Short Stretch: "Stone Soup" & Our Rockin' Round-Up

It's a Thursday afternoon as I write this post. We've had a fun and busy week here playing at home through the theme of our first summer Story Stretcher, Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor. With nicer weather than expected, we've enjoyed some extra time outdoors and even at some local parks. Now it's time to start thinking about getting things done for Shabbos tomorrow evening and still make time to entertain the busy boys in this house. This is the perfect time to insert a short stretch story stretcher--and maybe even one that will recruit an extra set of hands in the kitchen as we get ready for Shabbos. Stone Soup by Marcia Brown is the perfect candidate for the job!
This is a classic, award-winning tale of three hungry soldiers returning from the wars, seeking a meal and place to rest. When the townspeople, who are afraid of strangers are a bit less than hospitable, the clever soldiers give them a recipe fit for royalty and a feast they will not soon forget! This book is a great compliment to our rock theme this week and can inspire some great play activities, too.

I introduced our book during breakfast in the morning, bringing it to the table to read with S and Y. While S is almost always up for reading together, this book is a bit lengthy and I felt the table would be an ideal setting to read it together before beginning our busy morning. He has loved learning some new vocabulary this week related to rocks--like pebble and stone. Language development happens so naturally through reading together! S automatically took to his kitchen set after breakfast for some Stone Soup themed dramatic play. He got out his pots and a spoon, grabbed a rock from our shelf and got busy!

The proof is in the pudding here--story stretchers don't always need to involve preparation or direction from adults. Children naturally expand upon literature through play! I was certain he would enjoy our afternoon plans just as much when I invited him to the kitchen with me to help make our Shabbos soup, Stone Soup style!

But with such beautiful weather outside, we took to the play garden first to make some Stone Soup in the water table. Adding some rocks, toy dishes, a ladle and bowls, maybe even some play food if you wish, can turn your outdoor water table into the perfect setting for making Stone Soup. If your weather is less than cooperative, water play is fun in the kitchen as well or even in the bathtub.

One of our favorite Shabbos songs to sing is this one, to the tune of "London Bridges" about making soup!

Shabbat Soup Song
Put the chicken in the pot (hold arms out in a circle, like a pot)
Stir it up, nice and hot (stir your "pot")
Get it ready for Shabbat,
For Shabbat!

Children can insert their own ideas for ingredients and it's particularly fun to include props like a pot and pretend food/pictures of foods to add or to include hand motions.

You can build letter recognition by making alphabet soup
in the tub, water table or a plastic bin!

In the real kitchen,S loves to help wash vegetables for soup.I set out the veggies I needed washed in a large bowl for S along with a few carefully selected stones for our stone soup. Even once the veggies were recruited to the pot, S continued to have fun washing his stones! He can also help with my assistance/supervision to peel and cut veggies for soup and add things to the pot. He is always eager to get his step stool even if to just be alongside me as I cook! Including little ones in the kitchen when you have to be there anyway is a great way to feel a bit less lonely in there and spend time together. It definitely takes a bit longer with more hands in this case, but I'd rather entertain those little hands in the kitchen than have to run out to keep them out of mischief every few minutes! Helping to cook the foods we eat also builds skills in math/measuring, science, reading, following recipes, fine motor skills like pouring, peeling, cutting, scooping and mixing--and sometimes means that the pickier eaters in the family will try what we're serving for dinner. The added bonus on this occasion was that I was able to get done what I had to get done while connecting it to our theme and spending a bit of time with my little campers!

We've had a great week stretching out the story Everybody Needs a Rock. As we move on to our next story stretcher theme, I think S will like to continue playing with some of the materials from this one. Rocks are a great summer theme to explore! Here are some of the other activities we especially enjoyed this week:

Rocks to pebbles, pebbles to sand, I hold a million tiny rocks inside my little hands! We had a lot of fun observing sand through magnifying glasses, burying and discovering little rocks and pebbles and playing! And then we had a lot of fun cleaning up...

Chalk is a rock!

Graphite works just like our pencils!

Building our names with letter rocks

Rock n'Roll Painting with red paint on the letter R

We rocked out to some great music while rolling the rock through the paint inside the shoe box!

S loved using rocks in his water table--with and without water!

For some more great reading on rocks, we really loved these books:

• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
• A Rock is Lively by Diana Hutts Aston
• If Rocks Could Sing: A Discovered Alphabet by Leslie McGuirk
• Stone Soup by: Marcia Brown
• If You Find a Rock by Barbara Hirsch Lember and Peggy Christian

This little guy is a big lover of rocks!

We'll be back next week with our next Story Stretcher theme. Until then...

Happy Playing!

Think Outside the Box Thursday: Sneaking Reading & Writing into Your Summer

If your children are of school age, you're likely entering the beginning of summer vacation. Perhaps the sweet taste of pride in your children's amazing academic accomplishments is still fresh on the tip of your tongue or perhaps you've moved into the zone of wondering how you will all survive the next two months. My husband and I often talk about the challenges that a 9 month school year presents. For one thing, working parents do not necessarily follow this particular schedule and the show goes on even while the kids are off from school. This leaves families to scramble to fill those days with camp, childcare, entertainment and other means of keeping the kids out of trouble while they're out of school. For many families, this is a significant financial burden as well. For children who spend all school year practicing skills related to literacy and writing (among many other subjects), the summer is a time they may become rusty and fall out of the routine of reading every day. Certainly there is benefit to slowing down and smelling the freshly bloomed roses. Many of my friends with older children are concerned, however, that the skills their sons and daughters worked so hard to develop during the school year will be neglected and diminish over the summer. Should we give our children "homework" over the summer and ensure that they continue to work on reading and writing? My answer is always in the form of "Yes, if..."

• Yes, if it won't be a battle.  You really don't need this to be a battle every day. The school year battles around homework are challenging enough from what I hear! At least then you get to send them off to their teachers for a decent chunk of the day. Fighting with kids about reading every day can make two months at home feel like two centuries for all parties involved and can also paint a negative image around reading and writing in general.
• Yes, if it feels like fun for you both! Some kids do like worksheets and some do not. The good news is, there are a lot of low cost or no cost options out there for worksheets and less traditional ways of practicing reading and writing.
• Yes, if you can include the whole family and each be working on something. Nothing feels like more of a drag than doing work while everyone else is playing. If you can make working on something (whether it's reading, writing, math, a hobby or a project) something everyone does either together or at the same time, individually, more power to you!

So now comes the fun part: how to sneak reading and writing into your summer without breaking the bank or the spirit of summer fun. I will include some suggestions applicable to children of all ages, for pre-readers and pre-writers (generally preschool aged) and for early readers and writers (generally Kindergarten and up through the earlier grades).

For Children of All Ages:

• Libraries are the place to be over the summer! Many have very engaging kids' programming throughout the summer months that encourage reading, writing, even math, science, computer literacy, art, drama, music and more. Our library system has story times for younger ones in a variety of separate age groups as well as programming for older children. Many libraries also have summer reading programs with kid-friendly incentives. If "getting your children to read" feels like a battle at home, take it outside of the house and let a neutral party (like your local librarian) take over!
• School supplies are not just for the school year! I've said it before and I'll say it again--there's nothing more powerful than a kid with a new notebook and set of pencils, pens, markers or crayons. If worksheets are not your children's preferred method of writing or reviewing letters and site words, a blank notebook can become their (and your) best friend. Let it be their journal and whether you choose to organize prompts or activities or just let them use it independently for drawing, doodling, writing and recording, they will be working on the skills they have developed whether they realize it or not. Many children enjoy using a journal in nature or to record memories from camp and vacations. Older children might like to keep a journal with a group of friends and pass it back and forth. Many families even keep a journal between older children and a parent/parents as a means to communicate more privately. School supplies are generally discounted at the end of the school year, so now is a great time to buy!

I introduced a journal well before my little guy was into holding pens and pencils...

He grows more and more independent with it as he gets older. It will surely make a great keepsake down the line!

• Take it outside! The weather is great and you all want to be out there anyway. Set up some lawn chairs and bring your books and journals along, set up a letter or word scavenger hunt, draw/write with chalk. Make a family scrapbook of your outdoor adventures or play some great gross motor games using letters or site words as appropriate for your children's age and reading level.

For Early Readers & Writers: 

• Maximize your screen time: If screen time is a part of your routine, there are amazing apps, videos and games that can encourage reading and writing skills. Many are available on library computers for use by patrons. 
• Coloring/Activity Books are great for children (and grown ups!) of all ages who might not love "traditional" writing and reading exercises but do love to color. Nowadays you can even find great ones on sale in the Dollar Tree. Coloring in a coloring book does promote the fine motor skills and strokes/lines associated with writing letters and penmanship. Additionally, directions in activity books and the activities themselves will surely get your children reading! Coloring books are also a great activity for quiet times of the day.
• Use rewards, incentives, or friendly competitions wisely: if it works for your reader/writer, use a reward/incentive system to trade in books read or activities completed for a prize experience, book or toy. If friendly competition inspires your kids, make it a family affair and chart minutes spent reading or (for kids who read at the same level) number of books read. Again, the library is a great resource for this type of programming and they often have summer reading contests during the summer for school aged children. 
• Speaking of the library...a child who is reluctant to read may be quite passionate about something else. Whether it's a particular animal, character, sport or activity, use it to your (and their) advantage. Give your little learner an opportunity to test out the search mode of your library's computer system (or enlist the help of a librarian) and find a collection of summer reading based on your child's interests.
• Think outside of the box: Does your child like cooking? Get to the kitchen and practice reading and recipe, measuring, pouring, mixing and more whipping up some favorite recipes. Got a little scientist? There is plenty of reading and writing involved when you run some simple experiments at home. Check out some of the science posts here for ideas. Got a little engineer? Building involves a great deal of fine motor work (related to writing) and following instruction booklets to put together a particular toy or building set is a great reading activity. A child who does not love books might love magazines. A child who does not love to write might like to type and record stories, poems or even a blog. If your child has a particular passion or interest, it is likely that reading and writing skills can be connected to it and are already inherently a part of it.
• Write it in the sand. Literally. Or shaving cream. Or salt or sugar or with clay/playdough. Or on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. Or in the mud with a stick. It doesn't always have to be with pen and paper--writing can happen in a lot of places with a lot of things.

For Pre-readers and Pre-Writers:

• Follow along our Story Stretcher series and find some great ways to go beyond the book through meaningful play activities. You can use ideas you find here, your own ideas, your child's ideas or find other great ones on Pinterest by searching your favorite book titles, authors or themes.
• Pre-writing doesn't always involve pencils. Building fine motor skills associated with proper use of a writing utensil sometimes involves practicing with pencils, markers, crayons, pens and such and other times includes cutting with scissors, working with playdough or clay, stringing beads, working on puzzles and building with small manipulatives. One of our favorite out of the box fine motor activities right now is cutting the grass with safety scissors. It might just take all summer to get our lawn mowed, but that's OK! Sidewalk chalk is another great medium for practicing letters and writing/drawing skills. Gross motor skills and larger muscle movement are also imperative to early writing. Including activities like tracing a large drawn or masking tape letter with a toy truck or car or on tip toe or by jumping/hopping/tight-rope walking are all great ways to get the whole body involved and active!

• Learning letters and pre-reading doesn't always involve books and flash cards! Playing with letter manipulatives like puzzles, magnets, foam/felt letters, blocks, stamps, cookies cutters, stickers and more are all great ways to encourage exposure to letters in uppercase and lowercase form. If your little one is into arts and crafts, you can put together your own alphabet book of letter themed crafts and pictures. You can print off coloring sheets, make collages, cut pictures and letters from magazines/junk mail, use stickers and stamps--the options are limitless! Go on a letter sound scavenger hunt in your house. Give your kids a basket and a letter and you'll all be amazed at what they come back with. (This can be a creative way to clean up as well.) Take foam letters, a ladle and some plastic bowls to the pool or sprinkler pad for some alphabet soup. 

• Talk and PLAY! Daily conversations and natural play build vocabulary, reading and writing skills without even trying. Don't be afraid to teach big words to your little kids! Reading together is great and so is playing together. Repeat after me: play is enough, it is enough, it is enough...

And for the grown-ups:

Don't stress! Play at all ages is how children (and many adults) learn. My mantra above really applies to any age in my opinion. If you can and want to do more, great! If you cannot or your kids aren't into it, don't stress over it. Find a balance and routine that works for you and Happy Playing!

Here are a few links that might be helpful:

• Here are some great free printable alphabet coloring pages
• One of my favorite blogs, "No Time For Flash Cards" has a post with a great collection of active literacy games to get you moving this summer
• There are some great free writing prompts and activities for early writers at Teachnology
• There are some great free printable sight word and phonics booklets as well as other literacy materials available for home use at Hubbard's Cupboard. Some of the materials on this site are religious in nature, however many are secular and great for use with readers and writers of all ages and stages.

How To S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Story Stretchers

I previously touched upon how to whip up a quick story stretcher (or even a longer one) when you're short on time in this post, but what if you want to stretch those activities across the span of a week or longer? Well, this is the post for you! Our play at home camp this summer is taking us beyond several of our favorite children's books with themes, authors and stories that my older son is particularly fond of. When you look at this blog, it may appear that we are engaged all day in play and learning activities and this is simply not true. Particularly during the summer, I like to move at a slower pace and make plenty of time for outdoor play and park visits, family time and free/independent play. Fall will be here before we know it and S will begin preschool. I'd love to continue story stretcher activities with him as a way to continue our play at home adventures and even connect the school to home gap, but I will follow his lead with this. For now, we are enjoying the summer swing of things and with some thoughtful planning, it's easy to stretch your own extension activities and themes across the span of several days, a week, or whatever feels right to you!

We kicked off our Story Stretchers Play at Home Camp by decorating a book bag!

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

You don't need to reinvent the wheel! I may post a variety of extension activities for each of our story stretcher themes, but I don't whip them all out on the same day. When it comes to more structured play and learning activities, I go with the flow. On days we have a lot of time, I can spend more time engaged in structured activity with my toddler--that is if he is interested in it! If he doesn't seem enthusiastic about a particular activity or is showing signs of wanting to do something else altogether, I go with it. I put away the activity and we try it again later. There is no reason to battle over something that is meant to be fun and to connect us. When I sense frustration or disconnect, it's definitely time to move on and try again later. On the other hand, if S wants to spend longer with an activity or repeat it, I do that, too! I prepare a selection of my activities in advance in such a way that I can have one (or a few) sessions of working on it with S and then he can access it and do it again on his own as desired. Repetition is the essence of learning and S loves to repeat favorite activities. I may present one or two novel activities on most days, but throughout the week we play more freely and revisit our favorites as desired. That more "structured" time is sometimes as short as half an hour or spread over a few chunks throughout the day.

On the first day of our Everybody Needs a Rock story stretcher week, I formally introduced and read the book and we painted a special box for a special rock. S chose a rock from our collection at home that he thought he wanted to keep inside...by the next day, he'd picked a different special rock! I have a feeling his little box will be home to many special rocks along the way...

He wanted to tuck his rock into bed. We found a little washcloth and used it for a blanket.

Let your little ones take the lead. As noted above, I try to follow my toddler's cues as much as possible. I also must balance my infant's needs and our other household obligations. Even during our "school year" I was careful not to push beyond S's interest or attention span. Particularly when it comes to story stretchers and reading together, I want S to have as much control and autonomy as possible. I'd rather put a book away or take a picture walk on a day he doesn't feel like hearing a story than have unpleasant experiences around reading together. Building an early love of literacy is a delicate process and while I do have a toddler who loves to be read to, not all children feel this way and no children feel this way all of the time. Additionally, when I prepare an activity to be done in one way, S often has his own ways of doing things. I reserve "no" for when I really need it. Imagine being told "no" by your boss or your spouse repeatedly again and again and again. You'd probably lose your interest in doing whatever task you were doing if not lose your cool altogether. When S decides to add materials to an activity or use the ones I've set out in a different way than I'd envisioned, unless it is truly unsafe or will be harmful to the materials, I allow it and even build on it with him.

On our second morning, I set out our invitation to draw on rocks with chalk. S loved it and wanted me to draw on the rocks as well. He asked me to draw a robot (one of his other favorite things right now) and then became quite attached to the robot rock. Since I knew the chalk would eventually rub off, I suggested we find a lighter colored rock and I could draw a robot with permanent marker for him. He came back with another rock and then I drew the robot...next he found some robot stickers and wanted to add one of those! I love that he felt inspired to take our chalk activity all the way to decorating his own pet robot rock and beyond!

The robot rock now has a happy home in his special rock box. 

So what about the story? If you read your target story on the first day, then what? Do you read it again? I often set out the target book on our little table for S to see so he will remember what we've been playing about. Sometimes he will ask to read it again. I also set out other theme related books. S will frequently bring one over to read or sometimes I will pull one out to show him. He's been particularly fond of a nonfiction book we checked out of the library called Can You Find These Rocks? by Carmen Bredeson and Lindsey Cousins. He was particularly excited to find that we actually had many of the rocks in the book now in our little museum collection, thanks to my mother's special donation!

We are having a rockin' time exploring rocks this week! I am following S's lead and we are moving at a comfortable pace. My hope for S (and for Y as well, as he grows) is that a love of literature will follow and inspire them into avid readers all in due time. That said, I am in no rush for them to read or reach particular academic milestones. I want them to carry with them a love of literature, a fond memory of our activities and time together, and maybe a few rocks in their pockets!

Wishing you all a comfortable pace of reading, learning and, of course, playing!

Welcome to Story Stretchers Camp! A Rockin' Kick-off Children's Book Extension

We are kicking off our summer Story Stretchers Camp here with one of my favorite books, Everybody Needs a Rock written by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall. I've yet to find a child who does not love to pick up and collect rocks and in my family, I've yet to meet an adult who doesn't fit this profile either! In fact, many of my resources and ideas for this story stretcher came from my own mother, also a preschool educator (and avid rock collector) who taught an enrichment class last year she calls "Rock-It Science."

I don't have a "set method" for setting up and executing our story stretcher themes. While I am devoting a week to each target story I use this summer, I've mentioned before that story stretcher activities can be done in as little as 15-20 minutes or can be stretched across a whole week or unit. You could, for instance, do a rock theme over the course of several weeks and include more than one story with it or use the target book as a way to introduce the sub-theme of rocks. While each week at our Story Stretcher Camp will be set up a little differently, there are some main aspects I will aim to consistently include:

• My books are chosen based on interests and passions my toddler is currently exploring. If your children are particularly passionate about a topic, you may already have or know of books related to it. If not, doing a Pinterest search is a great way to start! For example, searching "children's books about robots" will pull up a variety of Pins with book suggestions, and, likely also activities. Alternatively, you can build your story stretchers off of your children's favorite books. I love brainstorming themes and activities related to some of S's favorite stories!
• We will begin each week by presenting our target story and reading it together. Every early reader is different. Some love to sit for story time, some do not. Many feel differently about being read to at different times. Here are some ways to creatively introduce your target story based on some different reading/listening styles:
• Introduce your book at the "right time." If your little one mainly likes being read to at bath time or bed time or during meal times, read the book then!
• Take a "picture walk" with longer text rather than reading word for word. In other words, show the pictures and use your own descriptive language to paraphrase a story.
• Ask questions, leave familiar text out for your little one to fill in the blank or even fill in a blank to a familiar story yourself with a silly word to engage and include your pre-reader. Use pictures to ask questions about how a character is feeling. Ask your little readers what they think a story will be about showing the title page or what they think will happen next at a cliff hanger. These are all great tools to build literacy skills and to keep your child's interest.
• Include props, puppets, stuffed animals, felt board or printed/laminated pictures when possible to add a hands-on/visual element to a book. This is particularly useful for tactile and visual learners who may be less auditory.
• If your library has more than one copy of a target book, you may wish to check out multiples--particularly if you have more than one reader at home! Being able to follow along in their own copy of the book can be quite appealing.
• Use audio or video versions of a book in lieu of reading it yourself and follow along with a hard copy if you wish.
• Using your finger to point to text on a page helps to connect the concept of words on a page creating the story even for pre-readers.
• Some weeks will include stories related to the target story and others will focus on only one target story with more play based activities related to it. Some weeks we will explore a particular theme through literature and some weeks we may explore a particular author through literature. 
• All of our story stretchers will include some or all of the following types of extension activities: dramatic play, sensory play, science, math, writing/language arts, music/movement and gross motor activities, outdoor play, related outings/field trips, arts & crafts, cooking, building and more!

And here's a peek in our playroom set up as we kick off our week of taking Everybody Needs a Rock beyond the book!

Our shelves are stocked with some theme related materials, including additional reading checked out from our local library, a copy of our target book, some rocks to observe and explore and a "few selections" (her words) from my mother's museum collection of interesting rocks and minerals. I will set out different activities in particular throughout the week and we will also be reading some other great rock-themed children's literature.

A magnifying glass and some non-fiction children's literature checked out from our local library make a great compliment to our target book and invite and encourage exploration.

If you'd like to join us in a rock themed unit or similar story stretcher, here are some materials you may wish to include:

• rocks, either found and collected or purchased from craft shops, aquarium shops and even dollar store floral/craft departments
• chalk
• pencils
• paper/notebooks
• recycled containers or a craft box to decorate (for a rock house)*
• a recycled shoe box or foil pan for "rock n' roll" painting*
• magnifying glasses
• paintbrushes, toothbrushes and/or scrub brushes for washing rocks*
• ice cube tray for sorting
• washable paint
• plastic bin, trays, or water table/sensory table for sensory play with rocks
• sand (either craft sand or play sand)
• large pictures of shapes to trace for rock shape trace (you can print from home and laminate if you wish)*

*more on these activities later...stay tuned!

I'm a BIG fan of using what you have, so please do not feel you need to go out and purchase all or any of these materials. I did spend a few bucks getting some fresh craft sand and some river rocks at the craft supply store this time, but all of our books for this unit are checked out from the library and everything else I already had at home. If there are activities you have the materials for, go ahead and do those!

S loves finding and collecting objects from nature, particularly interesting rocks and sticks. I leave a couple of "treasure jars" out front for him to store these materials as he finds them.

Here's a peek at some of the ones we have set up for this week. We will be back to post about some of our favorites. Until then, happy reading, story stretching and playing!

s

We're bringing out some of our favorite rock materials from the past year, like these Shabbos Story Rocks... 

...our letter rocks--particularly great for name building activities...

And this invitation to create a shape, now using rocks to trace with...

I previously printed and laminated these shape mats for use with a variety of materials, from rocks (and other loose parts), to playdough and even dry erase markers.

This invitation to draw with chalk on river rocks is a great art extension...

...and a wonderful theme related addition to our art shelf.

Rocks and Minerals are all around us--even in some of the every day materials we use and love. S will be fascinated to see and use chalk in its natural form...

...and graphite...

This cute little rock poem teaches about the cycle of rocks and is a great way to include some journaling to your theme and to accompany the below activity:

Observing sand...

...and investigating pebbles in sand...

And of course, a rock is most likely to be found outdoors. Our week will surely include many rock scavenger hunts and some sensory and water play in our (very muddy) water table!

Mad Science Monday: Study of Chromatography & Butterfly Craft

Leave it to preschool science to teach me a word I'd never heard before: chromatography. Language development in children (and adults!) is one reason I love doing Mad Science Mondays both in the classroom and now, at home! I first came across this experiment last spring when I was teaching 4-5 year olds on this great blog post from buggyandbuddy.com. It combined two of my favorite things in life: Mr. Sketch markers (my nose is still all different colors from sniffing these scented markers as a child) and butterflies! Since we have been learning about and growing our own butterflies here, this was the perfect time to try the experiment with S, who has appreciated the crafty results of my classroom experience with it lining the walls of our stairwell at home over the last year.

Chromatography is a "fancy science word" (as I always tell my young scientists when introducing vocabulary) that means "separating mixtures." Many times, we talk to children and work with them on mixing colors, but can you "un-mix" colors? Is the ink inside the markers we use really the color it appears when we use it on paper (or in this case, coffee filters)? It should be noted that this is a very rudimentary definition of chromatography and that I, nonetheless, do not shy away from using big words with little kids--this is a great way to build vocabulary and confidence all in one fell swoop!

To perform your own study of chromatography and make a cute butterfly craft to go with it, you will need:

• white coffee filters
• Mr. Sketch Markers* *these are suggested as the markers that work best for the experiment, however any non-permanent marker can be used
• pencil
• cups or jars of water
• pipe cleaners
• paper plates, art mats, paper towels or newsprint for protecting the table and drying wet work on
• string and a clothes hanger or push pins for hanging your butterflies when done

Instructions:

• To demonstrate chromatography, choose one color to test per coffee filter. If you have an eager young scientist with a love for art who wants to test many colors on one coffee filter, you can allow for that as well!
• Label your coffee filter with the name of the color you are testing. Hint: if you are only testing a few colors, I highly recommend testing out black and brown!

• Draw a thick ring around the center circle of the coffee filter in your color of choice. Again, if you have an eager young scientist who wants to test out drawing other shapes or lines on the coffee filter, that's OK--you'll still see amazing results!
• Fold your coffee filter in half twice to create a cone shape. Using a short glass of water works best so that you can place just the uncolored tip into the water and not turn the water any color in the process. In  my classroom, I had short bell jars I used and at home I only had larger plastic cups. Again, your results will still show even if you do not have the exact proper size of cup/glass.

• Let your coffee filter sit and steep--watch with your young scientists as water is absorbed and flows up the paper! We talked about words like "absorb" and how that means to soak or drink up the water. Since we have also been doing a lot of gardening here, S reminded me that this is how plants drink water from the ground!
• Once water has reached the outer edge of your coffee filter, it's time to take it out and let it dry flat (I found paper plates to work well for this, but you can dry them on paper towels or newsprint if you prefer).
• Observe and discuss the results! Which colors were comprised of the most colors mixed together? Which had the fewest? 

Brown and Black are always my favorite colors to see "un-mixed," and even resemble monarch butterflies
a bit when dry and completed!

• Once they are dry, you can scrunch and fold your colorful coffee filters into a butterfly shape and gather the center by looping a pipe cleaner around the center and shaping your antennae. You can twirl or bend your antennae and you can either pin/tape your butterflies to the wall or create a beautiful mobile using string and a clothes hanger. They would even make a lovely addition to a wrapped present in place of a bow!

This year's flock of butterflies...

Last year's flock--as you can see, I'm not ready to part with the beautiful results of this simple science experiment!

This simple activity is a great way to explore science at home or in a classroom and a great way to decorate your home or classroom afterward. I even had the older sibling of one of my students use this as her science fair activity last year! It's a great supplement to learning about butterflies, colors, or just some spring/summertime fun. 

We've had such fun and amazement following our caterpillars' journey from baby caterpillar, to growing caterpillar, to chrysalis to butterfly, and this was a fabulous way to compliment that at home. We will definitely be back with more about that adventure, but until then...

Happy Playing!

Troubleshooting Family Challenges: Creating and Using Social Stories to Navigate Strong Emotions

Whether you're a teacher, a parent, or both, you've probably been there! A child is navigating a difficult transition, a severe anxiety or strong emotions about a typical routine (i.e. bedtime). You hit the floor to play. You hit the books to read. You even hit the screens to watch others in similar predicaments, but, let's face it, raising and teaching these children did not come with an owner's manual. And that's where social stories come into play--they are the owner's manual you seek because YOU (the owners) are the ones who dictate/write them! 

Shortly after Y was born, my husband began a new job. We were so excited for this change. Besides being a great opportunity for him career-wise and financially, it also eliminated the 3 hours of commuting he was doing daily with his last job. We thought this would be a fabulous change for S as well, who so missed his Tatty during the weekdays. What we did not take into consideration was how much change surrounded the timing of this. First Y was born and I was away in the hospital. S spent most of his time with his Tatty who was at home. Then Pesach came and we were all home together. Then my husband went back to work, which now only includes a six minute commute each way, but is still a change to S, not to mention that he now sees his Tatty leave in the morning. S expressed his difficulty with this challenge in a number of ways. First he acted out once his Tatty returned in the evenings. We worked with that behavior by preparing him before Tatty came home that he would be home shortly and planning what he'd like to do. My husband and I also had to resist our urge to catch up with each other right away and make some space for S to do so as well. Next, S began to have difficulties with his Tatty leaving in the mornings. He first verbally expressed anger, saying he wanted to "break the door," and some sadness, "he not go work, he want to come home." Finally, he began crying when his Tatty would leave in the mornings (which in some senses was a relief for me), and I could see he had strong emotions about this transition that needed our support and guidance. 

On one such morning a couple of weeks ago, I was at a bit of a loss. I had tried talking with S and playing with him about it. I had tried distracting him and offering fun activities upon Tatty's departure. What I had not offered, however, was a venue in which those strong emotions were named and welcomed. He needed a space where big feelings--even angry and sad ones--were safe and OK. And I had just the space for it: a blank book from a set I'd found in Target's Dollar Deals section this past fall. I purchased a pack of these little books for projects throughout the year and we did use two, but the rest have been ready in one of my supply drawers for whatever projects came their way and a social story seemed to be the perfect candidate. A social story was a tool developed by Carol Gray in the early 1990s for use with children on the autism spectrum in order to help them understand and develop certain interpersonal skills. Using pictures/photos and appropriate text, they were used to model appropriate interactions and to improve overall social skills. I have used social stories both with children who have various special needs and neuro-typical children in the classroom setting to help navigate strong emotions, work through difficult transitions and/or depict daily routines (getting ready in the morning, preparing for bedtime, etc.). I have found them to be immensely useful in these situations. Using pictures children draw themselves, their own words/dictations and even photos of familiar people helps them to a) connect with and contain strong emotions in a safe space and b) empowers them to be in charge of their own story/situation rather than a prisoner to it. 

Lately, S has been really enjoying books about characters working through anxieties or difficult emotions--such as Daniel Tiger books, or Molly Bang's When Sofie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry. Somehow, being able to present and work out a problem within the space of a front and back cover through illustrations and simple prose feels safe to him. I had offered the idea of drawing or dictating a picture to S on many occasions, but on the morning we made our social story, titled "Tatty Comes Back" (after the catchy Daniel Tiger jingle, "Grown-ups Come Back," I did something a little different: I set out a blank book and "mommy's special markers" and began to write and draw. I invited S to join me and he did, right away! Together we wrote and drew about our typical morning routine from waking up to getting dressed to eating breakfast. In just the same way, without excessive energy or fanfare, I introduced the "problem," Tatty getting ready for work and leaving to the office. I created a page where S could draw/write about his feelings related to this (he came up with "sad" and "like rain and clouds," and a page where he could draw/dictate his wish/ideal scenario (he drew/dictated that he wished it was always Shabbos--when his Tatty is home). We drew pictures of his Tatty's office, of him visiting his Tatty's office (which he does on occasion) and of Tatty coming home in the evening. We drew and dictated things we could do and say when Tatty leaves to help with the difficult feelings. S was so proud of his book and requested to read it again and again that day. He brought it out from his bookshelf the following morning even before it was time for his Tatty to go and the transition was much smoother. 

Now we have had a long holiday week and a change in routine again. I know that difficult emotions and feelings about this transition will likely crop up again; I'm glad we have a great book to turn to if and when they do. I also know that there will be many other strong feelings that need a safe space to be contained in and accessed from. Social stories are a great tool for this. Here are some things to consider if you'd like to make your own:

• What to use: You don't need a fancy book or journal, though you can use one. You can also use photos and a photo album. You can type your story, hand-write it and create illustrations in whatever way is meaningful to your child. You can combine photos, drawings, clip art, stickers/collage, magazine cut outs...
• When to create your social story: This is not always an appropriate activity to do "in the heat of the moment." When a child is in the midst of a strong emotion (i.e. meltdown mode), he may not be able to or ready to work on a social story. You may find it most helpful to begin the process on your own and invite the child to join you during a quieter time. Alternatively, sometimes being welcomed to the process merely by you sitting down and writing/drawing can be enough to distract from an intense reaction and help center and ground a distressed child.
• What role do the adults play? We can provide language and ideas, however, I do encourage as much as possible to give your child the ownership of this story. There are no "wrong" feelings or "wrong" words. Our response and affect also play a huge role. I try to maintain a calm and centered affect with children when working on social stories--even as they are talking about and working through strong emotions. That said, we also need to match and validate those emotions in order to appear genuine. Even young children can recognize when we seem disingenuous toward their emotions by not matching their intensity when we discuss them. Allow this activity to take as long or as short as your child needs. It's ok to take a break from it and return at a later point as well. I always offer that if we need to add more later, we can always get out the markers again! Sometimes a story changes over time...
• The parts of the social story: I like to include some or all of the following:
• familiar and neutral routines or environments surrounding the issue (in this case, waking up, getting ready for the day)
• the problem at hand and the feelings/responses it can evoke
• the wish: this one is a big one for me--often we think that allowing children to conceptualize how they wish things were will cause them to focus on that and become even more dissatisfied with what actually is. I have found the opposite to be true. Many times, naming a wish and an ideal scenario is enough for little ones. "I wish the playdate was not over; I wish we could play together all day!" or "I wish I could have the new bicycle today." Everyone needs a space to dream and a world in which those dreams are true. And sometimes that space is just what is needed to move toward a realistic solution in this world.
• support/solutions: this is where I incorporate tools that can be used in the moment. This part does tend to involve more adult input but can and should also invite the child's input. In our story, I listed and drew things we can do/say when Tatty goes to work. I also invited an illustration and some words from S. A child is far more likely to utilize a tool to solve a problem that he or she has developed!
• Making it accessible with an invitation to return: Once you have finished the process of creating the social story, it should be left where it is accessible to the little author/illustrator. I do not push or force a child to revisit their story, though I may take it out and begin to look at it myself when I think a reminder that it exists might be helpful. Even going so far as to tell your child where it is can help them to feel empowered and secure in retrieving it when needed. Telling and showing your little one that a social story about going to school is in her backpack can help ease separation anxiety at the moment of the transition as well as throughout the day. Additionally, I always tell my little authors/illustrators that we can add more or change things later on if we wish. 
• On the go! I keep a small pencil pouch with a notepad and colored pencils in my purse/diaper bag for use on the go. This is great for entertaining little ones while you must wait for food to arrive or an appointment. It is also great for impromptu social story writing should the opportunity and need arise (like resolving a playground squabble or writing/drawing a "wishlist" at the store when those wishes outnumber the funds in your bank account!).
• Have fun! This doesn't have to be totally serious--in fact, I encourage you to have fun, and when appropriate, be a little silly. Perhaps you draw and write about some sillier responses to a problem. It's OK to laugh and have fun with this so long as it feels genuine and appropriate to the situation. Laughter can often help release the intensity of strong emotions just as well as tears can!

We'll be back soon as we begin our Story Stretchers Mommy & Me Camp here. I think our first theme really rocks (spoiler alert!) and until then...

Happy Parenting & Playing!