Community Education - current class catalogs Families - Summer 2017 | Page 21

Let’s play – summer fun!
Fit for the Future
Let’s play – summer fun!
The importance of outdoor play
The outdoors is a great place for preschool children to practice
and master their gross motor skills. Children can move about
freely - running, jumping and climbing. It’s the best place to
practice hand-eye coordination like throwing, catching or hitting
a ball, plus other manipulative skills like pushing a swing or pulling
a wagon.
Outdoor play contributes to learning
The outdoors offers more than just physical benefits. Social,
emotional and cognitive development are impacted; too. Outside,
children are more likely to invent games. They express themselves
and learn about the world in their own way as they explore.
Learning to appreciate the outdoors
Preschoolers learn so much through their senses. There is are a
world of things for children to see (animals, birds and green, leafy
plants); to hear (the wind in the trees or a bird singing); to smell
(flowers in a garden or fresh cut grass); to touch (a fuzzy caterpillar
or tree bark); and even to taste (the rain on their tongue)!
Here are a few fun summertime activities from parent educators
at Anoka-Hennepin Schools. We hope that you bring your family
outside and enjoy some summer fun!
• A
 nature walk. What do you see, hear, smell or what can you
touch.
• Set up an obstacle course to jump, wiggle, crawl and run through.
Anoka-Hennepin Schools:
Fit for the Future
Join us to learn more about
possible changes coming to
your child’s future elementary,
middle and high schools.
This is an opportunity to review
and provide feedback on potential
bond/levy proposals to address
growing enrollment, improve
safety and security, and provide
students at all facilities with
improved learning spaces.
• Go on a bug hunt. Examine the differences in size, or shape. Each meeting will focus on how
potential updates and enhancements
may impact each attendance area.
• P
 lant a container garden. Talk about the colors or the textures
of the plants. Meetings begin at 6:30 p.m. on
the following dates:
• B
 ring a sheet outside – shake it, make waves with it or bounce
foam balls on it.
• T
 ry water painting – paint on a
building or even the driveway. • M
 ay 17: C
 hamplin Park High School
• B
 low bubbles. How many can
you pop? • M
 ay 23: Blaine High School
• E
 njoy a picnic or snack in the
yard or at a nearby park.
• May 18: Coon Rapids High School
• M
 ay 24: Andover High School
• M
 ay 25: Anoka High School
• H
 ave a backyard camp out.
Count all the stars!
Remember too, if you want to escape the heat, indoor playtime
at Anoka-Hennepin Schools early childhood centers are always a
fun summertime option. View the playtime schedule on page 8.
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