The simple investigation of clothing invites children to build confidence with self-help skills, from independently choosing what to wear to putting on and taking off coats, shoes and shirts.  Additionally, the child works on fine motor skills while manipulating buttons and shoelaces. They will discover that clothing has many different purposes, like keeping us warm or protecting our body.  
Shirts can have buttons, snaps, pockets or collars. Some shirts have long sleeves, some have short sleeves and some have no sleeves. I showed them shirts with collars, snaps and buttons; they tried snapping buttons. They laced buttons and played a game sorting buttons by color. They took turns rolling the color cube, stated the color they rolled, picked the matching button and placed on the color mat.  They were encouraged to decorate their own shirt using markers, yarn and glue.
I provided play dough, buttons and a shirt cookie cutter and let the kids use their imaginations. 
They used translucent stickers to search and find letter H.
#preschool #childcare #learningthroughplay #ExperienceCurriculum

We use our noses to smell. There are strong, mild, sweet or stinky smells. We like certain smells and dislike others. They were invited to create their own flower design today using a soufflé cup, scissors and markers.  They pretended to plant their flowers in the soil (beans), digging, scooping, and pouring!
We have been reading our monthly book, "It Smells!"  
For fine motor we used a cotton ball to paint. Hand and finger movements are the building blocks of fine motor skills. These skills involve the coordination and control of the small muscles in the hands and fingers. Fine motor skills are crucial for tasks such as holding a pencil, using utensils, buttoning clothing, and tying shoelaces.
​Once they were finished with their fine motor painting, they were encouraged to use the remaining paint to create anything they wanted!  
We created an apple tree for their name.  The kids that can cut used scissors to cut out the tree/trunk template, the other kiddos that are learning to use scissors, they practice cutting scrap  paper or tearing paper.  

We use our hands to touch and feel things. There are so many different types of textures, such as rough, smooth, bumpy, soft and hard. Some things we touch are different temperatures. Today they discovered different textures, such as smooth, rough and soft. They used colored sand and glue to create a rough texture for their art.
For fine motor, they used scrap paper to create Aa's and dot markers to search and find letters A and B.
I introduced graphing today and we used dot stickers. They built letters and played with alphabet acorns.
#preschool #childcare #learningthroughplay #ExperienceCurriculum ​

We taste with our mouths. Some tastes are sour, salty, sweet or bitter. We can make healthy or unhealthy food choices. I provided the kiddos honey, lemon and salt and they were encouraged to taste each item.  We made fresh squeezed lemonade for lunch.
We made noodle bracelets using uncooked noodles and pipe cleaners.  We talked about the texture of noodles before and after cooking.  
We used an apple to stamp A is for Apple coloring sheet.  They were encouraged to dip the apple and make prints on the coloring sheet. To be honest, I think they liked painting their hands more than stamping with the apple!  
We read Ten Red Apples and Ten Apples on Top! 
For fine motor practice they drew lines in their journals and traced the letter A.  They were encouraged to explore different ways to use tangrams. They could make their own designs or use the shape mats and we added play dough.   
#preschool #learningthroughplay #childcare #ExperienceCurriculum

We hear with our ears. Different materials create different sounds. The sounds we hear can be loud or soft. We can listen to the sounds instruments make.  They created an instrument today by wrapping rubber bands around a plate. We discussed what instruments have strings. These may or may not make it through the day. They played with them all day, which is what I love to see!
For fine motor they tore paper and used glue. They practice making letter H or coloring in their journals.  
​We used circles to make their name and created an AB pattern.
For some of their free time they chose large legos to build towers, houses, and letters.
​#childcare #preschool #learningthroughplay #ExperienceCurriculum

We see with our eyes. Our eyes are different colors.  They move up, down and side to side.  We use our eye for looking, spying, and watching.  We read the book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?
Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who was famous for painting straight lines and rectangles. We looked at the Inspiration photo and talked about the shapes and colors.  For this Invitation to Create the kids designed their own Mondrian-style art by using strips of paper. This creative process allowed them to explore their critical thinking and spatial reasoning.  
They were encouraged to trace number two and make two fingerprints on the page. 
For fine motor practice, we used dot markers.  Today they chose stamps for their free time. They stamped for over thirty minutes! Stamping involves holding a stamp and positioning it on paper, which are pre-writing skills. These skills lay the foundation for learning to write. Stamping requires coordination and control of the small muscles in the hands and fingers. As toddlers grip and manipulate stamps, they develop and strengthen their fine motor skills, which are essential for tasks like writing and buttoning clothes.  
Each child was given a "hidden picture sheet."  Each sheet had a set of cards, they were encouraged to select a card, and hunt for the matching picture or letter. This generated a lot of conversations such as, "look, I found a B."  "I found a triangle."
​#preschool #learningthroughplay #childcare #art #ExperienceCurriculum ​

Hands are used in many ways throughout the day. We can use our hands to write, trace, draw and communicate. Feet help us move and balance. We looked at the inspiration photo and discussed what the people in the picture may be thinking.  For this Invitation to Create, they explored moving their bodies in different ways, then selected materials to express their ideas about the human body. They used paint, markers, glue, and tissue paper to create their art.
Fine motor practice, they tore or cut paper and glued into their journals.  
They practiced tracing the number one. They were encouraged to trace their hands, look at the palm of their hand and draw similar lines. 
We played Body Parts Lotto. They each took turns flipping the over the cards and seeing if they had a match!
#preschool #learningthroughplay #creativeminds #ExperienceCurriculum

We use our legs in many ways, such as walking, running, kicking or hopping. People, animals even chairs have legs. Muscles and bones make our legs strong and help our bodies move. Parts of a leg include the knee, ankle, thigh, foot, shin and calf.  We felt the muscles in our legs and used play dough to create two legs. And of course, they were able to play freely with the play dough.  
We made a pocket today, and discussed things we can put in our pockets.  Each child laced a blue pocket and they were encouraged to decorate and write their name. They each put a blue pom pom in their pocket!  
They sorted numbers 1 and 2 in their fine motor journals.  Colored letter B and used brown circles for their name.

Arms move in different ways.  We can shrug our shoulders, bend our elbows and twist our wrists.  Our arms have bones that can break.  We use arms to carry, pull and pick up things.  We used our arms to pick up toys and to give hugs! 
For fine motor practice, they drew lines in their journals.  For math they created button patterns.  
They created and X-ray today using skeleton cut outs, chalk and glue.  We also created an X-ray with Bio Color paint.  They painted their hands white, stamped on white paper, and then scraped black Bio Color paint across the handprints and the hand prints magically appeared!