Sensational Sand
You’ve probably noticed – in our yard or at the playground – how much your child likes to dig in the sand. Sand is great fun, but it’s also wonderful material for learning.
Children learn math and scientific concepts from playing at our sand area . For instance, when kids pour sand from measuring cup to measuring cup they’re likely to be learning about estimation, volume, texture, and even counting and simple physics,
As children play with sand, we encourage them to talk about what they are doing or experiencing. For instance, we might ask ” Does the sand feel different when is wet? ” Or how did you get the sand smooth on your castle?
Have you ever longed to dig your toes in the sand? Sand has the same soothing effect on children. We find the kids who are frustrated, annoyed, or angry often choose the sand center to work out those feelings.
You can encourage sand play at home by providing a sandbox. It does not need to be large. An excellent and inexpensive sandbox is a Rubbermaid filled with sand. They are portable, easy to clean, and easily stored. Provide measuring cups and spoons another plastic containers to support play .
We also went on our first walking trip today.
Our intention was just to walk toward the library and take a look around our neighborhood. Once inside the library we were invited to join the preschool storytime. Many times I am reluctant to do that because they are so long and there is lots of sitting. We decided to try today and it was a huge success.
The children sat and listened quietly, actually better than anyone else in the room for over eight books. That’s a long time. The theme today was bears. The leader read books like Jam berry, Brown Bear and Corduroy . Many of these books are books our children are already familiar with.
Following story time the children were invited to get a special Swiss roll snack. We decided to honor our kids fantastic behavior by allowing them to run through the splash pad instead of receiving a food treat.
We played red rover red rover send a friend right over and wanted to time the children ran through the water. Unbelievably, most of the children dodged getting wet.
After we got home to cool down our bodies we sat at the table and drew pictures of something we saw on our way to the park and also dictated our statements. We are always finding ways to add literacy and fine motor practice as long as it’s relevant and age-appropriate.
It was a good day.