MAY 2017
MAY is All About Road Safety!
CRAFT My Photo Town
EDUCARE Early Education Information Inside!
Welcome to PW’s Playhouse If you’re a regular reader of ours, you may notice something a little different about this issue— it has doubled in size because we have included our Educare Early Learning information too. This means more activities, more learning, and more room for fun! This month we’re talking about cars, wheels, and signs. Learn why we chose this theme and other fascinating facts about transportation. Then get creative exploring your neighborhood and roads with the My Photo Town craft. We also put together our favorite games for staying entertained in the car. A new section we are happy to reveal is our Staff Spotlight. At Playworks, every employee is like family, and this is a small way of letting you get to know them personally. We hope you enjoy our new expanded issue. Thank you for being a part of Playworks!
May MAY 5: Cinco de Mayo MAY 7-13: National Teacher Appreciation Week MAY 8-12: Pod 4 Parent-Teacher Conferences MAY 22-26: Pre-K Parent-Teacher Conferences MAY 29: Memorial Day (Playworks closed) MAY 31: Pre-K Graduation at the Playworks LINK Event Center, 5 pm
May 14
MOTHER'S DA Y W e invite all m ot stop by the fr hers to ont desk on May 12 to pick up a SPECIAL GIF T!
PW’s Playhouse is a publication of Playworks |
Playworks Staff Spotlight: Amy Donaldson How many years have you worked at Playworks? 25 years in July
Describe your personality in one word:
What is your position at Playworks?
Favorite Board Game: Candyland
Director
Favorite part of working at Playworks?
Watching children have those ‘ah-ha’ moments
Outgoing
Favorite Food: Chips and dip Favorite Color: Purple Favorite Animal: Puppies
Suggested Reading Bears on Wheels Educare Early Learning Classrooms
Creative Curriculum
At Playworks, we make learning fun. Children learn best by doing, so providing them with fun, engaging curriculum is what we strive for. This month, we’re learning about roads, wheels, and signs, with hands-on activities and lesson plans catered to each classroom. Road safety is a valuable subject for children to learn, encouraging them to explore a topic they are already familiar with. They’ll discover characteristics and properties of everyday items, including how wheels move, what roads are made out of, the different types of signs and how they keep us safe, and so much more! As they explore, they’ll discover how to gather information, solve problems, imagine, and think symbolically. They’ll relate what they’ve learned to everyday life. When you pick up your child tonight, ask them about what they learned today. Make tonight’s drive home fun! Have them point out signs or road features they see along the way.
by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Wheels on the Bus by Raffi
Look Left, Look Right, Look Left Again by Ginger Pate
Roadwork by Sally Sutton
Red Light, Green Light by Anastasia Suen
Roads, Wheels, and Signs Educare Monthly Classroom Study:
Heading on a road trip this summer? Turn the experience into a fun learning opportunity for your kids! For many children, visually seeing items or concepts in front of them makes learning easier. You’re going to be in the car for a while, so why not make it fun? You’ll notice the difference between “Are we there yet?” and “We’re here already?!”
#1
Here are some fun facts to share along the way.
The first road sign appeared in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan.
Alaska is the only state without any interstate highways, while New York has the most with 29 highways.
#2
#3 East-west interstates are even-numbered, while north-south routes are odd-numbered.
The longest highway (I-90) runs across the entire country from Seattle, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts—a total of nearly 3,100 miles!
#4
Did You Know? GREEN: Indicates direction (e.g. how far you are from a city)
ORANGE: Road work or traffic control
Road signs are designed by color.
YELLOW: General warning
BROWN:
RED: Stop here
Recreation or cultural points of interest
BLUE: Services for travelers (e.g. restrooms, tourist sites, hospitals)
Road Trip Boredom Busters: CAR GAMES Being a passenger (especially a little one) in a car can be a call for boredom. But with the right games, it can be the perfect opportunity for learning and fun! Below are a few educational games that will have your little ones asking for more road trips. Letter Hunt: As you drive pass billboards and signs on the side of the road, see if your child can find every letter of the alphabet in order. The letter can be anywhere within the word, but you must find an A before a B, and so forth. If you have two children, assign one child the left side of the road, and the other child the right side of the road. Then see who can find the entire alphabet (in order) first!
The 50-Nifty Game: Make a list of all 50 states in America and print the list off. As you drive, challenge your kids to find the license plates of all the states. 'I Spy' Checklist: Make a list of animals and objects you may see on a trip (e.g. cows, a water tower, a blue car, etc.). Challenge your child to find everything on the list! 20 Questions: Have one person think of a person, place, or thing. The others can ask 20 questions with “yes” or “no” answers (e.g. is it red?). Work as a team to figure out what the mystery word is!
CRAFT:
My Photo Town
Make running errands a learning experience! The next time you and your little one are out and about, help them take photos of buildings and other subjects of interest (e.g. signs, trees, statues, animals, etc.). Follow the simple directions below to make a map of your neighborhood. This project will engage your child visually, while also helping them remember their surroundings. It is great for developing language, directions, and color skills. You can also make this craft into a full-day activity by exploring your town on foot!
DIRECTIONS: 1
Take photos of your town. Print the photos off.
2
Using painters tape, make roads on the foam board that resemble your town. (Optional: draw dashes in the middle of the tape to make it look like lane lines.)
3
Decide where your photos will go, according to where the images are in real life, like a map.
4
Cut out squares from the colored cardstock, just bigger than your photos. Paste the squares on the foam board where your photos will go.
5
Paste your photos on top of the squares.
6
Have your child navigate you through the town and recall their favorite memory from each photo. (Optional: use a miniature car to navigate through the town!)
MATERIALS: Scissors Foam board Colored cardstock Tape or glue Painters tape Optional: marker (for road lines) Optional: miniature cars
Family-friendly SMSC
Events
Kids Program
May 20 | Shop Local
Noon-4pm • Free Mazopiya (2571 Credit Union Drive, Prior Lake) See, hear, and taste why shopping local is the best! There will be door prizes, food samples, and kid-friendly activities. Kids can also talk with local vendors, including Wozupi Tribal Gardens, to learn where our food comes from and the importance of eating local.
May 24 | Emergency Services Week Barbecue Noon-3pm • Free Mdewakanton Public Safety (2525 Flandreau Trail, Prior Lake)
Get to know your local public safety department while enjoying delicious food and fun activities! This event is part of Emergency Services Week and a great time to let your kids give thanks to our safety team.
June 10 | Shakopee Dakota Convenience Store #2 Customer Appreciation Day All day • Free SDCS #2 (14160 Wilds Path NW, Prior Lake)
Farmer Day
for a 2:30pm June 24 | 11am-1acc ompany) st $10 per child (parent mu older 6 For children ages and
Register online!
2041 140th St. NW • Prior Lake
A N N UA L
Games, food, and loads of family fun! Shakopee Dakota Convenience Store #2 is celebrating their customers by having a full day of entertainment, deals, and prizes.
June 12-Sept 1 | Playworks Xtreme Summer Camp Playworks (2200 Trail of Dreams, Prior Lake)
Keep your kids off the couch this summer with a jammedpacked schedule of fun! Our camp includes daily educational activities, meals, field trips, Atrium play, and more. Special events include a carnival, dance, and ice cream social. Full-time and part-time options are available. Visit playworksfun.com for more information.
June 24 | Farmer for a Day: Kids Program
11am-12:30pm • $10 per child (adult must accompany) Wozupi Tribal Gardens (2041 140th St. NW, Prior Lake) Wozupi Tribal Gardens is home to a children’s garden, laying hens, goats, and several acres of vegetables. In this 90-minute program, the kids will help with farm chores, including feeding animals, collecting eggs, and tending to the garden. Kids will also plant a sunflower to take home with them. This is a great hands-on opportunity for kids to experience the wonders of a small farm.
952.233.9140 | mazopiya.com 2100 Trail of Dreams • Prior Lake E NT E R P R I SE S OWNE D A ND OP E R ATE D BY T HE SHA KOP E E M DE WA KA NT ON SI OU X C O M M UN I TY
Sombrero Cookies
With family reunions, graduation parties, and Cinco de Mayo this month, what better way to celebrate than with sombrero cookies? These cookies are so quick and easy, even the kids can help decorate!
Ingredients: Directions:
• Sugar cookies (bigger cookies work best) • Frosting
• Sprinkles • Spice drop candies • Icing squeeze bottle
Pour a good amount of sprinkles onto a plate. Warm up the frosting for about 10 seconds; stir. Then microwave for another 5-10 seconds. Pour the warmed-up frosting into the icing squeeze bottle. Pipe a circle of frosting around the outside of the cookie, then place the cookie upside down on the plate of sprinkles. Turn the cookie back over, and place a small dot of frosting in the center of the cookie. Add one spice drop candy on top of the frosting. Add more frosting around the edge of the candy and cover the frosting with sprinkles. Shake off the excess.
Party here!
Group Trips & Parties Playworks is the ultimate site for your next party. We offer food and entertainment, so you can focus on having fun! Book your next birthday party or group trip package today!
952.445.PLAY (7529) | playworksfun.com 2200 Trail of Dreams, Prior Lake, MN | Owned and Operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community