Photo by Henley Design Studio on Unsplash

Bath time is a fun part of many toddlers’ routines.  And since a bathtub can all be sprayed down while your child is taking a bath anyway, it is a great place to do some fun sensory and art activities that you may be uncomfortable with in other rooms of your home.  You can make your own bath paints to save money and help your child practice, shapes, letters, and more while they express themselves.

What You Need:

• 1 cup Kid soap
• 1 cup Corn starch
• Water
• Food coloring
• Containers or muffin tin to hold the paint
• Paint brush (optional)

What To Do:

Combine soap and cornstarch and mix.  Add 2 tbsp water and mix gently so it doesn’t get foamy.  Check with your paint brush or finger, if it is too thick, add a few drops of water at a time until it feels like a good texture for pain.  If it gets too watery add a bit more cornstarch to thicken it up.  Divide your mixture into 1-4 containers depending on how many colors you want to make.  Add just a few drops of food coloring to make your colors.

Let your child paint on the side or bottom of the tub.  Younger kids may just want to squish colors together and in their hands.  Older children can try making shapes, or even letters with their pictures.  Always supervise children while in the bathtub and help ensure they do not eat soap.

Clean Up:

Rinse the tub clean when you are done.  If there is any paint left over you can store it in plastic containers if you want to save it.

It’s True, Your Child is Actually Learning!

This painting in the tub activity includes all the learning goals of sensory play and art, body awareness, movement, self-regulation, and spatial awareness.  Depending on what your challenge your child to create, you can also help to teach math  skills like shapes, colors, and literacy skills by practicing letters.  Mixing colors and experimenting teaches basic science.  Even holding and controlling a paint brush builds fine motor skills needed for writing.

Have some fun, get a little messy and learn from your bathtub. Your child will love playing in the tub and you can feel proud that your child is learning while also making a mess you can simply rinse away.  Create your own bath paints for a less expensive way to learn and explore in the bathtub!

Dramatic imaginative or pretend play is a type of play that allows children to experiment or imitate a role. It encourages children of any age to experience someone else’s perspective as well as recreate real-life situations to better understand their world.

Play is how children navigate the world around them. Children play through their daily experiences repeatedly in different roles to make sense of them. For example, children who are transitioning out of diapers may begin by pretending they are parents, helping their dolls to use the bathroom.

Children that just went for a checkup may recreate a visit to a doctor taking turns being a doctor, nurse, or patient.

They may imitate cooking or cleaning like they see at home. Children also recreate scary or difficult situations to normalize them and empower themselves. They may choose to be the mom or dad or superhero to help conquer a situation that scared them, like a storm, or funeral, or getting a vaccine during a doctor visit.

Are They Really Learning?

Yes! When children engage in pretend play the list of skills they can learn is endless. Children will create the perfect stage even with limited props.

• Language: Pretending helps children to develop their vocabulary and expressive language, which are building blocks for reading and writing. Even shy children are motivated to explain to others what they want or need.
• Social skills: Children learn to work cooperatively to keep the activity going and solve problems as well as empathy as they practice different roles or characters. The more they practice this skill in play, the better prepared they will be to do this in real life and as adults. They are also practicing self regulation; when children are role playing they create rules to follow and are motivated to stick to them to keep the game going. Learning to cooperate with others they begin to value diverse perspectives.
• Social Studies: Children learn about different people in their family and community as they explore different roles.

How can I encourage dramatic play?

Dramatic play can look very different at home and at school. However, the recipe for successful dramatic play is the same in either situation. It just takes encouragement from important adults who provide time and space for uninterrupted play to happen.

• Pretend together. Let your child assign you a role. They might give you a baby to take care of or ask you to shop at their store or order some food at their restaurant. Just participate.

• Allow and encourage your child to use symbols in their pretending. Pick up a block and pretend to call someone, use a marker for a baby bottle, or grab a pillow to be the monster of the castle.  Make paper items needed for imaginative play such as: menus for restaurants or money, or tickets for a train ride.

Create your own props:

• Save empty cartons or spice containers for play food.
• Let children use some utensils, pots or dishes from the kitchen.
• Keep old clothes or shoes to use for dress up.

Ask questions to extend their thinking and play. For example:

• Is your baby hungry? What should we do?
• Do you work at this store, I’m ready to buy some food?
• Do you work at this store, I’m ready to make some food?
• What are you cooking? It smells so good. What ingredients did you use?

Dramatic play is a favorite activity for children because it is not only fun but helps to make sense of the world. Relax and pretend with your children and love the time spent together, because that is the part they will love too. Your investment in dramatic play will have long-term successful outcomes.

Kids love musical instruments! They are intrigued by the fun sounds they can create by
playing music, and with supplies you already have, you can help your
child make their very own maracas that they will never tire of!

For This Activity You Will Need:

Please keep in mind that these supplies are suggestions and can be substituted

• Plastic Spoons
• Plastic Empty Easter Eggs
• Aluminum Foil
• Small Dry Beans, Dry Rice
• Duct tape/Painters Tape
• Markers

Let’s Get Shakin’:

Music is beneficial for kids in so many ways, such as developing fine and gross motor
skills and hand eye coordination. For more information, look at this article from Carnegie
Hall called “Why Making Music Matters”

To start, take two small plastic spoons and lay them on your craft surface. Take your open plastic Easter egg and help your child fill it with one, or several of the items listed above.

Close the Easter egg and place it between the two spoons (with the inside of the spoons against the egg). Tape together to hold in place.

Take a sheet of aluminum foil and wrap around the top of the two spoons to create an oval shape. Once the top is wrapped take your tape and start at the bottom of the spoons wrapping all the way up to the top, completely covering the newly made maraca. To make it unique, you can have your child decorate it with markers, or use other colored tape to make designs. Let your child have fun shaking the bottle! Even infants can enjoy this activity by watching the maraca being shaken and listening to the noise.

Store Away for Next Time:

Because the supplies are made up of odds and ends, any extras will be easy to put
away! Plus, the maracas themselves will last for a long time so just store it in a special
spot until your next music lesson!

With such an easy project and big benefits, there’s no reason not to incorporate music
into your routine! So next time you need to fill some time, grab some buttons and beads
and shake, shake, shake!

Are you looking for an easy activity for your energetic child? Are you looking for
something fun that will occupy them for more than five minutes? Not only will throwing
games help you out with that, but they’re beneficial for your child, also!

Two Things You Need:

● Foam or Rubber Balls
● Buckets or Baskets

Getting Started:

The great thing about throwing or “tossing” games is that there is no right or
wrong way to play! The act of throwing something helps your child develop gross
motor skills! In other words, your child’s large muscles are strengthening.

With that in mind, here are some tips to set up an easy throwing game for your child.

Set up buckets or something similar as a target and provide your child with balls
to throw. These balls should be heavy enough to throw but not too heavy to
cause damage if it doesn’t land on the target! Encourage your child to stand an
appropriate distance away and help guide them if they get frustrated. Keep in
mind, younger children may not be able to throw as well and may prefer to roll the
balls instead.

Add an extra challenge for older children by separating the balls
and baskets by color and counting the balls that go in. This is an excellent game
to play outside but if you play it inside, make sure you have an open space where
it is safe to throw balls!

Save For Next Time:

The best part of this activity is that by playing the game, you clean up, too! If your
child enjoys the throwing game, consider keeping the balls in the bucket for next
time!

With such an easy activity with items you already own, there’s no reason
not to play a throwing game! It’s fun, mess free, and easily adaptable for
any age, so head outside and break out some balls!

Angels’ Place was founded in 1984 with the vision of providing single parents who are of low-income with the support needed to complete their education and begin a meaningful career which would allow parents to gain financial independence. By providing high quality early childhood education and childcare to their children, ages birth to five years, and family support services, we were able to give parents the helping hand that they needed to achieve their goals.

Hundreds Have Graduated From Our Program:

To this day, we remain true to that mission and we have had the joy of watching hundreds of parent and Pre-K children graduate and move on with success.

Celebrating In May:

Each year, in May, we celebrate the accomplishments of our clients and Pre-K children at our annual graduation dinner. This is one of our favorite moments each year. Along with sharing a delicious meal together, we take a moment to honor each graduate for their accomplishments.

Sharing In the Success:

It brings us immense joy to see the pride exhibited by each of the graduates as we share their success with others. The parents have worked so hard to achieve their dream of graduating and we are elated to share in the joy with them.

It is with great excitement that our Pre-K children take part in their own graduation celebration. Donning graduation caps, they march into the party to be honored for their own accomplishment and to receive their Preschool diplomas.

Continuing As a Beacon of Support:

These joyous moments are the reason that Angels’ Place continues to be a beacon of support in the community. We help to make these moments possible for parents. Through nurturing support and child care, we are helping to change the lives of two generations of young people and we are proud to see their hard work and dedication pay off as they embark on the next steps of their journey.

The Nutritional Coordinators at Angels’ Place spend a great deal of time in the kitchen cooking for a lot of people, and they are always looking for preparation ideas that will save them time and give them a great result. One beautiful thing that they have discovered is the notion of marinades. To do a marinade effectively you do have to think one day ahead, but the actual work is easy! For this blog we will walk you through how to make our favorite marinade, Rosemary Balsamic.

Rosemary Balsamic Marinade

Ingredients:

• Salt (1 tsp)
• Pepper (1 tsp)
• Rosemary (Fresh or dried) (1 tsp)
• Garlic (Minced or powder) (1 tsp)
• Honey (1/4 cup)
• Olive Oil (or any other oil) (1/4 cup)
• Chicken Thighs
• Gallon Ziploc bag

Directions:

Okay, so here’s the thing, there are some recipes where measurements are important. This is not one of them. We have given you a starting point, but you can add or remove amounts based on how much chicken you are using and your desired taste.

1. Combine salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic, honey and olive oil in a bowl and stir together so that it’s all well combined. Taste and add as you desire.
2. Rinse and trim the fat off of the chicken, then toss the chicken in the gallon Ziploc bag.
3. Wash your hands and surface areas where the chicken was being trimmed.
4. Once the marinade is to your liking, dump it in the Ziploc bag with the chicken.
5. As you zip the bag shut try to get as much extra air out of the bag as you can. You can also twist as close to the chicken and marinade as possible and use a twist-tie to secure it. The less air the better for the marinade to do its job. Once the bag is secure, pop it into the refrigerator for 12-24 hours or until you are ready for cooking. (chicken does expire, so it will need cooked within 1-2 days of opening before it goes bad).

For other similar marinades, the prep process is the same. The great thing about marinades is that you can be really creative. If you don’t have all the ingredients listed above at home, use other spices or sauces that sound good to you. Also, it is worth noting that this can be done with all kinds of other meat, not just chicken thighs.

Bon Appétit!

Everyone likes experiments, especially easy ones that can keep a child engaged. In this activity your child will be able watch water walk. Yup, you heard that right, they will be able to participate in an experiment that shows how water can transfer from one paper towel to the next.

What You’ll Need:

• Small plastic cups or bowls
• Paper towels
• Food coloring in Primary colors
• Water

Let’s Get Started:

• First, place 6 cups/bowls in a row and pour water in the 1st, 3rd, and 6th cup. My cups were about 3/4 full.
• Next, you will add food coloring to your cups of water. This is a great opportunity to discuss colors with your child. Name them out loud as you go. Allow them to help stir in the drops. Here, they will be practicing their self help skills as they stir!
  • Add 5 drops of red food coloring to the 1st cup.
  • Add 5 drops of yellow food coloring to the 3rd cup.
  • Add 5 drops of blue food coloring to the 6th cup.

• Next, take a half sheet of paper towel and fold it in half lengthwise and in half again lengthwise.
  • Trim off some of the length so that there isn’t too much excess paper towel that will stick up in the air between each cup. This will make the water walk more quickly. (Keep any scissor or sharp object away and out of reach at all times. If you want to avoid using scissors, you can simply keep them longer or tear an end off with your fingers).
• Next, place one half of a rolled paper towel in the 1st cup and place the other half in the cup next to it. Then another paper towel from 2nd cup and into the 3rd cup. This continues until you have placed the last paper towel that drapes over from the 5th cup to the 6th cup.

• Now you can stare at the cups and watch what starts happening. You should quickly be able to see the colored water begin to crawl up the paper towel.

If you want to make this activity a learning experience about experiments you can have your child create a prediction on what different colors might be made with red, yellow, and blue being mixed together. It will not only help children to understand how plants drink water, but it will also help them to learn what colors to mix to get a non-primary color (purple, green, and orange). This will also encourage your child to think about what will happen and understand what the words prediction (TO MAKE A GOOD GUESS) and observation (WHAT YOU SEE HAPPEN) mean.

Clean Up:

Simply pour out the water and hang your new colored paper towels up to try outside or in a space that would allow some dripping of colored water.

Have fun and enjoy the magic of making water walk and observing the mixing of colors.

This activity is a hit for kiddos of all ages, I mean what kid doesn’t like an experiment with skittles?! The best part is you only need THREE ingredients to complete this experiment. Are you ready?!

What You Need:

• A bag of skittles
• A sturdy large plate (one that dips a little in the middle helps)
• Warm to hot water (not scolding, but the warmer the better)

Let’s Begin the Experiment!

First pick your work spot and get out your plate and skittles. Make a large circle with your skittles lining the plate. The blending of colors tends to work well if the skittles are right next to each other and its fun if there is a pattern. It can also be a great time to practice counting and color recognition. Make sure to taste test a skittle or two as you start the experiment. 😉

Next, you’re ready for the magic! Fill up a liquid measuring glass with warm/hot water. The exact measurement varies depending on the depth of the plate you use. Pour the water over the skittles until the skittles are just covered with water.

Then WAIT, and wait a few more seconds. WOW, It’s a RAINBOW! the colors will start to run out in the water. This is a great time to pick your kiddos brain and ask what they think is happening. Why are the colors running? You can explain the reaction of how heat melts the sugar into the water! You can even take a toothpick and create fun swirls in your rainbow for a fun sensory activity!

Clean Up is a Breeze:

For easy clean-up finish off the skittles and after taking a few pics, dump the water down the drain and either eat the soggy skittles or throw them away.

We hope you will enjoy doing this tasty and colorful experiment with your children.

*Images came from stock photo's on Bing.com

Photo by Gallery DS on Unsplash

It’s great to teach and encourage children to wash their hands. The following activity is a creative way to show them why we all wash our hands! This is a fun and practical way to help children understand the importance of following all the steps to wash your hands.

What You Need:

• Bowl
• Water
• Black Pepper
• Dish Soap

Let’s Get Washing:

1. Pour water into the bowl, enough to cover the bottom. It doesn’t need to be a big bowl, any safe dish for children will work.
2. Allow your child to sprinkle black pepper into the water and let them know that this will represent germs. (You only need a small amount of pepper, and make sure it is out of reach until you are there to observe them sprinkle it in)
3. Squirt a small amount of dish soap onto your child’s index finger and encourage them to rub it around completely so that it covers the entire tip of their finger. (Keep the soap out of reach until it’s time for them to get a little bit on their finger).
4. Place soap covered finger in the middle of the bowl and observe what happens.

The Effects of Soap on Germs:

This activity will help your child to learn and understand the effect that soap has on germs and that it makes them go away. Children will understand the importance of proper health practices. Here is a book about germs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqozl-9WYgM

Cleanup Is Easy:

Simply pour water down the sink and wash bowl.

Here’s a Song That Can Help!

Photo by Maria Lin Kim on Unsplash

Songs are a great way to teach young children to wash their hands for the proper amount of time. Here is a procedure to teach recommended hand washing techniques! Wet your hands, get soap, rub soap all over hands for 20 seconds, and then rinse your hands for 10 seconds, get a paper towel to dry your hands, and then throw it away without touching the garbage can.

You could sing Happy Birthday or you could sing the song we use at Angels’ Place to scrub our hands.

Twinkle twinkle little star

look how clean my two hands are,

soap and water, scrub a dub,

get those germs off rub a dub.

Twinkle twinkle little star

look how clean my two hands are.

Once they have scrubbed their hands for 20 seconds, you can encourage your child to count to 10 or to sing “Bye bye bubbles, bye bye bubbles, bye bye bubbles wash those germs away” and then get a paper towel.

Compliment your child and thank them for keeping your family and others safe.

Does your child have lots of extra energy? Are you looking to help them find an outlet to express it? Well, play dough is a great technique! Follow this quick and simple recipe you can make at home that will provide your child with lots of entertainment.

What You’ll Need:

• A large mixing bowl
• One cup of water
• 4 cups of flour
• 2 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (you can use baby oil or coconut oil)
• 1 ½ cups salt
• Spoon
• Food Coloring (Optional)

Getting Started!

1. Have your child pour one cup of water into a large mixing bowl.
2. If you use food coloring. Ask your child what they think will happen when you add the food coloring. Add a few drops until you get the desired color. Mix until the color is dissolved.
3. Add 4 cups of flour and 1 ½ cups of salt to the mixture. Stir mixture.
4. Add 2 to 4 tablespoons of oil (you can always add more later). If your mixture is crumbly you will need to add more oil.
5. Encourage your child to knead the mixture with their hands until it is completely formed.
6. Have fun and enjoy! Model how to roll a ball, make a snake, or stretch the play dough, etc.

This activity will help to enhance your child’s listening skills and ability to follow directions. Concepts of math and measurement are learned through actually participating in the completion of this recipe. Pre-writing and fine motor skills will be enhanced and developed through rolling and stretching. This experience should also help your child to self soothe and should have a calming effect.

Store and Put Away:

Simply put this play dough into a Tupperware container that seals shut.

So many skills are learned through such a simple activity. Remember to have and enjoy this experience with your child.