Hello BCS Community,
We have committed to providing everyone with a bundle of activities and at-home curriculum each day of the school week!
Each bundle will include:
-one hands-on activity
-one song to learn
-one book read aloud you can access online
-one media suggestion
Enjoy our first bundle!
HOW TO MAKE PLAYDOUGH
Playdough ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup salt
4 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 cups lukewarm water
2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
Food coloring, optional
Quart sized bags
Stir together the flour, salt and cream of tartar in a large pot. Next add the water and oil. If you’re only making one color, add in the the color now as well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball. Remove from heat and then place inside a gallon sized bag or onto wax paper. Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth. If you’re adding colors after, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into the quart sized bags. Start with about 5 drops of color and add more to brighten it. Knead the dough, while inside the bag so it doesn’t stain your hands. Once it’s all mixed together you’re ready to PLAY.
Infant/Toddler Modification: Even though infants and toddlers can’t help make the playdough, they can certainly enjoy it once it’s cooled down! Playing with dough is a great way to introduce new vocabulary words like “roll,” “squish,” “smash,” “squeeze,” “poke” and many others while they explore. This is a great way to encourage to use their fingers and hands to start developing more refined fine motor function.
And don’t worry, this recipe is totally safe if a little bit ends up in their mouths!
DAYS OF THE WEEK SONG
To the tune of “The Addams Family”:
Days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, days of the week, days of the week. (snap snap)
There’s Sunday and there’s Monday,
there’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday,
there’s Thursday and there’s Friday, and then there’s Saturday.
Days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, days of the week, days of the week. (snap snap)
Days of the Week Song- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtQcnZ2JWsY
DAYS OF THE WEEK SIGN LANGUAGE
Practice the signs along with the song.
READ ALOUD SUGGESTION
We know it is impossible to get to the library right now but this book tackles the topic of something scary happening on a large scale and the variety of feelings and coping mechanisms the kids might be experiencing. The book never identifies what the event was, so feel free to add in your own discussions about what is currently happening in our world.
“The Breaking News” by Sarah Lynn Ruel- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqsn5gq8bCU
Here some suggestions for talking to children about the pandemic in a developmentally appropriate way (written by Natalie):
I think talking about it directly is the place to start. We sometimes assume that young children aren’t paying attention to stuff like this, but they are absorbing everything all the time and not talking about it can make it feel even scarier. First of all, managing your own feelings is really important before checking in with them. If your face looks worried or anxious, they will pick up on that and the words you are saying might be harder to understand.
Telling children that people are getting sick is alright and then reassuring them that everything will be okay is helpful, too. All of your children are tremendous helpers so framing it in a concrete way of how they can be helpers to their community would probably inspire them! You could say that they can be helpers by washing their hands a lot and staying home so the germs don’t spread and that both of those things help keep people safe. Talking about other community helpers like nurses and doctors and first responders might also be a cool learning experience to dive into together as well! As Mr. Rodgers (one of my most favorite people!) said, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people helping.'”
Which leads me to my next gentle piece of advice and that is limiting media exposure. Those 24-hour news cycles can be really alarming for young children. However, I understand that having the TV off or iPads off when everyone is cooped up inside isn’t always realistic so that is really up to families to choose what is best for themselves and their children.
EDUCATIONAL MEDIA
Enjoy watching some very sweet pandas at the Atlanta Zoo!
Atlanta Zoo Panda Cam- https://zooatlanta.org/panda-cam/
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