EDC Update
October 22, 2019
We
Made Pumpkin Spice Playdough!
EDC
had so much fun making special playdough today.
We used our senses when we mixed the ingredients – we smelled the
spices, felt the flour and salt, listened to the oil pouring out and some of
even tried to taste the playdough (even though it was really salty!). But it was all part of the learning
experience.
Our
focus this year is developing executive functioning.
“Although we aren’t born with executive function skills,
we are born with the potential to develop them. The process is a slow one that
begins in infancy, continues into early adulthood, and is shaped by our
experiences. Children build their skills through engagement in meaningful
social interactions and enjoyable activities that draw on self-regulatory
skills at increasingly demanding levels.
In infancy, interactions with adults help babies focus
attention, build working memory, and manage reactions to stimulating
experiences. Through creative play, games, and schoolwork, children practice
integrating their attention, working memory, and self-control to support
planning, flexible problem-solving, and sustained engagement.”
From the
article Enhancing and Practicing
Executive Function Skills with Children from Infancy to Adolescence by the
Centre on the Developing Child at Harvard University
This article was sent to all parents by our principal,
Gordon Hamby, in early October. It has
many great activities to support the development of Executive Functioning at
home. For more resources on executive
function from the Center on the Developing Child, please go to: developingchild.harvard.edu
By
engaging the children in pretend play, we are helping them to develop their
understanding of how the world works, and in turn their executive
functioning. Today, the kids pretended
to pour the ingredients into their own bowl, stir and mix the playdough. The more imaginary play we can model for
them, the more successful they will be in integrating these skills into their
daily play.
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Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/4 cup salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
food colouring (enough to get it to the colour you would like)
Directions:
·
Toss all the ingredients into a saucepan and stir
until everything is combined and there are no lumps.
·
Turn the stove on to medium heat and continuously
stir until it starts to clump… Then keep stirring until it is all one big
clump!
·
Remove from heat and knead by hand.
·
Don’t overcook because then it dries out. If you do
accidentally overcook the playdough, just spray some cooking oil on your hands
and knead it into the dough.
*If it is too sticky, sprinkle a little flour on the table while your
kneading and it will stop sticking!
*Store in an airtight container and it will last a long time!
Try making some yourself!
Monsters
Have Invaded EDC!!!
We
have been making great monsters from playdough and felt friends. Check out some of our creations!
