within their experience. Our senses are the gateway for all learning. Smell is closely linked to the oldest limbic part of the brain. A baby's sense of smell plays an important part in their development from the time they are in the womb. Often we take a baby’s sense of smell for granted. A good sniff is integral to how humans understand and learn about their world. Developing their sense of smell through play will help expose them to a myriad of experiences that will possibly make them more familiar and accepting of foods. Smell is particularly linked to food because it is deeply tied to how humans experience flavor. This invitation was set to explore the herb mint. We picked mint from our garden, froze some bunches, and placed loose pickings freely or in water. Tools to enhance the filling and pouring were jumbo droppers , condiment bottles filled with green liquid water colors, bowls, cups and recycled bottles in the sensory bin. Invitations to explore natural materials, ice and water fosters creativity and enables children to experiment with science and math concepts. Children begin to understand and 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 waterflow through increased force); effects of gravity (water runs downhill) etc. Children gain physical learning through water play, such as precision in pouring, eye-hand coordination, and other skills. Exploring with water is captivating, engaging, engrossing and absorbing to almost all children.

To create this invitation I took recycled cardboard, drew some tropical leaves, and cut out the largest leaf with a box cutter. Then I taped the cardboard onto our sensory bin . We re-used our dyed rice that was made with Colorations liquid water colors from Discount School Supply. The object of this invitation is to practice filling, scooping and pouring with different tools such as ladles, measuring cups, bowls, scooper, or simply their hands. These types of activities help develop fine motor skills as well as using math concepts such as less and more. Tasks such as this help children coordinate their hand movements with what they are seeing and feeling. Using open-ended invitations means children are developing skills and processes such as problem-solving, experimenting and adapting as they explore the materials in the environment. Filling, scooping, and pouring invitations can be used as a means to develop fine motor skills associated with practical life skills, but one of the best values is the exposure of sensory experiences in childhood.