APRIL 2018
Earth Day APRIL 22
WHY Recycle and Reuse? Craft: SOUP CAN BOWLING
Welcome to The Playhouse With the snow melting and the plants blossoming, it’s time to celebrate the place we all call home—Earth! April 22 is Earth Day, so our preschool classrooms will learn about keeping the planet clean. Our creative curriculum for the month of April will focus on teaching preschool students about reducing, reusing, and recycling. While the preschool students are studying recycling and waste, the infant and toddler classrooms will test their imagination while imitating and pretending. To help your child learn to pretend, play dress-up, or try acting out scenes from their favorite movies. Through pretending, your child can demonstrate their developed thinking skills. April is also Child Abuse Prevention Month— please help Playworks raise awareness and stop child abuse by joining us for our various activities throughout the month. Now that we’ve finally made it through the long Minnesota winter, we hope your spring and summer are full of great learning experiences and fun! If you haven’t already, sign up for Playworks Xtreme Summer Camp and visit the Summer Camp Open House on April 16 from 5-7pm. We look forward to learning with you this April!
Suggested Reading The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling by Alison Inches Not a Box by Antoinette Portis The Paperbag Prince by Colin Thompson Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha Why Should I Recycle? by Jen Green
April 22
Important Dates April 1: Easter, Playworks Closed April 16, 5-7pm: Summer Camp Open House April 15-21: Week of the Young Child April 22: Earth Day April is Child Abuse Prevention Month! Learn more inside
Playworks conferences will take place throughout the month of April! Infant/Toddler (A) • April 2-6 | Infant/Toddler (B) • April 9-13 Young Preschool/Preschool/Pre-K (A) • April 16-20 Young Preschool/Preschool/Pre-K (B) • April 23-27
Playworks Staff Spotlight: Colleen Schoenecker How long have you worked at Playworks? 16 years
Describe yourself in one word: Generous
Favorite Board Game:
What is your position at Playworks? Life on the Farm Educare Coordinator Favorite Food: Chicken strips with teriyaki Favorite part of working at sauce from Little Six Restaurant Playworks? The staff and the kids Favorite Color: Red Favorite Children’s Book: Favorite Animal: Eagle The Napping House by Audrey Wood Educare Early Learning Classrooms
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle + Imitating and Pretending With Earth Day taking place on April 22, there’s no better time to explore the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Trash and garbage are all around us, and children are often fascinated by what’s in garbage cans and sometimes pick up trash against our wishes. This natural curiosity is a great starting point as we dive into what happens to trash after it’s thrown away. Studying the impacts of reducing, reusing, and recycling offers opportunities for children to become more aware. Through this creative curriculum, children will be observing, gathering data, and proposing solutions to problems. During the month of April, children in the infant and toddler classrooms will learn about imitating and pretending. Pretending is a great way for children to learn while they play, and it requires a great deal of thinking. Pretending also helps show teachers and parents that children are developing from the sensorimotor thinking of infancy to a more mature symbolic thinking. Talking about your child’s curriculum at home can help reiterate the importance of these topics! Try explaining to your child why you’re recycling things, or which types of materials can be recycled and what they may be used for in the future. Or try playing a fun game that involves pretending, such as “Simon Says” or “Charades.” No matter what you do, discussing what your child learned during the day can help them hold onto that information for a lifetime.
Protect the beauty of the planet by reducing, reusing, and recycling! Every choice that’s made can eventually affect the environment in the future. You may be wondering, “How can I make a difference?” Well, it’s easy! Check out the lists below to see what you can do to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Bring reusable bags out shopping to cut down on waste • Fill a reusable water bottle instead of drinking bottled water • Only buy what you need; what you don’t use will end up as waste
• • •
Make fun crafts out of recyclables, such as Soup Can Bowling on page 6 Use plastic bags for storage, or glass jars to keep your favorite toys together Hand-me-downs prevent waste and are great for your budget, too!
• • •
Separate and recycle aluminum cans, cardboard, plastic, and other recyclables Bring old clothes and toys to shelters or thrift stores Food and yard waste can be turned into compost
Drop your yard waste off at the SMSC Organics Recycling Facility for free throughout April and May! Learn more at smscorf.com.
Recycling Right! Help Playworks decide which items can be recycled and which items are better off in the garbage! Grab a pen, marker, or crayon, and circle the recyclable items, while putting an “X” through the items that cannot be recycled.
Pizza Box
Milk Carton
Cardboard Box
Glass Jar
Crayons
Soup Can
Pop Can
Diaper
Paper Towel
Juice Box
Answers on back cover
Raise Awareness
DURING CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
APRIL 6
Join Playworks to help raise awareness of child abuse this April during Child Abuse Prevention Month. With over 3 million children suffering from abuse and neglect each year, the need for action is greater than ever. See a full list of ways Playworks is working to stop child abuse below.
Grab a bracelet and pledge to help end child abuse. Available at the front desk.
APRIL 13
Pick up a blue pinwheel—a symbol of the great childhoods all children deserve. Available at the front desk.
APRIL 20
Wear blue to show your support against child abuse.
APRIL 27
Rise and shine some light on child abuse prevention with a to-go breakfast. Available in the Playworks and LINK Event Center lobbies.
In 2008, the pinwheel was selected by Prevent Child Abuse America as the symbol for child abuse prevention.
BUILDING CONNECTIONS:
I Love You Ritual
PETER, PETER, PUMPKIN EATER
To help shape a strong relationship with your child, try this Conscious Discipline activity tied to the popular nursery rhyme, “Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater.”
SAY THE VERSE
DO THE ACTION
Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater,.............................................. Twist your waist. Had a friend he loved to greet,....................................... Shake hands with your child. Treated her/him with kind respect,............................ Gently put your left arm on the child’s right shoulder and demonstrate a kind touch. And in the morning hugged her/his neck. ........... Move into a gentle hug.
e t a r b e l e C of Week
the
Young Child
Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration organized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children that promotes activities to celebrate early learning, children, teachers, and families. Stop by Playworks from April 15-21 to join in on the celebration!
SHOW-AND-TELL SUNDAY
MUSIC MONDAY
Celebrate uniqueness! Children will make “All About Me” posters.
Personal Posters
Join in on the fun from 10-11am in the Playworks LINK Event Center.
Children will make healthy snacks in class.
ARTSY THURSDAY
FAMILY FRIDAY
SELFIE SATURDAY
Grandparents’ Day & Art Gallery
Dinner with the Family
Create a piece of art together from 3-4pm. Don’t forget to check out the Art Gallery!
Dance Party!
Enjoy pizza and salad from 4:30-6:30pm in the Playworks Atrium.
TASTY TUESDAY Healthy Snacks
WORK-TOGETHER WEDNESDAY Classroom Building Projects Receive a badge photo of your child from their classroom.
Self-Portraits
Children will create self-portrait collages in the Playworks Atrium.
Craft:
Soup Can Bowling Teach your child about friendly competition with this easy-to-make Soup Can Bowling kit. Gather up some recently recycled soup cans, clean them out, and prepare your own bowling lane at home!
Directions:
1. Lay down some newspaper and paint the soup cans with whatever designs you’d like! 2. Once the initial layer of paint dries, label each can numbers 1 through 5 3. Once the cans dry again, coat them in a gloss sealer to prevent them from chipping 4. Set up the cans in a triangle and start bowling! Any ball will work—the larger the ball, the easier the game
Materials:
Newspaper 5 empty soup cans Paintbrush 5 different colors of acrylic paint Gloss sealer Ball
Family-Friendly SMSC
Events
GET YOUR GOLF
GAME STARTED
April 16 Summer Camp Open House
5-7pm Playworks LINK Event Center (2200 Trail of Dreams, Prior Lake) Stop by the Summer Camp Open House and get ready for a summer full of field trips, adventure, and fun. Pick up your child’s full Summer Camp schedule, encourage them to meet new friends, grab their Summer Camp Survival Kit, and win prizes! If your child is not yet enrolled in Playworks Xtreme Summer Camp, visit playworksfun.com to learn more.
April 14 Kids in the Kitchen
SCENIC FAIRWAYS AND GREENS | PRO SHOP GPS-ENABLED CARTS | THE MEADOWS BAR AND GRILLE
952.233.5533 • GOlFTHEMEADOWS.com 2400 mystic lake blvd, PRIOR LAKE, MN
10-11am Mazopiya (2571 Credit Union Drive, Prior Lake) One of the greatest gifts that we can give our children is the knowledge of what foods are nourishing for their bodies. The best way to get them excited about eating healthy foods is to get them helping in the kitchen. This fun hands-on class will focus on making some delicious and healthy kid-approved dishes that your children will love.
ANNUA L
SHOP LOCAL EVENT at
MAZOPIYA
MAY 12 LOCAL FOOD VENDOR SAMPLING DOOR PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS KIDS ACTIVITIES
Recipe:
Earth Day Pudding Cups After you get busy planting flowers and trees on Earth Day, head inside for a much-needed afternoon snack. These Earth Day Pudding Cups are easy to make and as tasty as they are fun!
Ingredients:
2 chocolate pudding cups Âź cup chocolate chips or cacao nibs 2 tablespoons white chocolate chips Green food coloring 4 pretzel sticks Wax paper
Answer key
Pizza Box
Milk Carton
Cardboard Box
Glass Jar
Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Crayons
Remove the lids from the chocolate pudding cups, then coat the tops of each cup with cacao nibs Melt white chocolate chips and mix in a few drops of green food coloring Transfer the melted chocolate to an icing dispenser (or a zip-close plastic bag with a corner cut off) Lay pretzel sticks on wax paper, then create leaves with the melted white chocolate chips by squeezing out leaf shapes onto the pretzel sticks Once the frosting leaves have hardened, stick your pretzel plants into pudding cups
enjoy!
Soup Can
Pop Can
Diaper
Paper Towel
Juice Box
educational programs
FIELDTrips
hands-on experiences
atrium play
June 11-August 31
Daily meals included
summer camp experience Valued up to $2676
restrictions apply. visit playworksfun.com for more information.
time fullwith er camp m ! m su lment Enrol
open house & orientation
REGISTER TODAY!
APRIL 16
5-7pm | playworks link event center
Contact Summer Camp Manager Anna Effertz at 952.496.6814 or anna.effertz@playworksfun.com
952.445.PLAY (7529) | playworksfun.com 2200 Trail of Dreams, Prior Lake, MN |
Enterprises Owned and Operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community