Play Pals is a new program offered this year at the National
Trail Parks and Recreation District. It’s a program for children ages 3-5 along
with a parent or caregiver. This month the program happened to fall right on
Valentines Day. How fun is that! We had eight children attend along with their
parents and caregivers.
Play Pals is a great time for parents or caregivers and
their children to interact on fun activities such as games, arts and crafts and
more. This is a nice transitional program for children who may not be ready to
be left alone at a preschool program but still enjoy, along with their
caregiver, participating in fun activities and socializing with the other
children. It gives the child practice on listening and following directions for
later preschool readiness.
The theme this month was Bee My Valentine. What could be a
better valentine than a bee? Bees are essential to ecological health and we
depend on bee pollinators for much of what we eat and drink. I just had to
throw that in for all of you fellow bee fans.
The program began with a valentine warm up game. The
children took turns tossing a heart bean bag onto a poster board with various
activities they could do, such as jumping jacks, dancing, stretching and more.
If their bean bag landed on the heart, they would say their name and everyone
would cheer. The children really enjoyed that.
This month’s craft was, of course, making a bumble bee out
of cardstock and felt. The directions are at the end of this post. The craft
went well with the adult and child working together. The snack was sort of like
a craft too. We took apple slices and cut out the middle with a heart cookie
cutter. The children added peanut butter with a little bit of granola and
chocolate chips. The kids really liked them and I thought they were pretty good
too.
At the end of the program each month, the parents are
invited to visit an adjourning room to enjoy a cup of coffee or snack while
socializing with the other adults. At
this time, we read stories to the children and this month also sang valentine
songs. Not all the parents wish to leave their child and that is okay too. It’s
just a good opportunity to see how their child will react to being separated
while having a bit of time to themselves.
When the time arrives that the children are ready for a drop
off program, we also offer the Trail Tots program for ages 3-5. This monthly
program highlights nature themes with age appropriate activities and games.
Children must be potty trained to attend.
- Penny Dunbar, CYSA, Recreation Specialist
Valentine Bee Craft
Follow the directions to make a Valentine Bee! You can use
this bee to decorate or add to your valentine cards. This is a very easy craft
and fun to make. Bee My Valentine!
Materials:
Yellow Cardstock
Black Cardstock or stiff black felt
Movable black eyes or wiggly eyes
Pattern or template for oval and circle
Glue or glue dots
Step 1: Trace an
oval (approximately 2.25” x 3”) onto the yellow cardstock and cut out for the
bee body.
Step 2: Make a template for the head and wings.Cut out the head and wings from black cardstock or we used stiff
felt.
Step 3: Cut out two antennas and 3 curved pieces from the
yellow cardstock. Cut 2 hearts out of the black felt or we used small foam red
hearts.
Step 4: Glue the
black head onto the body and wings underneath body. Glue the antennas under the
head and hearts on top of antennas. Attach the eyes to head and curved black
felt pieces to body. Let the glue dry and enjoy.
