University Children's Center

Our toddlers explored vehicles last week. For art they painted with cars. Process art benefits toddlers by fostering creativity, building confidence, and enhancing fine motor skills. It promotes decision-making, emotional expression, and cognitive development through sensory exploration and trial-and-error experimentation.

Our Preschool teachers brought out the parachute for music and movement. Parachute play helps develop physical development, social skills, and cognitive growth. It is an inclusive, non-competitive activity that encourages teamwork and imagination. Our preschoolers are popping popcorn!

Our infants explored an electric piano which helps improve fine motor skills and increased hand-eye coordination. The interactive, immediate sound feedback fosters curiosity, creativity, and self-expression, while digital features can introduce diverse sounds and rhythmic patterns. This early exposure aids in brain development and sensory processing.

In our PreK classroom we begin early literacy skills with our children. Recognizing letters, teaching them the letter sounds, and early writing skills. During small group time our children practice writing their names.

Our Infant teachers had a creative idea to use an inflatable pool as a play area for the babies. It gave smaller infants the support they needed to help sit up while keeping the materials/toys in one area and close to the babies. You can put different materials in it to switch things up: balls, large foam pieces, blankets/pillows to make a cozy area, or even sand or paint for a sensory activity.

In our older toddler classroom, they made Stone Soup together. Each child had their own set of vegetables to chop and each child poured different ingredients into the crock pot. Food projects help development fine motor skills through tasks like stirring and pouring. They promote healthy eating habits and a positive relationship with food while also improving social skills through cooperation.

Our Infant teachers bring out different materials and activities to do with the infants that help develop their fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are crucial for babies as they are the foundation for independence and learning, enabling them to perform daily tasks like eating, dressing, and writing.

Reading to toddlers provides numerous benefits, including boosted brain development, enhanced language and vocabulary skills, and it creates stronger teacher-child bonds. It also improves concentration, encourages social-emotional growth, and introduces toddlers to new concepts, characters, and the world around them.

Fall activities are in full effect in our Toddler Two classroom. Their activities are hitting all areas of development: fall color paintings, washing mini pumpkins in the sensory table, sticking fall leaves onto contact paper, and they made some baked cinnamon apples.

Science everywhere! Our PreK families brought in some fall items for the children to examine and dissect.

Autumn is here! Our Infant teachers laminated some fall leaves for the babies to explore for science.