Sensory Make and Take

The June Sensory Make and Take was a four week pre-registered program that provided parents insight on how easy making child activities can be with things you most likely have around home. No need to go and buy expensive toys!

Week One- No Bake Jello Playdough

This playdough is made with Jello powder instead of cream of tartar. It makes the most vibrant colours and smells so good you will want to eat it…which may happen!

Recipe

3 – 3½ cups flour

½ cup salt

6 oz. jello in desired flavor

3 tbsp. cooking oil

1 cup hot water

Glycerin (optional)

Steps:

1. Add 2½ - 3 cups of flour.

(start with 2½ cups and add in rest as needed - it will depend on the texture you want)

2. Add ½ cup salt and jello and mix well.

3. Add in oil and stir.

4. Mix in water & stir.

5. Let cool a bit before kneading the dough.

6. Knead dough until playdough forms.

Add flour as necessary when kneading until you have your desired consistency.

Glycerin may also be added while kneading to give it a little extra shine.

Week Two- Under the Sea Sensory Bottles

Materials:

•   Clear plastic bottle (ie. water or juice bottle)

•   Water

•   Blue food coloring

•   Cooking oil (ex. vegetable, sun seed, canola, etc.) or baby oil.

•   Small seashells/stones, glitter, plastic fish/shells, sea themed beads, coarse sand, etc.

•   Super glue or duct tape

•   Alka seltzer (optional)

Directions

•   Fill 1/3 of the bottle with water and the rest with oil.

•   Add 1 drop of blue food coloring and the small sea items.

•   Since oil and water do not mix, the oil creates slow waves in the water when you turn the bottle back and forth. 

•   By adding Alka Seltzer tablets, you can create a cool lava lamp effect.

•   The cap can be secured with a hot glue gun to avoid any leaking.

Week Three- Paint Chip Colour Books

Directions:

To create these Colour Books we used several different colours of paint chip cards picked up from a local paint store. We then wrote the colour at the top of each card and added an assortment of stickers in the matching colour.  For example: We wrote “orange” on the orange paint chip card and added stickers of orange fruit, pumpkins, etc. You can add as many stickers as you desire. BE CREATIVE! To make the individual cards into a book, we punched a hole at the top of each card and used a ring to put them all together. This is a great idea to help your child learn their colours with “colour to word” association.

Week Four- “I Spy” Bottles

Directions:

Begin by colouring the desired amount of rice.  To colour rice add a tablespoon of vinegar and a few drops of food colouring then mix and let dry. Before class, I made several batches of different coloured rice so the rice would be dry and ready to use.  At class we filled a clear plastic water bottle with the rice (note:  a clear plastic Ziploc bag can be used instead).

We then added these items into the bottle:

To finish it off, use a glue gun to secure the lid or if using a Ziploc bag secure by using packing tape along the top to ensure that it does not open.

I printed off the pictures of the items which we then put on to construction paper, punched a hole in the top and secured to the bottle with an elastic.

Eye spy bottles are great for the long summer road trips you may have planned this summer!

Sad you missed this program? No need to worry – another Sensory Make and Take program will be back in August with some new and different ideas. Call Laura at Scott (306) 523-3512 to register.

Click here to see what else is happening at the Centres over the summer.

Laura Bieber

Finding a Preschool.

It's that time of year when you consider sending your child off to preschool. You have found a preschool that looks great, pleasing to your eye, offers interest centers, choice, natural elements and environments that would extend your child’s instinctive wonder. Perfect! But, who is facilitating this great space and what are their values and belief systems? Should this not be of great consideration? It is for me, for my children, I want to know!

Get to know the teachers that spend a great amount of time and crucial learning opportunities with your child. What do they value when it comes to early learning? Do they recognize the richness of individual  experiences and personalities? Will they take the time to build a relationship with your child, so that at some point it is possible to have the child’s trust in order to influence their learning?

The facilitators or teachers should be qualified and certified educators and committed to establishing a relationship with you, and most importantly, your child with the desire to know their interests, fears, concerns. Without knowing these very important details of a little person at a vulnerable age, it will be difficult to build trust and a relationship. Without trust and security with the people a child is surrounded by, that child will have a difficult time separating from parents and exploring to their fullest sense of curiosity. This effects their intellectual development, interferes with her peer relationships and they will have limited sense of belonging in this particular setting.

Try to find a teacher who wants to know how your child feels each day. As parents we should try to be open, the teacher’s interest comes from a place of nurturing and protecting your child. We should act as a  team, trying to create a safe and secure environment that will then allow the best opportunities for our very special young people!

For a more comprehensive guide for families in finding a preschool read NAEYC, standards for finding a quality program. 

Jada Fiissel

Jada has a Bachelor of Education, has completed her Yoga Teacher Training (300-hours) and a specialization in children’s yoga. She continues to deepen her own understanding through a dedicated practice and teaches adult and Kid’s Yoga throughout the city and incorporates yoga and the teachings in her daily family life.

What you do...Children do!

Children watch your every move. They learn, say and do things you do as a daily routine or maybe only happen once in a while. They watch your every move and imitate the behavior that occurs in their environment.

For example: This little girl is playing with this doll. She is doing daily routines that she has seen her parent’s do with her younger sibling. She is continuously playing with the baby, makes faces at the baby, holds and rocks the baby, talks to the baby, lays the baby on a blanket and changes the diaper and clothes of the baby.  

Laura Bieber

Laura Bieber- Facilitator at Scott

Laura Bieber- Facilitator at Scott

I grew up on a farm just outside of Indian Head, Saskatchewan.  I enjoyed spending time with my family, friends and horses. I was an active volunteer and participant both at school and in community organizations.

I have always loved working with children and families.  Throughout high school, I spent three summers working as a Camp Counsellor and two summers as the Facilitator of the public library’s Summer Reading Program.  In addition, I was able to share my love of dance by volunteering as an Assistant Dance Teacher in our community’s dance school.  Most recently, I have worked as an Early Childhood Educator at Transcona Park and Whitmore Park Child Care Cooperatives.

In June 2014, I graduated from the SIAST Early Childhood Education diploma program where I gained much knowledge and experience that I am excited to share with you!

"Knowledge arises neither from objects nor the child, but from interactions between the child and those objects."
-- Jean Piaget, Swiss Psychologist --