I was reminded yesterday how important it is not to make gender assumptions, especially with children.  A sweet 8 year old girl came in for her first day at Summer Care at You're Invited and my immediate response to her was "oh we have several girls your age to play with."  As I listened to her talk and watched her body language I thought that perhaps she wouldn't want to play just with girls and I quickly added, "yes, lots of girls or boys your age to play with."  (trying to recover from my lack of sensitivity)  Later in the day I watched this girl compete in an intense, competitive tetherball match with a boy a few years older and saw other boys lined up to play the winner.  They were all having a great time.  I reminded myself not to make assumptions about people based on their gender, that we can easily make children feel bad, sorry, guilty, confused, etc about their natural predilections when we decide what they will like based on our assumptions and stereotypes.

Moments Under the Tree

I love trees and the gifts they provide... 
At You're Invited we are so fortunate to have several trees and I believe ours are being used to  to fullest of God's intentions for providing them to us.  Some of these trees are huge and provide the best natural shade and we are blessed to have a few that offer even more gifts.  Our trees that have low, strong branches provide endless opportunities for our children.  Low branches provide a feeling of being enclosed and give children a place that feels like their own little shelter.  Swings are possible when branches are low and of course the amazing, powerful feat of being able to climb something "hugemungus" like a tree.  As much as these trees offer, they can not be fully utilized without offering children the time to use them to their fullest potential.
     It is so important that children are given long amounts of time with the freedom to make their own choices in their play.    It easy to be convinced of the fallacy that children need to constantly be presented with curriculum and provided with information constantly.  The intention behind these overly structured environments is to "get them ready"  but what happens are children that can be stressed, overwhelmed and unable to think on their own.  They become dependent on outside resources to be stimulated and they don't develop the inner resources that can equip them for their future.
     Children need to be given time and spaces that are rich for building language and friendships, working out drama and creating pretend dramas, they need the time and space to be free, to think without interruption, to dream and to relax. 

Color Blue Preschool Activities!

Graphing with preschool kids - "Do you have blue eyes?"

Develop math and prewriting development sorting blue poker chips with blue tweezers into blue bowls and encourage open ended creativity with blue items, making a blue collage!

Fun ways to encourage learning with the color blue!

Baking Soda & Vinegar w/ blue water color!

Waking Up Full of Awesome!!

If you are a girl, a mommy or daddy, aunt, gramma to a little girl, please read this:

http://blog.pigtailpals.com/2011/08/waking-up-full-of-awesome/

October Orange!!!!!

Although we dont celebrate holidays at You're Invited Children's Center we do use the colors and some symbols of the seasons to create learn by play activities. These are some of the Orange/Pumpkin activities we did this week! Counting and sorting with candy pumpkins. We used pumpkin scoops for fine motor development.

Pumpkin cookie cutters with orange paint mixed with glue and orange colored salt in shakers.

Outside we painted on small, medium & big

pumpkins with water color tablets.

Salt colored with orange water color in cookie sheet with sticks and other tools!
Potato Head peices with real oranges

All orange collage


Outside we did pumpkin sponge painting w/ green paint and yard for making a pumpkin patch Juicing oranges with hand juicers. This was great for large muscles and the juice was super yummy!

Another outdoor activity - Pounding golf tees into pumpkins with small mallots

Easel painting - red & yellow make orange :)

Splatter Painting at You're Invited Children's Center

Child-led, fun creative experiences with no predetermined outcomes for young children!
We used plastic drink bottles with a small hole in the lid (I used a nail and hammer to put the hole in the lid), spray bottles, rubber band brushes (instructions to follow soon), toothbrushes and other fun splatter tools.

Definitely an outside activity, unless your like Teacher Tom and have space inside thats suitable for paint to splatter on the walls :)

Spread the kids out on the grass and let them express themselves!

I had paint all over my legs, shoes and the friends had paint all over them! So much fun! To make the paint go farther I mixed it with some water and liquid starch.

Cornstarch and Watercolor!

I wanted to share these pictures of two year old friends from You're Invited Childrens Center. We put out some containers of cornstarch, cups of water colored water with eyedroppers, scrapers and scoops and a bunch of small bowls. This activity is best done outside so the friends (and teachers) dont have to be nervous about a mess. As the pictures show, we didnt worry about the mess :)

What learning is going on in this activity?

Science - mixing, solid vs liquid, color combinations

Cause and Effect

Textures

Fine motor skills

Math - estimating, quantities

Can you help name more learning that is happening during this activity?

"MMMM this smells goooood!"

Yogurt Painting

We mixed watercolor with plain yogurt for a different type of painting experience. I added tools (q-tips, combs, playdough rollers, etc) and used aluminum foil because I thought the colors would pop more than on construction paper or cardboard and its sturdy enough.

This is definitely a process art project, when the friends were done with their experience we threw the foil away and put out a fresh sheet for the next friend. I accidently deleted a great pic of one of the friends with both pf her hands all the way in the paint cups scooping the yogurt paint out. Who needs paint brushes right? :)

Squeeze bottles and Wood for All Ages!!

Great three dimensional activity for all ages!!


The set up for this activity (and all activties we do) is super important. We use trays to help the friends know their boundaries and the table is inviting with baskets to keep the loose parts accessible and neat. Throughout the morning theteachers are constantly straightening, cleaning and refilling the baskets, facilitating the activity to be "inviting" when a child comes upon the table so then he or she will decide they want to engage in this activity. We have 2 year olds, three year olds and four year olds doing this activity, working hard, engaged in their creative process.

This friend tells me while he is working hard: "I made a bridge!" I asked him, "Whats the bridge for?" He says "For the people to walk across the lake and not fall in the water"










"Look, its a slide, for the bridge, WAIT I need green"
So much concentration and intentionality with squeeze bottles filled with white paint, a little glue and some water color.

SPLATTER PAINTING!!

1, 2, 3 SPLAT!

Knee hi stockings full of sand, paint on trays, paper and somewhere to climb equals lots of fun and learning

Standing or sitting, its all fun!

More Spring Activities!!

The children at You're Invited loved creating these flowers! I wish I could remember which blog I saw the use of the paper towel rolls (I promise to remember next time I post a borrowed activity) as flower petals. Flatten the paper towel roll before you cut it. Use water/milk/soda bottle lids and any fabric or construction paper for stem and leaves. It was great to watch the friends concentrate their eye-hand coordination to get the glue on the thin sides of the paper towel roll petals.

Im constantly asked by preschool teachers about 3 dimensional art activities because it is required in the ECERS Art item to get a 7. This is a great spring art idea!!

Be prepared for a lot of glue to be used :)!!

Spring Activities!!

I love Spring!! It's my favorite season because its not too hot yet here in SoCal but its definitely warm enough to spend all day outside if we want! Here are some of the fun we've been having the last few weeks!!

Using styrofoam shapes and baskets of pipe cleaners, feathers, straws and plastic flowers the friends made some beautiful creations!

We also used the plastic flowers for some counting fun!

We CAN'T do activities with plastic flowers unless we also provide real flowers too! Every year we do spring gardening!! This year we did lots of herbs, strawberries, a butterfly garden and some mystery seeds :)