In my business we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about loose parts. (We spend a lot of time picking them up, too.) Loose parts play has certainly been around for as long as childhood, but the term was coined in the early seventies by British architect Simon Nicholson.
Kidoinfo is pleased to partner with Providence Children’s Museum to present the new program Toddler Art.
Join Toddler Art on Mondays, May 7, 14 and 21 from 10:00 AM – Noon. Young children, ages 18 months to 3 years, use real tools and embrace the creative process as they delve into a different art exploration each week…
Imagine dozens of excited kids turned loose in a room filled with big blue foam blocks of all shapes and sizes. Using oversized cogs, wheels, spools and tubes, they create whimsical sculptures, construct castles and forts, and design vibrant vehicles that move. Joining curvy blocks with grooves, they form elaborate ramps and tracks and send balls rolling through. They stack, connect, design, configure and play – the possibilities are endless!
Museum visitors can join a week-long block party in celebration of Imagination Playground, all day Monday, April 16 to Sunday, April 22. Then look for the blocks on weekends through June; summer schedule will vary. Imagination Playground is free with $8.50 Museum admission; always free for Museum members. For more information, visit www.ChildrenMuseum.org.
Have you ever watched a time-lapse video of a flower opening in the spring? I imagine that’s what a child’s brain looks like when it connects with a storybook. If you have read aloud to children, either alone or in a group, you know what I mean. While you’re reading, you can almost see the child going into a zone. At the end of the book, for a moment, she may sit and smile or ask a question. But almost every time, if she connects with the story, she will come away with something: a deeper understanding, an emotion, an inspiration, an inside giggle. That is the magic of storybooks.
Your 3-year-old can recognize the first letter of her name when she sees it in print or maybe hit the right letters on the electronic game when the recorded voice says “B… ball… B.” You think she’s pretty smart. She is, but not because she’s beginning to recognize letters. Let’s face it – chimpanzees can learn to do that. Where you can really see and celebrate her developing literacy skills is in her pretend play.
Providence Children’s Museum is a fabulous place for school vacation fun! Encounter a glorious golden eagle, a tiny owl, a red-tailed hawk and other majestic birds of prey in Wingmasters. In The Hoopoe Show, see a hilarious mime’s magic tricks and illusions. It’s a Paper Caper when kids fold and crease paper to create fabulous flying machines! And sing and laugh to silly stories and funny fast-paced songs by Keith Munslow. For more information, visit www.ChildrenMuseum.org.
