Staff WriterAugust 2022 Family Fun Adventures
Hello Families!
Is it August and before you know it summer will be over? What would you like to explore with your family outdoors? A beach trip? A garden? Maybe an adventure to one of our local parks would be fun. This month our blog continues to focus on the great outdoors. You can download our Explore the Outdoors workbook (from education.com) and learn about animal tracks, and how to use a magnifying glass to look at small things more clearly. Identify bugs and flowers and more! You can also read some incredible books and articles about camping and having adventures outdoors. Make this summer’s family adventures memorable.
Happy August!
The Staff of Casa Montessori Preschool
Weekend Family Challenge
August is a terrific month for an outdoor adventure! Our reading challenge this month is all about nature and ways to have fun outdoors. Read some great books on camping or exploring. You can check the books out at your local library or build your library by purchasing the books below. You can enter to win a FREE book by using our Google Form or simply download our PDF version and keep track at home.
CASA- 8- AUG 2022- 30 Day Challenge Worksheet
.pdf
Download PDF • 180KB
Here are some great ideas to help you explore the outdoors this month. Download the workbook below and take it with you on your family camping trip or vacation! More importantly, we want you and your family to have an incredible Family Fun Adventure!
8- AUG--explore-the-outdoors-workbook-1ST
.pdf
Download PDF • 7.82MB
Reading Challenge
BOOK #1: Llama Llama Loves Camping
by Anna Dewdney
Look out, world--Llama Llama is a TV star! The beloved character, made famous by Anna Dewdney's best-selling picture books, is the star of his own original series, now airing on Netflix. In this episode-based 8x8, Llama Llama goes camping for the very first time and learns a valuable lesson: what seems scary can actually be super-duper FUN! Your little llamas will love relating to their favorite picture book character as he faces new and challenging situations.
BOOK #2: Fred and Ted Go Camping
by Peter Eastman
Fred and Ted—beloved canine stars of P. D. Eastman’s Big Dog . . . Little Dog—are back in an all-new Beginner Book written and illustrated by P. D.’s son, Peter Eastman! In this story, Fred and Ted go camping, and as usual, their uniquely different approaches to doing things (such as packing equipment, setting up camp, and fishing techniques) have humorous—and sometimes surprising—results. A charming introduction to opposites that beginner readers will find ruff to put down!
BOOK #3: Glow-in-the-Dark Constellations
90,000 stargazers can't be wrong! Our original Glow-in-the-Dark Constellations was such a hit that we're bringing it back in an affordable paperback edition for a new generation! From Andromeda to Pegasus, Orion to the Big Dipper, this super informative guide covers it all with dazzling glow-in-the-dark illustrations of the constellations, eight sky maps, and fascinating retellings of the legends behind the constellations. Helpful tips on locating stars in the night sky through every season of the year make this a book the whole family can enjoy together.
BOOK #4: P. J. Funnybunny Camps Out
by Marilyn Sadler
Camping is not for girls, right? At least, that's what P.J. and his pals tell Donna and Honey Bunny when they want to tag along on a camping trip. But when two mysterious ghosts frighten the boys all the way home, only the girls know the real story.
BOOK #5: Camp Tiger
by Susan Choi
Imagination meets reality in this poetic and tender ode to childhood, illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner, John Rocco. Every year, a boy and his family go camping at Mountain Pond.
Usually, they see things like an eagle fishing for his dinner, a salamander with red spots on its back, and chipmunks that come to steal food while the family sits by the campfire.
But this year is different. This year, the boy is going into first grade, and his mother is encouraging him to do things on his own, just like his older brother. And the most different thing of all . . . this year, a tiger comes to the woods.
With lyrical prose and dazzling art, Pulitzer Prize finalist Susan Choi and Caldecott-honor-winning artist John Rocco have created a moving and joyful ode to growing up
Helpful Articles and Resources
Explore the Great Outdoors with Your Child
Children are natural explorers. Set some basic boundaries, and let the child discover. The learning will come. Children use all of their senses to explore. They look and listen to observe what is happening around them, touch what they can reach, smell the fresh scents of nature, and occasionally taste when given permission. They run, jump, dig, and climb as they discover new places.
Source: naeyc.org
CONNECTING KIDS TO NATURE
Mother Nature is a great teacher and getting kids outside to learn and play is good for their brains and their bodies. Contact with nature is more essential today given that children are spending nearly 8 hours a day using entertainment media and only 6 percent of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own. We are at risk of losing an entire generation’s appreciation for how nature works and what it needs to remain healthy and productive.
Source: plt.org
How To Teach Your Child To Love The Outdoors
Children and nature go together; they embrace it and love to learn about living things in the world around them. It is important to introduce children to nature and the natural world from an early age as it promotes curiosity and interest in their environment, and exploration and understanding of plants and animals
Source: everymum.ie
How to Explore the Outdoors With Your Kids
When I worked on urban farms, my favorite part was exploring the outdoors with kids. While we would start with a planned out activity, inevitably, we would discover something to touch, taste, smell, observe or even listen to (bees! wind!) — then we would let the kids take the lead in talking and asking questions.
Getting outside in the garden, farm, park or playground is good for the whole family — they offer spaces suited for simply letting go. Planning what to do and where outdoors can be intimidating for parents, but going outside is an opportunity for little ones to take the lead and assert their curiosity.
Source: pbs.org
Get Outside! 15 Ways to Explore Nature With Your Kids
Getting your kids out in nature is not just about sending kids outside to play. Experts say that exploring the outdoors advances children's intellectual, emotional, social and physical health. And when parents take the time to share in outdoor exploration, there is the added benefit of strengthening the parent-child bond.
Even if you're not big on outdoor play, there are fun and easy ways to get your children excited about nature. You might even find that when you engage in these activities, you'll have a newfound appreciation of the great outdoors, too.
Source: handsonaswegrow.com
Interested in learning more about Casa Montessori?
We are currently enrolling for our Summer Enrichment Program and our 2022/2023 school year. If you are interested please below to schedule a tour today! Space is limited.
Also, if you are interested in enrolling your child(ren), please visit our website at CasaMontessoriWA.com or CLICK HERE and fill out our waiting list form.
Casa Montessori accepts DSHS, daycare assistance as well as military and multi-child discounts. Are you looking for a full or part-time job working with preschool-age children? Casa Montessori is now hiring. We offer competitive wages, and a creative and fun work culture too. CLICK HERE to fill out an application today!