Ms. Amy's Blog @Child Central Station

This week- a little trip down memory lane! These photos are from a few years ago when I brought home a giant bouquet of balloons! Welcome to the weekly "Just Playing?" Blog Hop hosted here at Child Central Station. If this is your first week joining us- you may wish to learn more by visiting the "Just Playing?" landing page.  Last week- we looked at children playing with a giant cardboard box. I have updated the post to include additional insights into the learning that took place during the play. You can see the revised post here . Now on to this week's photos:  We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learning is taking place? What skills are being practiced/developed? This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop! Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through pl...

This week- we had a new toy delivered- in a HUGE box! I'll be sharing more about our new toy next week, but for today, we are playing with the giant cardboard box! Welcome to the weekly "Just Playing?" Blog Hop hosted here at Child Central Station. If this is your first week joining us- you may wish to learn more by visiting the "Just Playing?" landing page.  Last week- we looked at children playing with cedar planks. I have updated the post to include additional insights into the learning that took place during the play. You can see the revised post here . Now on to this week's photos: These girls spent so much time going in, out, and around the box. They would take turns opening and closing the "doors", giggling, running to the back of the box and knocking, then running to the front and hiding inside. Boxes truly are the best toy ever!  We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learn...

This week- we are building with cedar planks! Welcome to the weekly "Just Playing?" Blog Hop hosted here at Child Central Station. If this is your first week joining us- you may wish to learn more by visiting the "Just Playing?" landing page.  Last week- we looked at a child playing in a playhouse. I have updated the post to include additional insights into the learning that took place during the play. You can see the revised post here. Now on to this week's photos: (please excuse the quality, I temporarily misplaced my camera and was using my phone to capture the children at play!)  We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learning is taking place? What skills are being practiced/developed? This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop! Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. T...

 Our program experienced quite a bit of turnover this past fall as many of the children who had been with us for a number of years outgrew us!  So, we have been quite busy with a wonderful group of infants, toddlers, and young preschoolers. When you work with a younger crowd- your mindset changes to make sure that the activities are not only developmentally appropriate, but also safe. We need to worry more about mouthing, tasting, and eating than we have had to in a very long time. I have been inspired quite a bit by the creativity and ingenuity of Asia Citro over at Fun at Home with Kids . She has some great ideas for safe edible water beads , and a fantastic slime!  As I was reading her post about water beads, I thought about some of the slimes we have made (like the Kool-Aid slime ) and I thought- "hmmmnnn Tapioca, tapioca is a starch, corn starch is a starch... I wonder if boiling tapioca pearls will create a fun bumpy slime?"..... so of course, I had to experiment! Look ...

This week- we are playing in the playhouse! Welcome to the weekly "Just Playing?" Blog Hop hosted here at Child Central Station. If this is your first week joining us- you may wish to learn more by visiting the "Just Playing?" landing page.  Last week- we looked at children playing with a parachute. I have updated the post to include additional insights into the learning that took place during the play. You can see the revised post here. Now on to this week's photos:  We may be "just playing", but.... What are the children doing here? What do you see? What learning is taking place? What skills are being practiced/developed? This post is part of the "Just Playing?" Blog Hop! Thank you for remembering that young children do not "just play." Young children play. They develop through play. They learn through play. They experiment through play. They grow through play. A child's work is play. Play is important! Please take a moment...