February 💕 in the early learning program!

I love Valentine's Day - not the actually 'day' where it is all commercialized to be expected to buy expensive flowers or chocolates for your loved ones on a specific day -  I love the reminder that we should do loving things for each other each and every day because each day should be Valentine's Day!

 I love the colors and hearts and just the fun that a celebration can mean for games and playing - like December reminds of of importance of engaging in Random Acts of Kindness if we start to slack in January than February comes to remind us again! So because I love Valentines I still share this cultural celebration with my crew even if a 'child led' program where most of our topics are led solely by their interests sometimes it is fun to share some of our own to keep traditions and cultural practices that we value as adults alive in our next generation.

These are some of the invitations the crew and I have been enjoying so far this February! 

A collection of loose parts Valentine erasers with invitations for patterning and math literacy for those who need to a 'jump start' ... the children use these loose parts in a variety of ways from stacking and pattering without the use of aids, pretending they are cookies and role playing with them and an array of other imaginative ways ... this is the great thing about 'invitations' to play as the adult I can set out the invitation and the children are able to accept it as is if that is where they are at or they can move beyond the invitation with their own creativity! I find that when children join the group as infants and are exposed to loose parts from very small they do not really need the 'invitations' they just jump start creating their own games and play with loose parts however sometimes children who join us older feel a little lost with the loose parts so the jump start of an invitation helps them see how this bowl of 'stuff' can be potentially used and than as they watch others thing outside the invitation they grow their own imagination!

We have some fine motor fun with the lacing of the hearts!

Another math literacy game for the older friends at quiet time ... sometimes they use them to count and other times they flip the heart to the blank size and just make patterns to decorate them like cookies in play.

Quiet time games of tic tac toe are fun ... this is such a simple game with preschoolers to help them learn to take turns, follow directions and play a game with combined purpose.

And of course we love the Valentine inspired sensory bin ... the great thing about bins like this is they are fun for all ages - the children have been sorting pom poms, ripping the paper, twisting and making things with the pipe cleaners and role playing with the little Love Monsters hiding within the bin! 

What are some of your favorite Valentine's activities to share with your crew during month of February? 


Have an amazing day! 


Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Much, Love Often
Be Totallyawake4-life

Elf on Shelf Play dough Recipes

Ian is back today with an invitation for fun ~ making brand new play dough for December fun! 

Play dough Invitation Poem

Good morning little friends on this second day of December

Today I have a recipe for fun that you are sure to remember

Mix together these ingredients add the peppermint too

Warm them together on the stove so that they are no longer goo

And you will have some warm peppermint play-doh to explore

You can create hours of fun and creations galore

I will be back again tomorrow with a message from the big guy

In the meantime be friendly and give some random acts of kindness a try!

 Gluten-Free Peppermint Play Dough

Original base recipe for the dough comes from the Celiac Disease Foundation  I  adapt / tweak for my preference

What you need:

• ½ cup white rice flour or Bisquick mix works
• ½ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup salt
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• Food coloring, if desired. We added a little 'green' to ours for December.
• 3 drops peppermint essential oil or extract. 

What you do:

• Mix ingredients. Cook and stir on low heat for 3 minutes or until it forms a ball. Cool completely before storing in a sealable plastic bag.

 

You could also make Cinnamon play dough as well

Or if you want to have a little more fun this recipe for 'apple cinnamon clay' is a lot of fun too!

 Christmas Cinnamon Clay Ornaments

 What You Need

• 1 part unsweetened applesauce
• 1 part cinnamon 
• Ziplock bag
• Wax Paper
• Rolling pins and cookie cutters
• A few Straw cut in half or thirds
• Ribbon

What You Do

•  Add ingredients to the ziplock bag and let the children 'mix' in the bag' by shaking and gently squishing until it forms a 'ball'.
• Than you can roll it out on parchment paper or wax paper or a plastic placement works too ~ let the child create and cut out their own shapes.
• Place a straw in the end you want it to hang from and allow it to air dry a couple days until hard ~ I have attempted to bake these on a low 200F for a couple of hours to speed it up and while it will increase the chance of 'cracking' in the ornaments. 
• Once dry revist the invitation wiht some glitter glue and embellishments for the children to decorate their ornament . 
• Tie a ribbon around the ornament and take home to hang on their tree ~ these ornaments will give off a lovely aroma for YEARS each time their are brought back out! 

 Have an amazing day!

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much! 
Be Totallyawake4-life