This week we are spending time with bubbles of all kinds while we practice this week’s Coping Skill: Blow the bubbles (see the segment below). We have bubbles from soap, bubbles we can blow, bubbles we chase, bubbles in our water cups and bubble wrap! Our Circle Time books are Bubble Trouble and The Worry Balloon from our local library about other B things: a baby boy who gets stuck in a bubble and a little girl who puts her worries in a balloons to blow away.
Here are some questions to find out about our day:
What color paint did you use to paint the bubble wrap?
Blue (there was light blue, dark blue and darker blue)! Our Alphabet Art Project is basically a tongue twister: Blue Bubble wrap B prints. Children painted on top of the bubble wrap Bb shapes and then made prints by gently pressing and rubbing paper on top of it.
I’m so grateful for our volunteers! Today Ms Brenda and I were joined by Grandpa Papa Norm, Grandma Vicki and my mom, Grandma Bonnie.
When we were done with our Bb bubble wrap prints we painted on the easel and on the newspaper table too. Thanks, Harvey County Now!
Fanny the Fan joined our preschool today and helped get our paintings dry,
Why were there animals on the tables?
.To help the baby animals find their grown ups! Technically the baby animals were often just smaller versions of adult animals, but we do have some actual baby animals too! Children worked on classification skills in this natural play environment.
What happened to the baby in the book?
Oh no, he got stuck in a bubble! In this silly (and make-believe aka fiction) book we learn the story of Mabel and her baby brother. There are a lot of words in this book so as is my Circle Time style, we spend more time wondering about the pictures and answering questions based on the text. I will return the book after this week so you can check it out too (did you know that you can place a reserve for books online with the library?).
What did you have at Snack Time today?
In the morning we had Bacon and Blueberries from Ruthie and Bright orange cheese crackers from Sophie! It was very exciting to find big blueberries and blueberries with the stems still on. Thank you, friends!
In the afternoon we had Black forest Berry Burst fruit snacks, Baby animal crackers and Baby Goldfish (they were just regular crackers but we called them babies to stay on theme….hahahaha). Thank you, Zander!
B Week Coping Skill: Blow the bubbles.
This week we are exploring the longer exhale breath that accompanies blowing bubbles (both bubbles already in the air and the act of using a bubble wand or straw). Longer exhales cause the vagus nerve to send a signal to the brain, activating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) and easing the sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight, or freeze). Children may be able to witness the effectiveness of this breathing technique while blowing bubbles. Children are also reminded to return to a comfortable and spontaneous breathing pattern (building on last week’s skill of honoring their bodies’ impulses. This coping skill has the added benefit of being one that can be done “anytime anywhere” with imaginary bubbles.
This week’s Coping Skill questions you can ask your child:
How small of a mouth hole can you blow bubble breath through? One trick to extend the exhale is to purse the lips and make as small of an opening as possible for the breath to sneak out of. Remember to invite children to return to a comfortable breathing pattern after a bubble breath.
What color bubble wand did you use?
We have a wide range of rainbow colors to choose from: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, purple and pink!
Other benefits of bubble play :
Fine motor skills – this one is probably the most obvious to think about. Using the skinny wand that usually comes with a bubble container, children can practice pinching and holding the bubble blower as if they were holding a pencil! They can also work with bilateral hand coordination, as one hand is holding the bottle while the other dips the wand in. There is also strength and dexterity required to open and close the bottle, and lots of different ways to pinch, poke, or clap the bubbles!
Gross motor skills – The act of chasing bubbles and trying to pop them can be a great way to get kids to crawl, jump, run, stomp, bend down and reach up super high! This fun play can help strengthen children’s muscles and develop important gross motor skills, and usually the chase of the bubble is it’s own reward!
Sensory processing skills – Bubbles are wet and slimy, they feel interesting on your skin. This might be something some kids LOVE…and other kids might hate. It might be a nice way to practice getting used to a soapy texture if you’re trying to help your child with their willingness to bathe/wash their hands. The physical act of blowing a bubble can also be very effective as a sensory based way to help children organize and focus their bodies.
Hand eye coordination and visual tracking skills – The process of playing with bubbles take lots of practice to connect what the eyes and hands are doing in order to use the wand! With this practice, we can also work on tracking skills, by pointing out the bubbles high and low, to have your child look at them to their left, right, up and down.
Oral motor skills – Blowing bubbles is hard work! To blow a bubble you need to pucker your lips to make a little circle (also called lip rounding), which can help improve oral motor skills! These oral motor skills can help exercise the jaw muscles to prepare the mouth for pronunciation of words. I read a tip that if you see that their lips are making a flat shape instead of a round shape, you can gently squeeze their cheeks to get their lips to make the right shape.
newcreationpreschool.com 