Category: Social Studies

by Clark Kugler / August 31, 2011

  While some children might be excited about having a 3 day weekend, it is important to teach them why they won’t have school the first Monday in September.  Do they know what Labor Day is?  The last day to wear white clothing? A big sale at the store? The end of summer? While all […]

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by Stephanie Ginter / June 15, 2011

Does your child attend a preschool that breaks for the summer time?  If so, this is a great time for them to learn the concepts of months and weeks.  Early Learning Standards require that our children learn about physical systems. On the last day of school when your child comes home, take the time to […]

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by Clark Kugler / September 30, 2010

“Caps for sale! Caps for sale!” Make your children’s favorite stories come to life with a store front. Place the store front along a bike path and let children create their own story —maybe a lemonade stand, a counter at a bank, post office or fast food restaurant – the possibilities are as plentiful as […]

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by Clark Kugler / September 24, 2010

Hot day? Take your kids outside and let them cool off with a car wash. A great addition to any outdoor play area, the car wash allows children to enter and exit through realistic plastic flaps, similar to a real wash. A pipe runs down the roof line and has several sprayer jets that release […]

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by Clark Kugler / September 16, 2010

Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld, renowned dance instructor, commented: “I know from my experiences that when children have the chance to move and to be creative, it helps them engage with the rest of the curriculum…. [M]ovement involve[s] language and patterning, which support reading and problem solving” (p. 12).   A playhouse offers abundant opportunities for movement […]

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by Clark Kugler / September 9, 2010

“Music, dance, drama, and story are the oldest ways human beings learned to pass on information, traditions, customs, and beliefs…. In the vocabulary of some Native American and African languages, there is no word for art, because art is part of everything the people do. Children are natural connectors. Similarly, they see the performing arts […]

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by Clark Kugler / August 19, 2010

Who doesn’t remember learning how to drive? Whether you learned on an automatic or a manual, on urban streets or in the country, learning to drive is a big deal. This sparked a fun conversation among folks at The Adventurous Child as we recalled the various stops and starts of our own drivers’ education. Speaking […]

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by Clark Kugler / July 29, 2010

If you were to sit down with a group of toddlers and preschoolers, and announce that you will be spending the morning discussing cause and effect relationships, perspective, and self awareness, what sort of responses would you receive? Probably some blank stares and a total lack of interest. But if you were to take the […]

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by Clark Kugler / October 8, 2009

A preschool playground is a great place to set up a city. Creating a city outdoors is a wonderful thing that can be done simply with cardboard boxes. Children can decorate the boxes and cut out doors and windows. Then you can put these items along your bike path. Name your streets and label them, […]

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by Clark Kugler / October 2, 2009

Absolutely! Woodworking is a great part of the preschool curriculum. To help bring the outdoors alive, you can set up a small workbench and a few simple tools for children to use. Several programs I work with begin their woodworking curriculum right after Halloween every year. They take their leftover pumpkins and use them as […]

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by Stephanie Ginter / June 3, 2009

Everyone loves sand! that is unless you are shaking it out of socks and shoes or sweeping it off the floor. Sand has to be the oldest, cheapest and most plentiful manipulative that exists. Combine the sand with water and the opportunities for outdoor play and learning multiply. By mixing sand, water and imagination all […]

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by Stephanie Ginter / May 11, 2009

What is one of the favorite subject matters of young painters? The seasons and weather! Often times preschoolers are painting pictures of various weather scenes–sunshine, clouds, rain, snow, etc. Trees with colorful leaves falling in the autumn; snow falling in the winter, rain showers in the spring and flowers blooming in the summer are also […]

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