Daily at Home Project: Baby Treasure Basket and Rocks of Hope

by | Apr 1, 2020 | At-Home Enrichment | 0 comments

Please find below our daily SolBe Family update letter containing helpful resources and exciting projects to explore while we all do our part to stay home during this pandemic.

April 1, 2020

SolBe Families,

Susan Linn is a local ventriloquist who has been featured on “Mister Rogers” with her puppet Audrey Duck. You can click this link to schedule a time for Audrey Duck to virtually visit your kids. We will be sending a video of Audrey chatting about COVID-19 later this week…stay tuned!

For Parents

I enjoyed this quick (6-minute) read from Scott H. Young “Some Things That Have Helped Me Worry Less”. 4 simple (not easy, but simple) steps to help mitigate some of the anxiety and worry surrounding the uncertainty of our current situation as a community. I hope you enjoy it!

Project of the Day Infants & Toddlers: Baby Treasure Basket from The Imagination Tree

“Treasure baskets are wonderful for:

  • using the senses to discover, explore, investigate and examine new materials/ shapes/ colours/ tastes/ textures/ sounds/ weights/ quantities
  • developing thinking skills
  • promoting open-ended and independent play

As before, we change some of the objects regularly to keep the basket interesting and fresh to play with. I can usually tell when I need to do this as she starts to fling things out without even looking at them, at breakneck speed. It’s very entertaining to watch but let me know things have got a bit stale again!

The current list of contents includes:

  • various pine cones, picked up on a walk a while ago
  • ribbons of different patterns and textures
  • a wooden massager with roller balls
  • a range of beaded necklaces and bracelets
  • a thick, felted apple
  • an interesting wooden toy with jointed parts
  • a large shell from the beach
  • one of our salt dough ducks (she loves this!)
  • a huge, sparkly bouncy ball with glitter shreds suspended in water inside (beautiful and mesmerizing!)
  • a couple of laminated photos of babies cut out of magazines (she talks to these!)
  • a wooden box with a lid
  • some thick pipe cleaners, with sharp ends tucked in firmly
  • a heart cushion with a range of buttons sewn on tightly
  • a little tin filled with pebbles that makes a delightful noise when shaken (sealed shut)
  • and…. plenty of other tidbits too!

Project of the Day Older Toddlers & Preschoolers: Rocks of Hope project from Woven Childhood

Enjoy some time outside collecting rocks and exploring!

“We’ve been painting little flowers, suns, rainbows and shooting stars on rocks today attempting to brighten the mood. ☀️We’re planning on writing notes of encouragement on these and placing them throughout our neighborhood. Hoping it will be a little spark of hope to whoever finds one. ????”

More resources to follow in the coming days. Feedback and more ideas welcome, as always!

Be well and stay healthy!

The SolBe Team


Be Supported

We’ve felt the uncertainty that occurs when our children are in the care of someone else. At SolBe, we know you will always be your child’s first teacher; we’re here as a knowledgeable partner in your child’s education.

From our experience, children rise to the intellectual life of those around them, so we are committed to growing as individuals and as a team. You can count on us to provide a warm and engaging learning experience for your little one.

Be Inspired

We’ve spent thousands of hours in classrooms that either overstimulate, underwhelm, or actively prevent educators from delivering the highest-quality education and care. At SolBe, you’ll go beyond the traditional four-walled classroom.

Our award-winning, inventive and uplifting learning spaces stimulate the senses and instill feelings of home-like safety and comfort. They allow for your child’s, and our educators’, changing needs and emotions. They create room for wonder—for learning, and living, outside the lines.

Be Immersed

We’ve seen what’s lost when things are done the way they’ve always been done before. SolBe is an adaptive Spanish exposure program that refuses to accept the status quo.

Our inventive practices grow from the shoulders of giants, with roots in the Reggio Emilia approach, the Montessori method, and well-researched cognitive disciplines that attend to the whole child. We create opportunities to develop character attributes that your child will benefit from for a lifetime. Collaboration. Communication. Independence. Healthy risk-taking. Critical thinking. Emotional awareness. Resilience. Intellectual curiosity. Creative innovation. An authentic love of life and learning.

Be Well

We know what it’s like to forget to feed ourselves—physically, mentally, and emotionally. At SolBe, we understand it’s impossible for you to pour from an empty cup. And we do what we can to keep your cup full.

Our learning ecosystem is designed with children and educators—and you—in mind. Seed-to-table nutrition program. Yoga and mindfulness. An all-inclusive experience so you don’t need to worry about finding time to provide meals, diapers, or wipes (unless you want to). Evening and weekend family programs.