SolBe Families, Marlo here! We hope you all had a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful weather yesterday. If you are spending time inside today, the New England Aquarium is offering virtual tours. Older friends (younger friends too!) may enjoy the home activity they posted yesterday: "Fish Mouths, What Do They Tell Us?". There is a printable pdf worksheet paired with the activity. I would also highly recommend the "Lobster Claws" virtual visit. Also fun and different: children's author Mo Willems is hosting lunchtime doodles on the Kennedy Center website weekdays at 1:00 PM. He is a new-age Bob Ross!
In the works
We have received many requests for a selection of music from the classrooms. We are working with our educators to create a playlist for you all. Something to look forward to in the near future! We are also working with KidPowerment to plan virtual yoga and mindfulness for you to have for a Livestream or Zoom practice at home.
Project of the Day
Infants & Toddlers: Pots, Pans, and Colors!
Infants and Toddlers don't really need fancy toys to have fun or move forward in their development. I will never forget how we were so excited to give my 12-month old baby her brand new tricycle! It was beautifully wrapped in a glossy, huge, pink paper. When she finally received it, we were surprised to see how she became so excited with the paper, while ignoring the tricycle! She squeezed it, tore it, tried to eat it, moved it up and down, dragged it around the house, and more. Research and statistics say that the attention span in a toddler lasts a couple of minutes (somewhere between 3-5 minutes per year of age); however, we have witnessed otherwise. If the child is engaged, incorporates his or her senses, feels safe and is well, he/she can stay focused for way longer than just a couple of minutes! Put your expectations bar away, and put your effort into connecting with your child, participating in what you are doing, asking questions, describing what's going on, and expressing your own thoughts!
Project of the Day
Older Toddlers & Preschoolers: Brownies for a Rainy Day!
Cooking with your children is an amazing opportunity to Together create food that makes our body feel good! Promote language (while reading the recipe – even if we use pictures instead of words), work on math in a meaningful way (we need to measure and talk about temperature), have a hands-on experience with science (observe how ingredients change) Connect with your family while cooking and later on, sharing a special meal/snack together!
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