For the winter months the Early Learning Team has developed an open-ended play time for preschoolers with a different focus each month. January was Play with Color...and I was the one to get the program together and I facilitated three of the nine programs. It was so much fun and so rewarding. At first I was leery of having the program run two hours, but after doing them it great to see the children have a lot of time to explore and to really dig into their play. And parents weren't "rushing" them, like they often do at storytime.
I created the program with a variety of open-ended activities and then the Early Learning Librarian could choose which of the activities they wanted to put out for the day. (These pictures are from three different programs, I didn't do all the activities at all the libraries)
Baking Soda and Vinegar Experiment
Play Dough
Do-a-Dot Art
Flannel Board and Pieces, Balls and Tubes, "Window" blocks
Open Ended Art (construction paper, scissors, glue, crayons, tape, feathers, yarn, ribbon)
Magna Tiles
Water Colors
A variety of colorful play and learn toys (depending on the library)
I also wrote a short article for the Current (a monthly community-wide newspaper)
Winter in Spokane can be
gray and dreary, but preschool children can add some color to winter by
attending the library's Play with Color events at nine of our libraries in
January.
Research has shown that children learn best through play and that learning is not separate from play. Learning about colors is no different. Children learn about colors through play and by having the time and materials to interact and experiment with colors.
And all this learning is done while playing.
Play with Color will feature many colorful open-ended toys from the library’s Play and Learn Storytimes, such as blocks, balls, balance bears, and wooden beads. Along with toys children will have the opportunity to play with colors in an open-ended art project and participate in a simple science experiment with baking soda and vinegar and watch as colors mix together to make new colors.
Please join us for this fun and engaging program at a Spokane County Library in January!
Watch for Play with Science in February and Play with Math in March at your Spokane County Libraries!
