Activities @ Home with K & A - Week 3

Activities @ Home With K & A

5 Activities for the week Frozen Animals Bowling Cheerio Line Up Disappearing Paint Sticky Collage

Frozen Animals

Bowling

Cheerio Line Up

Disappearing Paint

Sticky Collage

Frozen Animals

What Materials are Needed?

Plastic Animals, Salt, Plastic Bin, Ice Cube Tray (optional), Small Bowl, Spray Bottle (or Dropper or Pipette), Washcloths, Hand Towel (optional), Small Spoons

How much time do i need to prepare?

1 minute to setup animals for freezing (do this the night before).

1 minute to setup the sensory experience

What are the Steps?

-

Freeze the animals.

Set up the frozen animals, salt, water & drying station.

Unfreeze the animals.

How Do I weave in Science?

Using scientific language can elevate this activity!

What Learning is Happening?

Imaginative Small World Dramatic Play, Problem Solving, Experimentation with Temperature, Exploring Properties of Water, Experiencing Melting, Creating Reactions, Fine Motor Skills, Perseverance

Steps For Frozen Animals 1. Freeze the animals. before you plan on having this

Freeze the animals the night

sensory experience available for your child. You can freeze the animals individually in an ice cube tray or you can freeze them all together in a bowl. It’s easier to free the animals from the ice when they are placed together in the bowl. Using the ice cubes allows for strategy to develop with trying out different techniques over and over again.

Once your animals are frozen, don’t fret if you can’t get them out of the bowl the next day. I’ve been there and panicked. Just run the bowl under warm water to release them.

2.Set up Frozen Animals, salt, water & drying station.

SALT

WARM WATER

WASHCLOTHS

S M A L L S P O O N s ICE CUBED ANIMALS

BOWL OF FROZEN ANIMALS

HAND TOWEL

Steps For Frozen Animals 3. Unfreeze the animals.

There are two steps to unfreeze the animals: 1. Place the salt on the icy area you want to melt.

2. Pour (or squirt) warm water on top of the salt.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Originally I started with a bowl of warm water and spoon. As time went on, Avery started using a spray bottle with warm water for a more concentrated application of water.

Unfrozen animals get to cozy up in warm washcloths once free.

How Do I weave in Science?

There is not much weaving to do! Science is happening whether or not you say anything at all. Once Avery began pouring the salt and dissolving the ice with warm water, she was creating a reaction that allowed her to explore some of the properties of water. Salt lowers the freezing point of water which helps it melt by breaking it down at a molecular level (thank you, Google).

To insert some scientific language you might hear me say: “Can you tell me about your experiment?”

“I’m going to get lower and be eye level with the ice so I can really observe the changes that are happening.”

“Woah, as time has gone on things in this bin sure have changed!”

“What do you notice when you use the salt?”

“I wonder what would happen if you only used the salt or only the warm water?”

“I noticed that when you sprinkle the salt and then concentrate warm water on that spot the ice changes.”

Bowling

What Materials are Needed?

Round Round Round Chalk

1 - Markers & Cars 2 - Blocks & Medium Sized Balls 3 - Bottles & Large Balls (optional)

How much time do i need to prepare?

None!

What are the Steps?

-

Have your child collect materials.

Talk about rolling.

Reset the pins and get the math talk rolling.

Explain the game to someone else.

What Learning is Happening?

Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills, Hand-Eye Coordination, Spatial Awareness, Addition, Subtraction, Fractions, Creating Verbal Number Sentences, Counting Backwards, Subitising, Sequencing, Following Multistep Directions, Internalizing Rules, Explaining Steps to Someone Else, Answering Clarifying Questions

Steps For Bowling 1. Have your child collect materials.

I sent Avery off to collect a few things from my list (this is totally optional, see pink paper below). If you want to just pick one bowling experience, go with the bottles (Round 3). These pins are easier to knock down since they are lightweight. Avery felt really powerful when they went flying as the ball hit them. Get 6 of whatever you are knocking down so you can create a triangle of pins.

Materials List

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

2. Talk about Rolling. with rolling. We did this often when We were a little out of practise

Avery was younger, spreading our legs and passing the ball between us. As time went on we got involved in throwing balls in hoops (or boxes!) and practising catching.

Here are some of the verbal cues I gave when talking through how to roll a ball: “This is an underhand throw. Let you arm be straight by your side with the ball in your hand.”

“Look at your target, what are you trying to aim for?”

“Have your toes pointed at your target, the bowling pins.

This will help organize your body.”

“Swing your arm like an elephant’s trunk.”

“Give a step forward towards the target and release the ball close to the ground.”

Steps For Bowling 3. Reset the pins and Get the math talk rolling.

You might hear me say: “4 pins are still standing. How many did you knock down?”

“5 pins down. How many more do you need to knock down?”

“These bowling pins need to be set up in a triangle shape.

Let’s work together to make this happen. I know a little trick. Let's make a line of 3, then 2 and finally 1 pin.”

“You reset 4 pins. Let’s stand these 2 up to start a new round of bowling. How many do we have all together?” (example of verbal number sentence 4 + 2 = 6) “Woah you got half of the pins down. 3 down, 3 to go!”

“Ready? Set? Countdown for rolling! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!”

4.Explain the game to someone else.

It’s one thing to follow the directions, it’s another to internalize them and be able to explain them to someone else. In comes Avery’s dad, Matt, waiting patiently as she talked about all of the rules of bowling and did a demonstration. Matt asked questions like: “Can I throw the ball or is it just rolling for this game?”

“Once I roll the ball and hopefully knock down some pins, what happens next?”

“Can I roll the ball from any spot I want?”

“Do you have any tips for trying to knock down pins?”

CHEERIO LINE UP

What Materials are Needed?

BONUS

Cheerios, Bowl, Paper, Markers

How much time do i need to prepare?

2 minutes

What are the Steps?

-

Draw your own cheerio design.

Place each cheerio on a circle to complete the design.

Eat your completed design.

What Learning is Happening?

One-to-One Correspondence, Counting, Matching, Hand-Eye Coordination, Fine Motor (pinching), Concentration, Perseverance

Steps For Cheerio line up 1. Draw your own cheerio design.

The set up for this is quick. Simply number your paper from 1 to 5 down the left side. Next to each number draw that amount of circles to the right of the number symbol, making each circle the size of a cheerio. To make my cheerio circles stand out, I decided to color them in yellow.

2. Place each cheerio on a circle to complete the design.

Have your child match each cheerio to the circle on the paper to complete the design.

This supports your child in developing 1-to-1 correspondence.

What exactly is 1-to-1 correspondence and why is it important?

1-to-1 correspondence means that each number (or Cheerio in this case) matches to specific quantity. It’s not just quickly listing numbers in order, but instead recognizing that each number represents an object.

Understanding the concept of quantity is the foundation for future mathematical explorations.

Steps For Cheerio Line Up 3. Eat your completed design.

You read that right.

After all that hard work, you (or rather your child) can eat your design on up.

Some kids might eat them 1 by 1.

Not my Avery. She was ecstatic to scoop up as many as she could, feeling powerful and so satisfied to create some chaos after all that concentration and organization.

BONUS - 3 Additional Designs

Disappearing Paint

What Materials are Needed?

Tin Foil, One Paint Color, Paint Brush, Colorful Paper (cut into squares), Tape

How much time do i need to prepare?

1 minute

What are the Steps?

-

Cut up small squares.

Paint on tinfoil.

Add squares for a decorative detail.

Take care of your materials.

What Learning is Happening?

Creativity, Experimentation, Hand-Eye Coordination, Fine Motor Skills, Cleaning Up, Taking Care of Your Materials, Responsibility

Steps For Disappearing Paint 1. Cut Up small Squares.

Woops! I was running low on fun paper. I decided to to cut up an old file folder.

The bright blue outside and pale blue inside really popped!

Rather than hurrying out to buy packs of fun paper, I like to reuse and repurpose tissue paper, wrapping paper, book jackets, napkins, cards, cereal boxes and file folders for collages.

2. Paint on tinfoil.

Painting on tinfoil is oddly mesmerizing. It beads up and almost disappears as your child moves their paint brush across the shiny surface. I chose to only have one paint color out so Avery could really soak up the experience of what the paint was doing on this new surface. I used tape to attach the flimsy tin foil to the table.

Avery wanted all you folks to know: “Woah, it’s like magic.”

“You have to look really close to see the color.”

“It disappears even if I get low and watch it.”

“Where does it go? See those raindrops? That’s the paint.”

Steps For Disappearing Paint 3. Add Squares for a decorative detail.

To start, I gave Avery just the blue paint and brush to make different marks. As time went on I quietly slide her a plate with colorful squares and said “These are here if you’d like to add them to your work.” Sometimes saying less is more.

Wet paint can act like glue, so adding small squares is easy to do. If you want your paint to not disappear or flake off, add a few drops dishwashing soap to your tempera paint.

I think it’s important that children are involved with the day-to-day workings of their home. From laundry to meal prep, there are important life skills to be learned. This also goes for activity set up and clean up.

I don’t want Avery to think that activities magically appear out of thin air or that they quietly disappear on their own.

4.Take care of your materials.

Not only can children be involved in the excitement of gathering materials for set up, but they can be involved in the process of cleaning up. Yes, this sometimes makes more of a mess. It’s less about your child making things sparkly clean. It’s more about your child investing in the process of taking care of their materials and home.

Washing brushes is a wonderful place to start. It has a defined beginning and end. When Avery started to clean her brushes the water changed color, when the brush was clean the water ran clear. The water was soothing and she could even “paint” the sink at the exact spot where the water meets the porcelain, making clean up fun, engaging and manageable.

Sticky Collage

What Materials are Needed?

Stool (or Chair or Table), Packing Tape, Collage Materials (Paper, Buttons, Pom Poms, Felt)

How much time do i need to prepare?

5 minutes

What are the Steps?

-

Set up an inviting collage experience.

Explore the materials freely.

See things from a different angle.

What Are the beneďŹ t of working on a vertical surface Working upright has a many benefits from strengthen muscles to extending attention.

What Learning is Happening?

Problem Solving, Spatial Awareness, Compare/Contrast, Fine Motor Skills, Sorting, Shape Recognition, Curating a Collection

Steps For Sticky Collage 1. Set up an inviting collage experience. First, flip a

stool (or chair or table) upside down. The legs will work as arms to frame and anchor two sides of the tape wall you are about to create. Grab some packing tape and make a wall of tape by overlapping strips.

For collage materials I used very random leftovers. I decided here to divide materials not only by what they were made but also primary and secondary colors. I had a little too much fun with my own organizing and categorizing. For the square paper and felt I did primary colors (yellow, red, blue) and for the circular buttons and pom poms I did secondary colors (purple, green, orange).

Don’t have buttons or might these be a choking hazard for a younger child? Use what you’ve got and feels safe for your child - cheerios or tissue paper or cotton balls.

2. Explore the materials freely.

You might hear me say: Nothing. I want to consciously respect Avery’s internal dialogue with herself and let her soak in her own process.

“I wonder what is the same about these materials? I wonder what is different?”

“I noticed that those buttons stick with ease. The felt is a little tricky. That’s a good strategy to use your other hand to press from the non-sticky side of the tape.

It’s almost like you are creating a tape and felt sandwich with your hands.”

Steps For Sticky Collage 3. See things from a different angle.

Creating an art invitation that encourages children to move around, physically provides different vantage points. It allows them to be closer to various materials.

Sometimes Avery will simply use whatever is closest to her and won’t explore something because it’s out of reach. This (almost) eye level activity gives a new perspective on collage, which usually has Avery looking down at a table to do this work.

What are the beneďŹ t of working on a vertical surface?

Crossing the Midline - When placing collage materials on a vertical surface, take note of your child grabbing a pom pom with their right hand, crossing the middle of their body to place it on the upper lefthand corner of their collage. This allows for conversation and organization between both sides of the brain.

Core Strength - Standing or kneeling allows for children to build up their core muscles.

Large & Fine Motor Skills - Using you entire arm (shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hands) strengthens muscles and joints.

Whether grasping a pencil or pinching a collage material, placing it on a vertical surface targets muscles needed for writing later on.

Attention - Working on an activity that is eye level, limits distractions and keeps them engaged.

Spatial Awareness - Drawing on a vertical surface gives accurate meaning to making a big line down. When working on a table, drawing a big line down really means drawing a line towards their body. Working on a vertical surface more accurately supports directionality.