Play, Grow, and Glow

After reading Sky Fire by Frank Asch, our young learners were inspired to create their own beautiful rainbow crafts!

Why This Matters:

Science & Nature Exploration – Sky Fire introduces the idea of rainbows and weather patterns. Creating a rainbow craft helps children visualize how light and water interact to create this natural phenomenon.

Language & Social Development – Discussing the colors of the rainbow and recalling parts of the story helps build vocabulary and storytelling skills.

With no prompting, they grabbed toy fire helmets, made “hoses” from classroom materials, and jumped into action; putting out imaginary fires.

Why Unstructured Pretend Play is Important

🚒 Encourages Creativity & Problem-Solving – When children take the lead in their play, they think critically, solve problems, and use their imagination in new and exciting ways.

While this may seem like simple play, it’s actually an important learning experience that helps children develop essential life skills.

Why This Activity Matters

When young children engage in washing their baby dolls, they are practicing:

🧼 Self-Care & Hygiene Awareness – By mimicking washing a doll, children learn the importance of cleanliness and personal care, building healthy habits for themselves.

💗 Empathy & Nurturing Skills – Caring for a baby doll helps children develop kindness, compassion, and responsibility—key social-emotional skills they will use throughout life.

🤲 Fine Motor & Coordination Skills – Holding a washcloth, squeezing water, and gently scrubbing helps strengthen small hand muscles and improve hand-eye coordination.

🗣 Language & Social Development – While washing their dolls, children often talk about what they’re doing, ask questions, and engage in pretend conversations, building communication skills.

We had a great time using our creativity to create our own St. Patrick's Day necklaces.

Stringing a necklace is a fantastic way to encourage creativity while strengthening fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and patience!

It’s common for young children to be picky about food, and mealtime battles can be frustrating. While you may not be able to avoid this stage completely, you can take steps to keep family meals enjoyable. Here are some ways to encourage your child to try new foods without pressure:

1. Make Food Fun and Familiar

   • Let your child explore new foods through tasting, touching, and talking about them.

   • Read books about food and involve them in grocery shopping.

   • Visit a farmers' market or plant a small container garden together.

   • Encourage your child to help prepare meals, making them more excited to eat what they’ve helped create.

   • Talk about food in fun ways—describe its color, shape, and texture.

2. Keep Offering New Foods

   • The more often a child is exposed to a new food, the more likely they are to try it.

   • Be patient—it may take 10 to 20 positive experiences before they accept a new food.

   • Celebrate small steps! If they allow a food on their plate, pick it up, bring it to their mouth, or even spit it out, they’re making progress.

3. Model Healthy Eating

   • When children see others enjoying a variety of foods, they’re more likely to try them too.

   • Show appreciation when someone else prepares the meal—it teaches gratitude and makes mealtime a positive experience.

4. Offer Limited Choices

   • Give simple options:

     • "Would you like peaches or strawberries for your snack?"

     • "Do you want to eat your peas with a fork or a spoon?"

     • "Would you like the green or yellow plate?"

   • This gives children a sense of control while keeping choices within healthy boundaries.

5. Encourage an Appetite

   • Limit snacks so your child comes to the table hungry.

   • Offer only water between meals to avoid filling up on juice or milk.

6. Serve Small Portions

   • A good rule of thumb is one tablespoon of food per year of age.

   • Use the tip of your thumb to estimate a tablespoon.

   • When possible, serve meals family-style and let your child start with a small portion.

7. Avoid Pressure

   • Food should never be used as a reward or punishment.

   • Avoid bribes or threats—this can turn eating into a power struggle.

   • Instead, offer encouragement and praise for trying new foods.

8. Mix It Up

   • Serve the same food in different ways—roasted, steamed, raw, or blended into a favorite dish.

   • Include something from each food group at every meal.

9. Build on What Works

   • Pair new foods with familiar favorites.

   • If your child loves soup, add a new vegetable.

   • If they enjoy pizza, try changing the toppings.

10. Make Mealtimes Pleasant

• Serve the same meal to the whole family.

• Rotate favorite meals so your child is exposed to a variety of foods.

• Allow your child to politely avoid foods they don’t like without making a big deal about it.

By keeping mealtimes relaxed and positive, you’ll help your child develop a healthy relationship with food—one bite at a time!

We are excited to announce that we will celebrate the Week of the Young Child sponsored by the National Association of the Education of the Young Child during the week of April 7th. Each day of the week focuses on a special theme; Music Monday, Tye Dye Tuesday, Working Together Wednesday. Artsy Thursday, and Family Friday. Please click on this link Week of the Young Child.pdf for at home learning activities aligned to each day.