Summer Fun Mini Themes: Hogwarts MiniCamp Part 5

The Dark Forest may have been forbidden, but here at Hogwarts MiniCamp, we're pretty big on exploring the backyard and beyond. This sometimes means taking a Mini-beasts and Where to Find Them Scavenger Hunt, or learning about the local flora and fauna or even breaking open Sorcerer's Stones (geodes). If it's been a busy couple of weeks at our house, it's been even busier in the backyard!

 The young wizards (even the youngest) loved using magnifying glasses, bugnoculars and their own keen eyes to find as many bugs, worms and other mini-beasts around the yard. S was really hoping to be able to catch one for closer observation and eventually decided to leave his bug catcher open on the ground--just in case!

After S created his treasure map of where to find the Sorcerer's Stone, I decided it was the perfect time to take out a geode kit we had stashed away for at least a year waiting for that perfect time...

Armed with safety goggles, hammers, and brute strength, the boys helped crack open our "sorcerer's stones" and it was so exciting to see the crystals inside! These will be back again later on when the young wizards take on the backyard challenge of finding them in a Sorcerer's Stone Treasure Hunt!

 Harry Potter books are filled with mythical creatures but also real ones. Headwig the Owl would love to see how much the young students here at Hogwarts MiniCamp have been learning about owls! We've also made a lot of use out of Little Spark Company's Owls of the World Bundle. Both of the boys are really into lacing cards and we've been sneaking in some really fun math activities suitable for S and Y at their own levels using materials we have at home along with the ones provided in the set. We've even taken them outside for some play picnics in the backyard.

There's more fun (and learning), magic and play on the way. Stay tuned for the next post from Hogwarts MiniCamp and until then...

Happy Playing!

Birds of a Feather Flock Together, No Matter the Weather!

I must admit that I miss my garden. For all the work and toil and struggle, I find myself drooling a bit over seed catalogs and dreaming of spring even in the midst of a very mild (so far) winter. So when I posted this sentiment on a gardening group, I got a lot of suggestions to take up bird watching this season. We [I] really took our time winterizing our garden, so I like to think I did the birds a bit of a favor in leaving them some plants and seeds to enjoy as the seasons shifted here. After we did revamp the play garden, we included a new bird feeder, some bird seed treats, and made sure to clean out and refill our bird bath (a shallow pie tin layered with colorful stones and mosaic tiles and filled with water). Our front garden became a hub for feathered friends (who are now eating us out of house and home) and our dining room windows gave us front row seats to the extravaganza!

I know, I know, I said no toys at the table. But technically a bird-watching basket is not a toy, right? I decided to bend my own rules and stock a basket with some tools and inspiration for bird-watching through our dining room windows. The boys (and adults) do know that we need to finish eating and wipe our hands before bird-watching, but having our basket stocked and ready makes it the perfect table top accessory this time of year--and also easy to transport outside when we want to take the show on the road.

I included a set of binoculars, a couple of prism viewers, some local bird photo cards, a few interesting feathers we found and collected, a magnifying glass and a selection of bird books and guides. Many of these books were purchased secondhand at thrift stores or the library at our botanical garden center. You could also include a small sketch book and some colored pencils if you wish.

Meanwhile, in the sensory table... I poured a layer of birdseed, added in some scoops, cups, funnels, nests and plastic birds The boys have had so much fun scooping, pouring, sifting and playing! And I no longer have to bend down under that table to refill the birdfeeder [every other day!] as an added bonus...

Our visiting feathered friends remind me that life exists beyond spring and summer. Winter is a season, too! And not just a season for waiting. It is a season fro watching. For feasting and flying and gathering with family and friends. Bird-watching is a wonderful family activity to take up any time of year and all year long. You can also enliven your indoor world by including fresh cut flowers, houseplants and/or forcing bulbs on your kitchen or dining room table. Birds of a feather flock together, no matter the weather!

Happy Playing!

Winter Story Stretchers: "Owl Babies" by Martin Waddell

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell has been a favorite children's book of mine since my own mother used to read it to me. I still remember the little squeaky voice she used when playing the part of little Bill calling out "I want my mommy!" (And yes, I use the same squeaky little voice when reading it to my students or to S and Y.) It is not specifically a winter themed book, but I tend to read it a lot in the wintertime along with other books about owls. Last year I needle-felted a set of baby owls for the purpose of storytelling with this book and they were a hoot to add to this year's story stretcher as well! We chose this book as a story stretcher on a particularly mild morning. Y was actually napping at the time, so it was just S and I. We took the book along with some accessories (and of course, our little owls) out to the play garden to read and then retell the story.

S wanted to read it together on the front stairs. I also brought along National Geographic Kids: Hoot, Owl!, a non-fiction book about snow owls and plush owl we bought from our last Scholastic order. This easy reader had great photographs of actual snow owls and some interesting facts about them as well. We learned that the color of the owls' feathers help it to camouflage and keep safe from potential predators. Since we have been winterizing our play garden and trying to make it a place where birds and critters who do stick around for the season can eat and rest, S had in mind to make some bird seed treats. I had not actually planned this as an activity on that particular morning, so quite last minute, we gathered some materials from around the house. I typically use pine cones for this popular craft, but we didn't have the opportunity to gather any outside and with Y fast asleep upstairs, a walk to the woods nearby was out of the question. Instead, I raided our recycling bin for some cardboard tubes and punched a couple of holes in the top to thread yarn through for hanging. We brought those, along with some natural peanut butter and a plastic knife to spread it as well as a dish of birdseed outside with us. S decided he was worried about getting peanut butter on his mittens (which he didn't want to take off) so I spread the peanut butter. He helped sprinkle seed on top and I helped roll and press it on. We hung the finished treats on our big front bush (we don't actually have any trees on our property here) and they are ready for our feathered friends! We also refilled our half empty bird feeder with the remaining seed.

Next we decided to retell the story of Owl Babies using our needle-felted set of baby owls and our larger, plush owl as the mother. We took turns (per S's lead) playing the part of hiding the mother and filling in details about what she was doing while she was away. One time she was eating bird seed. Another time, she brought the owls a stick for their nest. Yet another time, she went away to gather some pine cones and seed pods to bring them to eat.

Some fallen branches made the perfect "trees" to stick into the ground for the owl babies' home.

They fit just perfectly inside the branches!

In this retelling of the story, S had Mother hide in the bush where she was eating a birdseed treat!

Mother has returned to her owl babies with flowers for their garden, and some delicious seeds for the babies to nibble.

I love the power of retelling stories from children's literature through play drama. Whether using small toys or large props, play acting story lines and adding to or altering the story can help children recall and comprehend the sequence of what they have read as well as take control over problems in the plot or parts that were disconcerting or frightening. It also helps them to work through their own personal problems or worries through play. This book is a great one for supporting the concerns children have over separation anxiety and typical childhood fears in general. We had such a wonderful time playing about it outside that when it was time to gather our owls and come in, S continued to play inside! He wasn't sure what to use for a tree at first but quickly resolved his own problem and headed to a large basket of recycled cardboard tubes we were gifted from a friend and fellow early childhood educator. He quickly had three little trees set up for the babies and one large tree for Mother Owl to hide in!

We will be back with more winter story stretchers and even some more owl themed and tree themed fun to come! Until then...

Happy Reading and Happy Playing!

An Updated Peek At Our Playroom!

Ch-ch-ch-changes! Spring is in the air (with the exception of that slushy white stuff that was also in the air this morning) and it was time for a playroom revamp, especially after a long holiday at home. In other news, Y is very mobile these days. He may not quite be walking independently yet, but he sure gets around and into everything. For S, this is a mixed bag (kind of like that "Spring" weather I mentioned earlier). Y is very playful and loves nothing more than to join his big brother in all of his escapades. S enjoys the company sometimes. Other times, he feels frustrated at his little brother who is now able to get into just about everything at his level.

When S began to move around this much, he was quite a bit older. He understood when we told him "no," and his personality was such that he was most content playing wherever the adults in the house were with whatever was set before him to play with. Y has a different personality. He is most content playing EVERYWHERE with EVERYTHING. Whereas we used a baby gate maybe once or twice with S, Y is faster than the speed of light and sneaky to boot.

We have made some changes in the house to best accommodate these exciting milestones, one of which is that the boys are working toward sharing a room now. S is thrilled about this change. Y is learning to be thrilled about it. S even helped set up the new mattress, pick out sheets and offered his stuffed Lightening McQueen to Y (a toy he chose with great ambivalence upon giving up his pacifier last summer). Mattresses directly on the floor are easy for both my boys to access and Y has already mastered safely maneuvering on and off. In related news, staying in bed is not currently his forte.

Changes in our playroom were also a necessity. Y has discovered with great zeal the joy that is dumping things off of shelves within reach. Particularly art supplies! I could spend all day moving things up higher and higher, but that would leave things out of everyone's reach (S included), be boring for Y and probably be exhausting for me. Creating a space that is conducive and accessible to both boys seemed a more practical approach at this point. S has loved being able to access and lead art projects on his own. Although, after quite some time with our art center looking the same, it needed a little sprucing up and our new set up allows S to access art supplies from the top shelf and Y and S to access items from the bottom two shelves. (See photo below.) I know it is only a matter of time before Y does manage to get to that top shelf, but for now, the set up works perfectly and we will traverse that terrain when we get there.

Introducing the new and improved art center & toy shelf!

 I love these plastic drawers. For one thing, they are space creators--even though "losing" two rows of shelving limits the amount of space for art materials in our art center, the use of drawers creates room for more without taking up additional space. Our small drawer set is home to options for coloring. Right now we have colored pencils, crayons and skinny markers out, though I like to change it up a bit and rotate in some of our other supplies when I notice these get a bit "stale." I also used a stacking tray organizer (Dollar Tree) to create two rows for paper products. We have solid paper in white and pastel spring colored cardstock out right now as well as some bird coloring and tracing sheets. I keep our scrap paper tray on a shelf that Y can reach as he also loves to explore, dump and tear scrap paper and those are skills I don't mind him cultivating right now! There is room alongside and above our smaller drawer set for our family's sketch books and some writing utensils.

 In our larger drawer set, I stashes some new Spring themed materials like beads and beading elastic for my little fine motor lover. S was thrilled with these! He made a necklace for himself, one for me and has a date with his Tatty to make one for him tonight! Using real beads and materials with little ones might seem strange, but this is a great way to practice those fine motor skills and "real" art materials carry a true sense of value to our budding arts. We show that we respect their creative process and they tend to treat these materials with reverence as well. This, of course, does not mean that you must spend a fortune. You can find quality art materials on discount at big box stores, secondhand stores and dollar stores. You can also find clearance items and purchase with coupons at craft supply stores.

Spring is in the air and we love collage opportunities here. A selection of Spring themed stickers, gems, and floral fabric scraps invite all kinds of creations. I stashed a small stack of pastel toned felt rectangles with embroidery floss stitched to the top to create blank banners. Creating pictures and collages on paper is always popular but sometimes offering an alternative medium (like felt, fabric or even artists' canvas) can inspire artists young and old.









Additional staples like tape, glue, scissors and paper edger scissors are stored in the bottom drawer along with some Spring themed additions like floral patterned tape, roller stamps and a leaf-shaped hole punch. 

I must say that as much as I adored the "open container" look on the shelves before, I love the tidiness and accessibility of the closed drawer look now! Our bottom rows are home to some favorites that both boys can use and appreciate. I attached a laminated print of a Spring themed painting depicting a bird in a blossoming tree. I love including "real" art in our art center to inspire the artists in our family. I used to set out a glass picture frame with art in this area but now a laminated version affixed with Velcro makes it accessible and safe for both boys to remove and appreciate. Y in particular has taken a great love of removing laminated labels that are attached to other areas with Velcro! Both boys love the colorful nesting boxes I saved from their Purim shalach manos (Dollar Tree) and a basket of plush ducklings alongside some bird and duck themed books perpetuates the bird and Spring themes that have infiltrated our play here. The bottom shelf is currently home to some Bristle Blocks, Magnatiles and toy trains. Both boys are loving the set up and both are far less frustrated now!

Meanwhile, our main toy shelf (pictured at the top) is currently storing items to inspire small world play that is safe (with supervision) for both boys. Extra small items are stored on top including a Playmobile playground set S recently got (and does not want to share) that he knows he must play with at the table. The middle shelf is an expansion on our bird theme that includes bird figurines, tree blocks, tree cookies and driftwood blocks as well as some artificial nests, eggs and a small collection of stones S and Y recently brought home from the Science Museum. As with any small items, it is important to carefully supervise and consider choking risk. The bottom shelf is storage to our dollhouse furniture, a doll family and our wooden barn--items both boys can safely play with together.

In considering spaces that are shared by multiple ages, creativity, ingenuity and patience are required! We want our home to reflect the developmental and play needs of both of our children. We also want it to be inclusive and accessible to both of them while reflecting their current interests and curiosities. Now, if I could just also synchronize their napping schedules...

Until then...

Happy Playing!

Birds of a Feather Flock Together!

We are on Spring Break here and have even had some Spring weather to go with it. In between enjoying the Pesach holiday, we have also been enjoying some extra time together as a family. I love that S is now in the age and stage of being able to direct our home play and learning activities based on his current interests and curiosities. Lately he has really wondered a lot about eggs and animals that hatch from eggs. This began with a book we checked out of the library (and later bought used) called Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada. This beautifully illustrated book contains several little riddles with some clues about what type of animal is growing inside an egg. As the egg's tiny resident is hatched and revealed, additional information about the creature inside is given to curious readers. Well, this led S to want to play and learn more about eggs and birds in particular. 

We began by creating this Build A Bird's Nest Sensory Bin! S helped cut yarn we re-purposed for a third (and final) time from his "knitting" basket that contained scraps of yarn from my own projects. As we cut and collected the colorful yarn in our sensory bin, we talked about the types of materials real birds use to build their nests and what textures and colors they might like. We may at some point make a little collection outside in our play garden for the birds to use nearby. We added in some artificial nests we had from a craft supply store, some eggs I had purchased on discount as well as some fake worms for hungry birds to eat (these we found in the fishing section of Walmart!). Of course we needed some resident birds! I added in some birds we had purchased a while ago at our local Dollar Tree and later on some plastic toy birds as well as some craft feathers. Additional plastic cups and containers made for the perfect nest foundations and some tweezers and tongs offered a fine motor component for play.

Both my little birdies loved this sensory bin and S wanted a nest that he could go in. That led to today's activity of building a nest for the boys to play in using a laundry basket, plenty of soft blankets and play silks and colorful ribbons woven around the edges by my fine motor activity lover, S! They played in their nest, sat on their "eggs," took care of baby chicks and even listened to nap time stories in there!

Some of our favorite bird and egg themed reads include:

This is the fabulous book that sparked our current play theme...

We are huge Jan Brett fans. In this great classic, Hedgie helps Henny trick the chronically hungry Tomten who is eating her eggs each morning. The end includes a couple of surprises--one very prickly one and several very fluffy ones!

This is a great non-fiction read about eggs and the creatures that hatch from them! It is quite wordy, but you can pick and choose parts to read more about with your little ones (or read the whole thing for particularly curious listeners who may also be potty training this week...)

I love the series of nature-themed picture books by this author and illustrator pair. This one in particular is so lovely to read and view as each page unfolds with gorgeous illustrations and text about eggs and the creatures inside of them.

We extended our theme into a field trip to our local botanical gardens. I brought binoculars and two curious bird watchers. Can you spot the male cardinal in this tree?

Birds and eggs are a wonderful theme to ruffle your feathers off with as Spring finally emerges! You can check out some of our previous bird-themed activities here. Bird watching and journaling/drawing about birds can be a great way to supplement your outdoor adventures and park visits. I especially love this free printable workbook about birds available from Cornell. Once Pesach is over and we reintegrate the use of flour here, I look forward to making some homemade playdough for this great Bird Nest Play Dough Invitation from Fantastic Fun and Learning. S also wants to make some more bird seed treats for our feathered friends outside.

Hope you enjoyed this great egg-xample of egg-spanding on children's play interests. My little chicks' sense of wonder truly inspires my own continued learning and egg-sploration. Egg-stra time at home has taught me just how frequently a 3 year old can ask "why" in one hour, let alone one day. Following their lead allows us to indulge those curiosities and to build on the many conversational, social, scientific and critical thinking skills that are developed through asking and answering. Wishing everyone a happy spring and happy playing!

Days of Creation Play Stations: Day 5 Fish & Birds

We're up to Day 5 in our Days of Creation Play Stations! I have really loved the opportunity to focus an afternoon here and there on sensory play, process art and play activities related to each of the days of Creation with both boys. Although we are well past the reading of Parshas Bereishis in the Torah, it has been a great opportunity to slow down and really focus on each of the days individually. Speaking of slowing down and focusing, did anyone else notice I never posted about what we did for Day 3?! So before we get to the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea....

Here's a peek at what we did for the third day, when Hashem created the earth and grass, flowers and trees:

 We added a third sensory bottle with dried black beans and artificial flowers and leaves. We also incorporated the current season of Autumn into this theme and did what makes the most sense when playing about things that grow outdoors...

...we took a trip to the park! In fact, I posted about that trip and a story stretcher I brought along in this post. As we read, walked, collected, played and made leaf bracelets and leaf rubbings, we also talked about the parts of Creation that took place on Day 3. The next day, we used a collection of pine cones and Fall leaves and acorns along with some marigolds from our garden and some leftover flowers from the previous Shabbos to make "nature paint brushes." S (and Y with some help) got to try their hands at these unique brushes for painting on the third page of our Bereishis Process Art Book.

 That was about the extent of our Day 3 activities since at the same time all four of us shared a cold and three of us shared a case of bacterial conjunctivitis. There were enough green noses and pink eyes here to decorate a Lilly Pulitzer dress and that may or may not be why I totally forgot to post on it!


The great thing about taking the Days of Creation literally one day at a time is that you can take all the breaks you need for recovering from illness, getting busy with other activities and events and still come back to it again. S is always excited when I tell him we will have an afternoon devoted to Days of Creation Play Stations and surely both boys will enjoy what I've got in store for today...

Y has been eating up a storm! Faster than I can keep up, but thank goodness for those handy little jars of baby food for when I don't have the time to make my own purees. And, if you know me, you totally know I had my eye on those little jars for another reason as well--sensory bottles! As with anything made from glass,  adult supervision is certainly a requirement. Baby food jars are a thicker glass and the perfect size for small hands to grasp. Our Day 5 sensory bottles worked best in 2 parts...this "I Spy a Birdie" sensory jar with birdseed and bird buttons...

...and this "Swim With the Fishies" sensory jar with water dyed blue, baby oil, blue glitter and fish buttons! Both jars are hot glued and duct taped shut to ensure that what's in the jar stays in the jar even if shaken vigorously! 

Our DIY Fish Squish Bag is made from a 2.5 gallon ziplock bag filled about 1/4 of the way with water that I added blue food coloring to. I also added in some goldfish cut from craft foam with eyes and smiles drawn on in permanent marker. Additionally, I added a handful of glass craft stones. Before zipping the bag, I let out as much air as possible so that when it is laid on a flat surface it can be squished and manipulated by little hands without a risk of popping. I duct taped the zipper end for extra protection and it's ready to go! Y will love using this on his tummy and it is a great way to encourage tummy time. Y will probably also really enjoy it. I also searched the internet for some photos of common fish and birds in our state to print and laminate for the boys to look at. 

Our small world bird sensory bin is also ready to go, with shredded craft paper, wood circles, pine cones, sticks, bark and acorns collected from previous park trips and some resident birds as well. We used a similar set up before last Tu B'Shevat and S really liked feeding the birds birdseed, so I also included a small dish of birdseed with a tiny spoon.

S really loves using the sensory table in our kitchen and will surely enjoy seeing this colorful poster of regional birds nearby. Perhaps it will also inspire him to peer out the window and see which ones he can find in our backyard!

I found this birdhouse at the beginning of last summer and today is the perfect day for S to decorate it! It will make a great play accessory to add to our small world bird sensory bin when he is done, although I have a feeling he will want to hang it up outside for the real birds, in which case I had a jar of Mod Podge on the ready!

Our Day 5 page is ready for some process art. I created "ocean bubble brushes" with bubble wrap and "bird feather brushes" with craft feathers, both clipped to clothespins. If your little artists like to get their hands painty, feel free to just set out bubble wrap and feathers. I like the clothespins for children who prefer not to get their hands painty or in general for easier grasp of the materials while painting. 

S loves making bird treats for the hungry birdies in our neighborhood. I have a tray all set up to bring outside today (we're having some great weather this afternoon) with our favorite bird treat making ingredients: pine cones, toilet paper tubes, yarn for hanging, peanut butter, a plastic knife for spreading and birdseed! Bon appetit, tweet tweet, enjoy the treat birdies!

Our Fly in the Sky and Swim in the Sea sorting game is a fun way to encourage sorting skills and inspire dramatic play. We have an oddly large collection of plush birds and fish. I also added in some printed and laminated photos of the sky and the ocean as well as some sentence strips to add some print and early literacy to our environment. 

It's Throwback Thursday to when S and I last bought fish for our tank. We're, um, down to one left and S loves to help take care of it and feed it. We will have to take another pet store field trip soon to bring home a couple of friends for our remaining tenant. S and Y both love going to to the pet store and looking at all the fish and birds!

Both boys are still napping, and many days that is truly a blessing! Today, I really can't wait to play, so I think I'm off to go wake up S--and surely Y will follow...

Happy Playing!

Tu B'Shevat Theme: A Bird's Eye View

We've talked about parts of trees and how they grow. We've talked about the many things inside and outside that we get from trees. We've talked about how trees change through the seasons. We've explored where and how trees live and how they help us to live. We have even touched upon how we can help trees live by recycling, reusing and being resourceful with our natural and man-made materials. Yet we cannot neglect to mention the many other living creatures that benefit from trees and even call them home! To incorporate that theme into our Tu B'Shevat unit, we focused a bit on birds.

Since overcoming his brief but intense phobia of our pretend birds in this small world bin, my little guy has LOVED building nests for and feeding these colorful little guys. One of his very favorite books of all time right now is P.D. Eastman's Are You My Mother?. He requests to read it together just about every day! So for the sake of our Bird Themed day, I chose another book to place inside his schoolbag and read together. He loved the illustrations in Dianna Hutts Aston's A Nest is Noisy, illustrated by Sylvia Long. The author and illustrator team have published a few lovely children's books about various wonders of nature and our library was a great resource to find them. After reading together, he couldn't wait to get back to his Bird World bin and build some more nests for his feathered friends!

We took a brief break from our bird themed fun to revisit our Rainbow Celery science experiment from the beginning of the week and then to water our seeds again. He has been totally fascinated by how the celery "drank" the colored water and how we can see that in the change of the leaves. In addition, using the set of beakers we found at our local Dollar Tree, he could really see how the water level decreased as the celery stalks soaked it up through transpiration! I have loved seeing how his journaling process has grown over this year; he has begun to draw lines and shapes that represent certain things--in this case, the green celery and the different colored leaves and water.

Next it was time to make a special treat for our feathered friends outside! We did a similar activity this past fall when we were learning about Parshas Bereishit (the story of Creation) using pine cones, peanut butter and birdseed. The birds definitely appreciated it and all that was left were some very bare pine cones hanging from the large bush in our front yard. As part of our garden clean up, we removed them from the bush to make room for our project from today: a winter treat for the birds! Since we have been learning about recycling and reusing household items, I thought using toilet paper tubes would be a great way to extend that theme into our activity today.

He used a wooden craft stick to smear the peanut butter all over the outside of the tube (and all over his outfit). If you have peanut allergies around, you can use other nut butters or in lieu of using nut products at all, you can use shortening. 

Next it was time to roll the tubes in the birdseed. He also liked sprinkling it on top! We talked about this being a snack for the birds and I provided a separate snack for my peanut butter lover! If you are concerned about little ones taking a taste, you may wish to use seeds meant for human consumption instead, like pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

When we were all done, he helped me string yarn through the tube and we hung the treats outside for the birds to enjoy.

We've had some amazing and unseasonably warm weather this week, so we took a trip to the park to look for more birds! Hey, there's one right now! When we got home, he was super excited to see a bunch of little sparrows fluttering away from our bush having just been enjoying the special treats we made together.

We had a lot of fun learning and playing about birds. We will be completing our unit on Tu B'Shevat (which actually coincides with this Shabbat) with some tasty activities related to the many treats that we get from trees. Until then, Happy Playing!