Autumn activities

'Mystery Bags' Sensory Game

During our 'Five Senses' themed-week, we played a guessing game. The children were presented with a group of sealed paper bags.

 

We felt and shook the bags, trying to guess what item was inside of each one. Our predictions were recorded. Then we opened the bags:



Here are the results:

Music Week

Fun with Math: Fish Game

Our group had great fun collecting goldfish for our snack through playing a math game!

Photos from the start of Fall session

The last of our Summer photos

Mixing Lab

One of our activities this summer that the schoolagers found particularly engaging was a Mixing Lab. Available supplies included cornstarch, baking soda, salt, vinegar, water, paint, and milk.

Back to School Bash

This summer, the children helped to plan a party to celebrate all the fun we had and the start of the upcoming school year. As a group, we decided what kind of foods to have; we voted on treats, and chose ingredients.  We talked about our favorite games from the summer that we wanted to share with our families.

We addressed invitations and mailed them to parents and grandparents:

Then, we watched the calendar and counted down the days. 

Another fun family event! Thanks for all your help, kids. :)

Article: The Decline of Play and Mental Health Disorders

http://www.celebratetherhythmoflife.com/2014/06/the-decline-of-play-and-mental-health.html

From Celebrate the Rhythm of Life:

The Decline of Play and Mental Health Disorders
We all know deep within our very being.

 Children need to play. Play supports life. Play is crucial to healthy development. Play is the foundation for learning. Play is the wellspring of life.

Those of us who are old enough to have experienced play in childhood, as described by the speaker below, have a living picture, a living experience of what it means to play, to take risks, to resolve problems, to be free and to feel competent.

Yet we, as a culture, have reached a critical point in that the generation of new parents of today most likely did not experience play in childhood, at least not with the freedom and not to the extent described in this talk.

This need for play is universal. All children need play and without it, they suffer.

My reader, I encourage you to give up 16 minutes in your day to watch this TED X talk by researcher and professor Peter Gray who explores what it means when children do not grow up with the freedom to play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg-GEzM7iTk

Oh, I thank you Mr. Peter Gray for so eloquently naming the problem and suggesting solutions.

I'll add to his suggestions that we seek out neighbors, parents, grandparents, older people in our communities and ask them about their memories of childhood...
How did they play?
Where did they play?
What risks were they able to take?
How did it shape who they are?
What can each of us do to support play for all children?

Carrie Dendtler, over at the Parenting Passageway speaks to the need for time out of doors in childhood with the movement towards  Forest, Farm and Field programs here. Can you imagine what it might look like if all the social, political, and financial energy put into pre-k programs in this country were turned towards supporting free, child initiated play as the most important element of a healthy childhood?

Photo Update - Summer Fun!