Parkland Players

At Parkland Players we have a lot of children and staff who speak two or more languages and we think that is great! So today for our post we thought we would share this video on the benefits of multilingualism for the brain. We like this video because it discusses how the bilingual brain can develop in different ways and also how their are various approaches to acquiring a second language. At Parkland Players we like to support language development in many ways, including multilingualism. In this regard we offer specialized French Classes in our PM Preschool program.

Check out the video from Ted Ed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmOLN5zBLY

And if you are interested in our PM Preschool Program: http://parklandplayers.com/programs/preschool-care-coquitlam-childcare-early-learning-reggio-emila/

This is an activity we recently did at the centre and it turned out great! The photo above are creations from our own Out of School Care group. Check out the instructions below! This is a super simple craft, and it is great for the warmer weather when you are spending a lot of time outside anyways. What other animals do you think can be made from leaves?

Materials

• Paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Markers
• Leaves (and other items collected from nature if appropriate)

Instructions

1. First, go on a nature walk and collect some leaves and other small natural objects! Maple leaves make a great shape for the wolves face but use what you can find.
2. Bring the leaves back and use them to collage a wolf’s face with different leaves for the face itself, the ears, and the nose.
3. Cut out small circles of black and white paper for the eyes OR find some small rocks and glue those down.
4. Draw on eyebrows and whiskers with a marker OR find some small twigs and glue those down.
5. Let the glue dry and then your creations is complete!

Source: http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Leaf-Leaves-Theme.aspx

Ever wonder how your child decides on certain activities when they play? Or why they do the same activities multiple times? A potential answer is Schema Theory as it is applied to Early Childhood Education. This article from “Nature Play” gives a great overview of Schema Theory and how it relates to children’s play and development. It also offers suggestions for how Schema Theory can help adults facilitate play. Therefore, this is our post for the day. Take a look!

http://www.nature-play.co.uk/blog/schemas-in-childrens-play

Today for our post we are sharing a list of new books great for summer reading. This list is from The Guardian and you can check it out here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jul/30/best-new-childrens-book-summer . We love how they have shared books for various age groups. Take a look, maybe you will find something you like for you and your children!

The weather this month is getting warmer and sunnier. We can feel that summer is approaching fast! So for today we thought we would share some fun, and healthy, summer snacks for kids. These are great treats to beat the heat! They are refreshing and pretty healthy compared to their common summer alternatives.

This is the third post in a series of posts on recipes for healthy summer snacks for kids. One recipe will be featured per post. Here is one of our favourites, for the full list check out the source at the bottom. Note: if your child has any allergies be sure to thoroughly read all instructions and ingredients lists before trying any of these recipes.

FAVA BEAN AND MINT CROSTINI from: http://flavorthemoments.com/fava-bean-burrata-mint-crostini/

Ingredients

• 1 lb fava beans, unshelled
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• toasted baguette slices
• burrata cheese, sliced

Instructions

1. fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat, and fill a medium bowl with ice water. Add the fava beans to the boiling water and cook about 3-4 minutes, depending on the size of the beans. Drain the beans and pour into the ice water to stop the cooking process.
2. Gently squeeze the beans out of the outer skin.
3. Place the beans in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth.
4. Add lemon juice, mint, salt, and pepper.
5. With the processor on low, add the oil through the chute and process until combined. Taste and correct the seasonings until the desired flavours are achieved.
6. Place about a tablespoon of spread on each slice of bread. Top with a small slice of Burrata.

Check out the full list from (source): http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com/healthy-summertime-snacks/

The above photo is our newsletter for the month of June. Please refer to it for important information regarding upcoming events and schedules.

The weather this month is getting warmer and sunnier. We can feel that summer is approaching fast! So for today we thought we would share some fun, and healthy, summer snacks for kids. These are great treats to beat the heat! They are refreshing and pretty healthy compared to their common summer alternatives.

This is the second post in a series of posts on recipes for healthy summer snacks for kids. One recipe will be featured per post. Here is one of our favourites, for the full list check out the source at the bottom. Note: if your child has any allergies be sure to thoroughly read all instructions and ingredients lists before trying any of these recipes.

STRAWBERRY YOGURT COOKIES from: https://www.itsyummi.com/strawberry-yogurt-cookies/

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup erythritol (this is a sweetener)
• 2/3 cup greek yogurt
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 lemon, zested
• ¾ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• ¼ cup sanding sugar (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 degree Fahrenheit
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
3. In medium mixing bowl combine flower, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, yogurt, egg white, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla until fully combined. Add the flour mixture to the yogurt mixture and stir just until no flour lumps remain, but try not to over mix. Gently fold in the strawberries.
5. Drop dollops of batter, about 2 tablespoons in size, onto prepared sheet, about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle the tops of each cookie with a small amount of sanding sugar.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges barely begin to brown. Allow to cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack, or serving container.
7. If stored in an airtight container, cookies will keep for 2-3 days.

Check out the full list from (source): http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com/healthy-summertime-snacks/

The weather this month is getting warmer and sunnier. We can feel that summer is approaching fast! So for today we thought we would share some fun, and healthy, summer snacks for kids. These are great treats to beat the heat! They are refreshing and pretty healthy compared to their common summer alternatives.

This is the first post in a series of posts on recipes for healthy summer snacks for kids. One recipe will be featured per post. Here is one of our favourites, for the full list check out the source at the bottom. Note: if your child has any allergies be sure to thoroughly read all instructions and ingredients lists before trying any of these recipes.

WHOLE FRUIT POPSICLES from: http://theviewfromgreatisland.com/whole-fruit-popsicles/

Ingredients

• 2 kiwis
• 1 cup strawberry halves
• 1 cup roughly chopped mango
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 cup roughly chopped watermelon
• 1 cup roughly chopped pineapple

Instructions

1. Puree one fruit at a time in a small food processor, rinsing the machine out in between fruits.
2. Spoon a layer of fruit to the bottom of a Popsicle and then repeat with another layer and another fruit.
3. Stand a stick upright in each Popsicle and freeze. Note that source site recommends freezing in between layers and this may be the way to go.
4. Once frozen pop your popsicles out of the mold and there you have it!

Check out the full list from (source): http://www.yummyhealthyeasy.com/healthy-summertime-snacks/

This week are learning about local animals, one of which many of us are familiar with in Coquitlam is the bear! So here is a fun “bear-inspired” science activity.

Gummy Bear Science Experiment!

Materials

1. Gummy bears
2. Small bowls
3. Water
4. Salt

Instructions

1. First boil some water to make it easier to dissolve salt into it.
2. Mix in salt until the water cannot dissolve the salt anymore so that the solution is supersaturated.
3. Let the water cool in the fridge or on the counter. Don’t use the water too hot otherwise it might melt the gummy bears before you can actually observe your experiment. If you want you can incorporate this into the experiment and test the water warmth by seeing if gummy bears melt.
4. Once the salt water has cooled you can fill the bowls with it.
5. Pour salt water into one bowl and plain water into another for comparison.
6. Place some gummy bears in the salt water and some in the plain water. Keep a couple of gummy bears (similar in size to the ones you put in the water and salt water) nearby.
7. This is for comparison.
8. Let the gummy bears soak for a couple hours and come back to them. Have children make predictions about what they think will happen to the gummy bears in the two water bowls.
9. When you return to the experiment the gummy bear in the salt water should have expanded some and in the plain water it should have expanded even more (in image below left to right: yellow – control, red – salt water, green – plain water).
10. Explanation of why this happens taken directly from source site: “To make gummy bears, sugar, gelatin, and flavor are dissolved in a warm water solution.  As the solution cools, water leaves the gelatin solution, and the bears become firm but chewy.  Not all the water leaves the gelatin however, otherwise the gummy bears would be rock hard.It’s this little bit of water that makes the gummy bears act as a solution of water, one with a lot of sugar dissolved in it.  The plain water in the bowl, however, had very little dissolve in it. The plain water, with very little dissolved in it will move toward the solution of water with a lot dissolved in it, the gummy bear.  This movement of a solvent from one of lower concentration to higher concentration is called osmosis.  The force behind that movement of water is called osmotic pressure.In the bowl with the salt water, we tried to balance the amount of stuff {salt} dissolved in the water with the amount of sugar dissolved in the gummy bear. Since our gummy bear placed in the salt water solution did expand a little bit, we knew our salt water solution did have a lot dissolved in it but not quite as much as the gummy bear did.  So a little water moved into the gummy bear to balance the two solutions.”

Source: http://www.playdoughtoplato.com/growing-gummy-bear-science/

This is our blog post for today! A great article about the influence of the Reggio Emilia Approach in childcare, from the super awesome Himama Blog. We like this post because it addresses both Reggio Emilia’s origins in a post-WWII Italy, and how this approach has been modified to suite current day technology. Give it a read!

https://www.himama.com/the-reggio-emilia-influence-in-childcare-today/?ref=newsletter