The Judy Center Early Learning Hub at CRES

Apple today for CrES 3s program for next year!

We beat the heat with Open Play fun today! Join us next week for more unstructured play and fun 🤩

Mr. Notari had the pleasure of representing Cradlerock & HCPSS at the 1st annual Maryland School Leadership Honors celebration in our state capital hosted by Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller.

This event brought together local, state, and national leaders to acknowledge National Principal Appreciation Day and to elevate the critical impact of school leadership upon student success, school culture, and teacher development.

We had a blast in Let's Move yesterday! We worked on balance and gross motor skills with our obstacle course and The Floor is Lava games, and then we worked on our hand-eye coordination with our ring toss game. Mostly we had great, sweaty fun! Join us next Monday for more moving, dancing, stretching, and play!

Register today!

Pinecone bird feeders are a classic kid project! We kept it allergy friendly at Play and Learn by using sunbutter instead of peanut butter.

Sometimes the simplest trays become the most beloved. This seasonal collage work was one we returned to again and again throughout the year.

We’d often display the finished trees in a timeline of the seasons or turn them into mini books. You can adapt this activity in so many ways: collage work, Q-tip painting, drawing, and more. The format is flexible, but the core experience stays the same.

Children strengthen fine motor skills as they tear (or cut) and glue paper. They refine coordination and hand control, preparing their fingers for writing.

They build sequencing skills as they move from fall to winter, spring to summer, internalizing the rhythm of the year through their hands.

They develop independence as they manage materials, apply glue carefully, and make choices about where each piece should go. No two trees are exactly alike, and that’s part of the beauty.

Of course, this isn’t a replacement for real-life experiences. We always paired this work with seasonal walks, nature books, and hands-on exploration outdoors. But symbolic representations like this offer children a developmentally appropriate way to process and express what they’ve seen and learned.

This was one of our top kid-approved activities... requested often, loved deeply, and proudly taken home.

PS I don't have a printable for the trees, but you should be able to find something usable with a simple google search.

Looking to catch your bundle of joy up on vaccines?

You can get your baby’s vaccines at:
• Your pediatrician’s office
• The Howard County Health Department (for eligible families)

Learn more: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/health/childhood-immunization