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Tuesday Tip: Learning can be messy, let your child get dirty!

7/25/2016

Welcome to my Tuesday Tip. Each week over the summer I will post a Tip on how to encourage learning through play. Read my recent blog post to learn more about how free play supports deep learning. Today's tip is about letting your child get dirty so they can learn through sensory exploration:

Last week I wrote about baking something real that you can eat and enjoy: Baking to Learn. This week I want to write about allowing your children to get outside, get messy and stimulate their senses.

Sensory play has numerous benefits including fine motor skill development, emotional regulation and learning about sensory characteristics (what is hot, cold, smooth, rough, etc) which helps with classification and sorting skills. But, sensory play can be messy so many caregivers are reluctant to allow children to dive into sensory play.

Some examples of sensory play are:
* play doh
* finger painting
* shaving cream play
* dirt play
* sand play
* bubbles
* water play.

Through sensory play children can experiment with their sense of touch, learn to manipulate materials, create things, write or draw with different materials and self soothe.

Today’s tip is to embrace the mess (as I described in my blog about creek swimming) and let your child get dirty, play in the dirt and the mud and make mud pies. They might not be edible, but I guarantee your children will enjoy the freedom to get messy and let their imaginations go in their outdoor pretend kitchen.

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Tuesday Tips: Let it Go.....

7/11/2016

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Each week over the summer I will post a Tuesday Tip on how to encourage learning through play. Read my recent blog post to learn more about how free play supports deep learning. Today's tip is about learning to let it go and play freely:

When I suggest "Let it Go" I did not mean a karaoke rendition of the popular Disney song (although I am sure many kids would love that), but letting go of plans, being flexible and encouraging children to play a little more freely than usual.

This morning I took my children to a nearby creek and imagined it to look like this:

My children, calmly throwing rocks in the stream, sneakers and clothes somewhat clean and definitely dry.

And, this is what it looked like by the end of our adventure:
My children were wet, with a few scrapes, lots of dirt and with huge smiles on their faces.

Although it was not the plan for my children to end up in the creek, it was not an accident either. The reason they ended up in the creek was because I was intentional about not setting limits. I was intentional about allowing them to freely explore, to take risks and push their skill sets. This gave them the opportunity to practice:

* Gross Motor Skills
* Fine Motor Skills
* Balance/Coordination
* Emotional Regulation
* Risk Assessment
* Problem Solving
* Overcoming Challenges
* Flexibility

This week practice flexibility and allow your children to get into nature and play freely. They will have fun and learn so much in the process!

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Tuesday Tip: Baking to Learn

7/7/2016

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Baking is another fun way to connect with your children and incorporate learning into an everyday experience. Children develop many skills in the kitchen such as:

* Fine Motor Skills
* Reading
* Following Directions
* Measuring
* Fractions
* Delayed Gratification

One of my favorite book series is Mimi’s Baking Adventures. They are wonderful stories about a grandmother and granddaughter duo that bake together in the kitchen. There is a story that takes you through the whole process of baking.

So on that rainy day, make some cookies, invite your children to help you make dinner. The more you involve your children, the more they learn (and the more likely they will develop the skills and confidence they need to be successful in life).

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Tuesday Tip: Make a Lemonade Stand

7/5/2016

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A good old-fashioned lemonade stand is a great summer day activity for children. In addition to being a fun activity it teaches them responsibility, social skills, counting and about money.

The key to making the lemonade stand successful (and by success I don’t mean that they earn a ton of money, but rather that they have fun and learn something in the process) is to let your children be in charge of the lemonade stand. Even the youngest entrepreneurs can have an active role in the process. Let your child do as much as he is capable of doing.

At almost any age your child can participate to varying degrees in the process of creating a lemonade stand. Here is a chart that outlines the various tasks and what children can learn in the process of these tasks.

Task: Skill Development:

Deciding what to sell and how much to sell it for Problem Solving, Negotiation, Math, Money

Purchasing/Making the Product Math, Measuring, Money, Counting

Creating the stand and making signs Literacy (reading and writing), Motor skills

Selling the product Social Skills, Counting, Math, Money

The more involved your child is in the process, the more your child will take ownership over it and learn from it (and enjoy it).

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Tuesday Tip: Learning can be messy, let your child get dirty!

Tuesday Tips: Let it Go.....

And, this is what it looked like by the end of our adventure:
My children were wet, with a few scrapes, lots of dirt and with huge smiles on their faces.

Tuesday Tip: Baking to Learn

Tuesday Tip: Make a Lemonade Stand

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Tuesday Tip: Learning can be messy, let your child get dirty!

Tuesday Tips: Let it Go.....

And, this is what it looked like by the end of our adventure: ​My children were wet, with a few scrapes, lots of dirt and with huge smiles on their faces.

Tuesday Tip: Baking to Learn

Tuesday Tip: Make a ﻿Lemonade Stand

Author

Archives

Categories

And, this is what it looked like by the end of our adventure:
My children were wet, with a few scrapes, lots of dirt and with huge smiles on their faces.

Tuesday Tip: Make a Lemonade Stand