This July at Soundbridge at The Seattle Symphony, we’ve got some really great happenings going on. PlayDates! A couple of summers ago they didn’t have space for July summer camps, so the PlayDate was born. It’s now become a tradition.
PlayDates are 1 ½ hours of music, movement, stories and fun. You’ll attend a 45 minute class, ½ hour of “exploring time” at Soundbridge, and 15 minutes of musical storytelling. It’s a $35 total value for only $15! Siblings are just $10, and Soundbridge members are $12. Grownups are free.
When your class is over, take home the activities and fun with the included music download card and instrument. How great is that?
Turn the day into an OUTING. Bring a friend or two, pack a lunch, and after class head to one of these really great parks (all recommend by preschool DirectorTeacher Aaron, who totally knows what he is talking about).
Madison Park – a freshwater beach park with sand, a grassy area and a playground. Lifeguard on duty.
Judkins Playground - a park in Seattle’s Central District with a cool water feature for playing in.
Seward Park - This 300 acrea park on Lake Washington has a brand new play structure, a zip line, and lots of woods and trails.
Looking for an all-inclusive birthday party idea or get together with your playgroup? We’ll book you a private PlayDate.
Here’s all about the themes we’re premiering this summer:
Fly Away With Me – ages newborn to 3 1/2
It’s everything with wings – birds, butterflies, bees, and planes! We’ll swoop and twirl to promote body awareness, and buzz and hoot to enhance vocal development. Songs, puppets, finger plays, dancing, and instruments round out the fun. Help your little ones channel their energy as you laugh and learn together.
Oh Say Can You Play? – ages 2 to 5
It’s all about American music. From Native American drum circles to the blues of New Orleans, come discover our musical roots. Dance your way to Arkansas, and float down the river to Ohio. Come bounce, sing, move, play instruments and uncover an engaging musical world, right here in the US!
So I have some picky eaters in my house. Namely my husband, who could eat the same food every day for all three meals and be perfectly happy. The second is my gifted and sensory-sensitive child who claimed himself a vegetarian by age 4 (including fish because he was NOT going to eat a dead fish), and who probably only eat about 5 foods. He too will eat the same food everyday for every meal and is perfectly happy about it. It does mean making his lunch for preschool very easy and I can do it before I’ve had my coffee in the morning.
Luckily, I also have a three year old who will happily ask for a steak and will eat a chicken wrap right out of my hand if I let him. Sadly, it makes dinner time for this Foodie an agonizing challenge.
When the 4 o’clock hustle begins I dread trying to come up with something everyone will eat or even consider looking at. Once or twice a week we have breakfast for dinner so everyone is happy with their eggs, or pancakes, or cereal and most times they can even get their own food. I always leave a bowl or two of fruit out on the table and this has increased fruit intake by everyone, so thumbs up for that!
The veggie situation is the next challenge, and tonight I discovered some sort of success. Tonight was “Make Your Own Salad Night.” Not sure why I hadn’t thought of this before. We’ve had taco night which is a similar idea where everyone gets a tortilla and puts what they want. Kids LOVE this stuff!
So I guess the little bits of sunshine we’ve had lately was just enough for my veggie garden tending to help set off this brilliant little light bulb. Funny enough, the recipe to “Make Your Own Salad Night” requires one of my famous “lists.” I’m not necessarily a fan of lists but it does seem I’m kind of listy that way. So. This is how your family will LOVE “Make your own salad night.”
• 1 bowl romaine • 1 bowl red leaf lettuce • 1 bowl mixed greens like arugula and kale and any other “fancy” looking leafy green • in separate bowls: • sliced cucumber • bite sized pieces or think slices of carrots • tomato wedges • raw mushroom slices • any other salad pleasing veggie cut thickly for finger food people • avocado chunked or sliced • little bowls or jam jars of dried fruit like blueberries, cranberries, or cherries (or all of them!) • little jars or bowls of raw seeds like sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, etc. • bowl of freshly chopped chives from the garden
• My picky eater also brought to the table a plate of pickles and olives.
• We added some hard cheese like parmesan reggiano so each person could grate their own. (I helped the left handed 3 year old.)
• And of course numerous salad dressings and croutons or bacon bits can be added as well as other proteins like shrimp or chicken or anything else you might put in a salad. The key is to have lots of options. Sometimes it’s just the way it looks or feels in the mouth that gets them to eat it. My 3 year old likes his cucumbers peeled so I had little plate of sliced cukes both peeled and unpeeled.
I desperately wished I had a big lazy susan for this affair and I might go out and buy one tomorrow. Although without it, everyone got to practice their nice restaurant manners for passing food. From mom to mom, let me tell you, this was a huge success! We put the larger salad bowls out and then put little dishes on the side for those who want rice or maybe pasta or even a protein. (And the picky eater’s seaweed. Yeah, I know, I just go with it.)
I used jam jars for the seeds and dried fruit and put spoons and forks out for serving. Let me tell you, everyone had fun and ATE the FOOD. They all asked for “Make Your Own Salad Night” again! Luckily for me I just signed up for organic produce delivery so that will keep the variety going.
The bonus of it all, besides the eating was that even the little one could, and wanted to help set the food out. It was truly the family affair I never though would exist. Aaah. A mom’s day is done.
-posted by Heidi Forrester, who hopes to turn one family member into a Foodie someday.
Now in its 2nd year of business, The Nest, in the heart of the Woodinville shopping district has earned its wings with over 900+ families, thriving enrichment classes, exceptional teaching staff and a strong network of community partnerships. The Nest is a flexible, hourly drop off center. This means when you need to get your hair done, run errands, attend a school meeting, go to doctor – you have somewhere fun, credible, safe and clean to care for your children ages 2+. The Nest offers wallet-friendly packages, even a trial package (which is designed more just to whet your palate). J
The Nest is spacious with over 4,000 square feet of play space and five different ‘rooms’ designed to engage your child through play and imagination. You will not find over stimulating computers and TV’s, you won’t find Wii’s and XBOX 360’s that send your child into a sensory frenzy. The Nest is one-of-a-kind with exceptional resources that will have your child begging not to leave (seriously, just about everyone says this).
From one mom to the next – The Nest is hands down the BEST for our Eastside families and community. I wholeheartedly endorse The Nest, its teachers and what it provides for our family.
Here’s the cherry on top! Like this post before June 1st and be entered into a drawing to win a free trial package at The Nest! (That’s FOUR hours of free time for you!)
Visit us online to learn more about our upcoming Spring Mini Session starting June 1 and Summer Camps starting July 6.
I (Miss Anita) thought you might like to eaves drop on an email conversation I had with Miss Allison. It involves your child’s mathematical foundation!
Here’s what Miss Allison emailed me: “Chanting numbers in a sequence (like saying 1, 2, 3…) is one skill. But counting objects and understanding the concept of what that quantity means are separate and more advanced skills. True counting implies an understanding of one to one ratios. From my (Miss Allison’s) personal experience as a mom, a pre-school teacher, a day care provider, big sister, babysitter and the kid who taught all the kids in the neighborhood to read before kindergarten, the number one is typically the hardest number for children to understand.
Finger plays and other counting games that are designed to teach one to one ratios tend to start higher, with a number like five and count down. Some examples would be Five Little Ducks, the Sea Shell poem from Creatures at the Ocean and Five Little Monkeys.
These counting down rhymes are more successful, in my experience than counting games that go up. Counting songs that go up tend to be more successful in teaching rhyming words. Examples of counting up rhymes would be This Old Man, The Ants Go Marching, Hickory Dickory, and Dr. Knickerbocker.
My question to you, since you have elementary school math experience, why does counting backwards make it easier to understand one to one ratio? It is obvious to me that it does. I just know it works better based on my experiences and common sense. I know it has a light bulb effect. I’ve seen that happen in a kid’s face. You get to one and all of a sudden the light goes on and they understand the concept. Any thoughts about the counting backwards phenomenon?
And I (Miss Anita) replied: “You’re right about the counting up rhymes like This Old Man, etc. Usually when those songs are sung they reinforce the rote memory of the number sequence. The ants march 1×1 and then 2×2 and then 3×3 etc. But you aren’t seeing those ants, pointing to them and counting them. You have to add something to make them a 1-1 teaching tool. That’s why, in our Kindermusik classes, we’ve added the ant counting cards for that song. With visuals of the ants, the children can see them and count them.
Another way to turn a song like This Old Man into a 1-1 ratio learning experience is to sing it with rhythm sticks. Every time you get to a number, stop and tap and count each tap. “This Old Man, he played one…stop…ONE TAP & SAY ONE…he played two… TWO TAPS and count out loud on each tap ONE, TWO…”
When it comes to counting backwards songs, I think the answer to the success is the emotional payoff of either excitement or satisfaction. Think about when a rocket launch counts down: 3 -2-1 BLASTOFF! So very exciting!
My boys learned to count backwards by watching the numbers on the microwave count down and chanting those numbers along with me. There was a huge payoff there, because our food was ready! When you count down, there is an END – either zero or one. (It’s really not the end since there are the negative numbers but we don’t go there with the little ones because their concrete minds aren’t ready for that yet.) So they get to one or zero and that’s the end… a very satisfying place to be.”
-posted by Miss Anita and Miss Allison, who hope that when you sing “Hickory Dickory Dock” with your child, you will add one-to-one ratio and do it like this:
‐ Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck one (STOP and clap one time and say “one” while you clap it. Then say, “Let’s clap and count to one again. ONE.) and down he did run. Hickory Dickory Dock.
‐ Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck two (STOP and clap two times and count the two claps ONE, TWO. Then say, “Let’s count again. ONE. TWO) the mouse said, “Peek-a-boo.” Hickory Dickory Dock.
‐ Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock.The clock struck three (STOP and clap three times and count the three claps ONE, TWO, THREE. Then say, “Let’s count again. ONE. TWO, THREE) the mouse said, “ WHEE!” Hickory Dickory Dock.
‐ Hickory dickory dock, the mouse ran up the clock. The clock struck four (STOP and clap four times and count the four claps ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR. Then say, “Let’s count again. ONE. TWO, THREE, FOUR) the mouse said, “ NO MORE!” Hickory Dickory Dock.
Finally, spring is here! The weather is warming, the sun is shining, and flowers and trees are blooming. April is national gardening month, and now is the perfect opportunity to get outside with your children and get your hands dirty. Gardening with your children, even at the most basic level, has many varied and wide-ranging benefits. Besides being a great opportunity to take in fresh air and get a little exercise, gardening creates teachable gardening moments that can last all the way through summer and into fall.
To begin with, a gardening project from the smallest pot on your back porch to a full-fledged vegetable garden requires planning. Being able to plan a project, implement it, and see it through to the finish will bring great satisfaction and increased self-esteem as you and your child work together as a team.
Meresa in her garden at age 4, with her cat Max.
Gardening together can be such a positive bonding experience. Some of my earliest happy childhood memories are with my mother in our family’s vegetable garden planting green beans. We would set up the bean poles and string twine between them for the vines to grow up; then my Mom would show me how to poke a hole in the dirt with my finger, place one bean in, and cover it over again–a great exercise of fine motor skills!
Did I mention that as a child I absolutes loved green beans? I devoured them every time my Mom made them. When I was four, my Mom took me to a u-pick field, gave me my own bucket and went a little further down the row and left me to merrily pick. When she returned about 15 minutes later, she was shocked to realize I had picked enough to fill the entire 5 gallon bucket. (Did I mention I loved green beans?) I figured, the more I picked the more I got to eat.
This brings me to my next point. Children who grow or pick their own food are more likely to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and make healthier eating choices. Now, I can’t guarantee your children will love vegetables as much as I did (and still do), but I bet if your child has the satisfaction of being involved in the process of growing and harvesting what they eat, they will be much more likely to at least try it. And, who knows? Maybe you will turn out to have a ravenous green bean, broccoli, or tomato eater. We can all hope.
Furthermore, planting and tending a garden provides real-life examples of life processes and opportunities for an increased understanding of ecology, interconnections in nature, and responsible care of the environment. An easy and inexpensive small project you can do indoors any time of year is to make a terrarium. There is a fantastic guide on how to make one from a soda bottle at www.nationalgardenmonth.org.
Another great resource for gardening with children is the Parents’ Primer at www.kidsgardening.org. It will help you learn all you need to know to get started gardening with your children.
-posted by Miss Meresa, who encourages you to let the horticultural adventure begin! And wishes you the best of luck as you start planning, planting, and growing together.
Fly Away With Me – ages newborn to 3 1/2
Oh Say Can You Play? – ages 2 to 5
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