Mud Day!!

We always have so much fun on Mud Day! What a perfect way to end our sensory week! We also made edible playdough! This has been a really awesome week!

      "Can we really stand in it"?

"My mom doesn't let me do this"

"Mud slide"!!

"This is the best ever"!

"Can I do that again"?

"I'm a mud monster"!!

We are trying to cut the playdough!

We like the idea of it being edible

because toddles like to use all their senses to learn.

Sensory Play!

We're not afraid to try anything new and messy! Sensory play is a great time to bond with  children and create wonderful lifetime memories. By stimulating your children's senses you are helping their brain develop because when a sense is engaged neural pathways are being created to assist with further learning in later years.

  This is "chocolate" mud! Man is it awesome!

We love sensory week!

We are driving our cars through the mud!

This is our shaving cream art!

It makes our room smell so clean!

What do you think is in the bag?

What does it feel like?

Orbeeeeezzzzz!!!!

"The orbeez are cold and wet"

"I can put them in a cup"

We are washing our sea animals and boats in bubbles!

Sensory Week!

From birth to early childhood, children use their senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them. They do this by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving, and hearing. This leads to a child's ability to complete more complex learning tasks and supports cognitive growth, language development, gross motor skills, social interaction and problem solving skills.

Taste- the stimulation that comes when our taste receptors react to chemicals in our mouth.

Touch- the stimulation that comes from touch receptors in our skin that react to pressure, heat/cold, or vibration.

Smell- the stimulation of chemicals receptors in the upper airways (nose)

Sight- the stimulation of light receptors in our eyes, which our brains then interpret into visual images.

Hearing- the receptors of sound, via mechanics in our inner ear.

      "We are coloring with our toes under the table"

"Our toes can hold crayons like our fingers"

"It's fun to color under the table, but it's harder to do with your toes"

What do you see in the dirt?

"It feels great, and we can see all kinds of bugs"

We are making sensory bottles!

You can use all kind of things for sensory bottles!

The road is sand paper! 

Movement!

Children acquire knowledge by doing and via reflection on their experiences which is full of movement, imagination, and self-directed play. This summer we are spending more time on self-directed learning-moving freely and doing activities that they themselves choose- and measurably more time in a passive learning environment. This week we are learning about movement. Movement allows children to connect concepts to action and learn through trail and error. Here are some ways we are learning about movement!

                 "I kick the ball and it moves"

We are moving paint in bags!

              Squish, squish, move, move!

                Ready for take off!

                    "Airplanes fly high in the sky"

"We are zooming the car over the mountain"

                           
       "My car is moving really fast down the pipe"

          "We are going to make it go faster
                  by putting the pipe higher"

"The water is moving"

"We got to play hide and seek all week"

Swing Those Golf Clubs!

Movement isn't just when you move the outside of your body it can also mean movement of the inside of your body as well. Exercising your brain is also important not only for long life, but also for brain function,  which can help prevent memory loss. Golfing forces you to remember numbers, images, and even specific tips and techniques. Therefore, it is a great all-around way to exercise both body and mind.

"I want to get at least 5 points"

"I got 20 points, now I have to find my ball under the box"

"I got 5 points and had to pull my ball out of the 100 points"

"Doe's that mean I get 100 points?"

I don't know who's having more fun the teachers, parents, or children!

How do you train a pro!

" I got 10 points, now I can't get my ball back"

Power of Movement Play!

Movement can help children develop, not only motorically but emotionally and socially as well. Their well-being can be greatly enhanced if they are given simple foundations in all areas during their early years. These foundations will carry through as they continue to develop and learn at home and at school. At the Academy of Harpeth Village, the social, communication, emotional, and cognitive skills of children are "exercised" as well as their motor skills. Playing interactive games develops social interaction and communication skills while working on motor development. Problem- solving or cognitive skills such as counting, learning body parts, or identifying colors, are  being used during games. Participation in motor activities with peers who are accepting influence friendship, and the social and emotional growth of all children.

TASK children helped Ms. Ashlee paint our maze!

This is a great way to learn under, over, in, out, left, and right

We found a way out!

We could do this ALL day!

Yes, our teachers loved it too!

I see you through the window!

Pick a door, any door!

We Love It!