MARCH 2020
Happy Birthday,
DR. SEUSS!
Roads, Wheels, and
Signs
Recipe: veggie and
pretzel scooter
This Month at Playworks… "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.” Happy 116th birthday to Dr. Seuss!
Last month, we recognized “I Love to Read Month.” This month, we will focus on the man who made many of us fall in love with reading: Dr. Seuss! Dr. Seuss’ legacy lives on today, and his books are still widely read throughout the world. He instilled a love of reading in thousands of children through his use of play and rhyme. With enchanting worlds and captivating creatures, his books taught us valuable life lessons. In honor of the great writer, Playworks will celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday on Monday, March 2. This month, children will also learn about roads, wheels, and signs. Each of these objects play an important role in keeping us safe on the road. The more that children are aware of their surroundings, the more knowledgeable they will be when they’re outside playing, walking, or biking. Furthermore, kids are more likely to stay safe when they understand signs, directions, and the rules of the road. Also on the horizon is our Xtreme Summer Camp program. Families and students will be able to get a sneak peek of all of the upcoming fun at the Xtreme Summer Camp Open House on April 27. Join us at Playworks from 5-7pm to learn more about the programming and the exciting activities to come!
IMPORTANT DATES
MARCH 2
Dr. Seuss' Birthday
March 17
St. Patrick's Day
Suggested reading Along A Long Road by Frank Viva
Are We There Yet, Daddy? by Virginia Walters
Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung
Pete the Cat: Go, Pete, Go! by James Dean
Educare Early Learning Classrooms
ROADS, WHEELS, AND SIGNS During this month’s study, children at Playworks will explore roads, wheels, and signs. Why is this important to learn? Roads, wheels, and signs are all around us! This month, we will explore each of these topics and how they help keep us safe in our everyday lives. While investigating roads, children will explore a topic that is familiar to them as they problem solve, imagine, and think symbolically. Students will learn about different types of roads, features of roads, how roads are made, how roads help us, how we can make a road in the classroom, and how to be safe on the road.
I Love You Ritual: To Market, To Market
Develop trust with your little one through this game with an element of risk—falling or being hurt. Its underlying message is that you are there to keep your child safe. Have your child sit on your lap facing you with one leg on each side of yours. Gently bounce your legs, mimicking a pony ride to the market while holding both of your child’s hands. Begin the rhyme by saying, “To market, to market, to buy a fat pig. Home again, home again, jiggity jig.” Repeat the action, and vary the intensity level of the pony ride as appropriate for your child while continuing the rhyme, “To market, to market, to buy a fat hog. Home again, home again, jiggity jog.”
Continue with the horsey ride, holding onto both of your child’s hands with a firm grip and stating, “To market, to market, to buy a new gown.” Open your legs and let the child fall gently through your legs as you support and catch them while saying, “Home again, home again—whoops! The horse fell down.”
Wheels are the perfect addition to learning about roads. Children will explore the different types of wheels that are a part of their daily lives and the ways that they help achieve tasks and goals. As we are investigating roads and wheels, we are going to also be looking at signs. We will learn how signs are used and how they give us directions to keep us safe. Children are exposed to roads, wheels, and signs in their daily lives. This month’s curriculum will help to answer their questions and dive deep into their curiosity of the world around them. Next time you’re on the road with your child, they may surprise you with their increased awareness and knowledge of roads, wheels, and signs!
Highlighted Learning Objective:
demonstrating positive approaches to learning Just as children grow like weeds, they also learn at an accelerated rate. In what may seem like an ordinary activity or conversation to you, your child may be learning a new skill or retaining information they will reuse time and time again. Parents and caregivers can support learning through the following activities and behaviors:
What This Looks Like: Watches the teacher walk across the room Continues ring stacking when the teacher says, “You’re putting the biggest ones first” Makes relevant contributions to group discussions Returns to building blocks over several days, adding new features each time
Ways Parents and Caregivers Can Help Enhance These Skills: Provide one or two toys or materials at a time for your child, exchanging them when his/her attention diminishes Help your child stay focused by singing about an activity (e.g., sing, “This is the way we stack the blocks, stack the blocks, stack the blocks…”) Limit directions to one step at a time for toddlers and two or three steps at a time for preschoolers and kindergartners, being sure to reinforce the directions visually by demonstrating the activity or using pictures
Focused Experience:
Creating with art
Children often learn through flexible, open-ended activities and play because it allows them the chance to explore the world around them, ask questions, and really see how things work. Engaging in arts and crafts activities is also important to social, cognitive, and emotional development for kids. Here is more information about the process of how children learn through art experiences:
When your child…
Covers paper with paint Pokes a hole in playdough Tears paper for a collage project Successfully uses paste or glue
Your child is learning… About cause and effect How objects can be used Hand-eye coordination Problem-solving skills
Oh, all the roads and places They Go! As a parent, you do the best that you can, Even when things don’t go according to plan. You teach your daughter she’s got the world at her feet, That there’s nothing at all she couldn’t beat. You tell your son he’s braver than brave, There’s not a road in the world he cannot pave.
In Dr. Seuss’s book, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!, Seuss explores the winding roads that life presents—and the power of choice that each person has along the way. He says, “You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care. About some you will say, ‘I don’t choose to go there.’” In March—Dr. Seuss’ birthday month—he is widely celebrated for the magic and wisdom that live on in his stories, even in his absence. As you read your child a Dr. Seuss classic this month, or anytime of the year, take a moment to recognize the hidden life lessons your child is learning, and know that as a parent, you’re doing the best you can to help your child develop the skills needed to find his/her way along the winding roads ahead.
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” -Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
Playworks Department Spotlight:
SMSC's Children's House/Infant and Toddler Classrooms (Pod 5) Infant and Toddler Classrooms (Pod 5)
The Infant and Toddler Classrooms (Pod 5) program follows the Creative Curriculum, which encourages children to be actively involved in the learning process, to experience a variety of developmentally appropriate activities and materials, and to pursue their own interests in the context of life in both the community and the world.
Describe the Department in One Word Family.
T
he SMSC’s Children’s House and Infant and Toddler Classrooms (Pod 5) are off-site programs exclusively for Community Member children ages 6 weeks to 6 years.
SMSC’s Children’s House
The SMSC’s Children’s House is an Association Montessori Internationale
(AMI) program with pedagogy that educates children for life. Kids have the freedom to explore and develop their potential as they work with didactic materials, either independently or in small groups, in the prepared environment. The Montessori method is based on the concept of respect—for self, for others, and for the environment.
"We are a small school that works together and supports one another like a family—a family away from home. The same families come back and raise their children in our school. We have the pleasure to teach children of children we have taught in the past.” –Children’s House/Pod 5 Manager Lisa Havlicek
Recipe: veggie and pretzel scooter Look no further for a fun and creative snack to make with your kids. Even the pickiest eater will be sure to enjoy making this healthy scootin’ snack!
directions:
ingredients:
1 cucumber 1 string cheese 2 toothpicks 2 pretzel sticks 1 teaspoon cream cheese
1 Cut four slices of cucumber for the wheels. 2 Take a piece of string cheese and horizontally insert two toothpicks into each end. 3 Slide the cucumber slices onto the toothpicks for the wheels. 4 Make a small hole in the top of the string cheese at one end and insert a pretzel stick. 5 Use cream cheese to attach a second pretzel stick horizontally for the handlebars. Vroom, vroom!
Family-Friendly
Making mealtime memories...
EVENTS
MARCH 7
2020 kids, family, and home expo
9am-2pm | Free Savage Sports Dome (13550 Dakota Avenue, Savage) This event features inflatables, games, science demonstrations, games, prizes, and more while providing families the opportunity to connect with and learn about 90+ local businesses, including home improvements, youth activities, health care, and more!
MARCH 12
KIDS IN THE KITCHEN
5:30-7pm | $5 Mazopiya (2571 Credit Union Drive, Prior Lake) One of the greatest gifts that we can give our children is the knowledge of what foods are nourishing for their bodies. The best way to get them excited about eating healthy foods is to have them help in the kitchen. This fun, hands-on class will focus on making some delicious and healthy, kid-approved dishes that your children will love. Advanced sign-up required at mazopiya.com.
One
simpltleh,y h e a di e n t a t in gre . a time
Shop Mazopiya Good, wholesome food for the whole family 952.233.9140 • mazopiya.com 2571 credit union drive, prior lake, mn
STOP BY ON SPRING BREAK! Suggested for ages 8+
DISCOVER NATIVE AMERICAN
HLMDEWAK II FSETWANTON O A YR S Y
PUBLIC EXHIBIT
NOW OPEN
2300 Tiwahe Circle Shakopee, MN 55379 952.233.9151 shakopeedakota.org
MARCH 13-15
OUTDOOR NEWS DEER AND TURKEY CLASSIC
Fri: 1-9pm | Sat: 9am-7pm | Sun: 10am-5pm Adults: $12 | Youth (Ages 10-15): $5 | Children Ages 9 and Under: Free Canterbury Park (1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee) Bring the whole family to the Deer and Turkey Classic featuring three days of seminars, free antler scoring, displays of trophy whitetail racks, contests, and exhibitors. The Outdoor News Wild Trails Kid Zone is an engaging, interactive chance for kids to learn new skills and test their wildlife knowledge.
DAKOTA H !
BOWLING BOWL E AT PLAY
Entertainment sure to STRIKE your fancy. Delicious eats for the entire group.
Arcade games for kids and adults alike.
Call 952.496.6886 to book a reservation.
D A K O T A H S P O R T. C O M
952.445.9400 | 2100 Trail of Dreams, Prior Lake, MN 55372
ENTERPRISES OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY
Craft:
painting with Cars If you’re looking for an activity that will fuel some fun with your kids, try this craft that is sure to get their artistic side racing!
directions: 1 Tape down craft paper or a poster board on a hard surface.
2 Place several randomly placed
Materials:
blobs of paint on the paper or poster board. Use as many or as few colors as you’d like.
Tape Craft paper or poster board Craft paints
3 Drive toy cars through the paint— wheelies encouraged!
Toy cars
For a cleaner experience, lay newspaper down in the crafting area beneath the paper or poster board.
Full- & part-time
OPTIONS
availAble
Starts June 8 educational programs
FIELD Trips
hands-on experiences
atrium play
led enrol when ys per a d 3+ ! week
Daily meals included
REgister Today!
OPEN HOUSE APRIL 27 No Enrollment Fee before April 28 restrictions apply 952.445.PLAY (7529) • playworksfun.com 2200 trail of dreams, PRIOR LAKE, MN
enterprises owned and operated by the shakopee mdewakanton sioux community