Play and Learn PreK

07/08/2024

Check out the amazing creations from our recent family project! Families teamed up with our little ones to craft incredible stories and vibrant artworks, promoting early literacy and creativity. At Play and Learn, we believe in the power of learning together, making education fun and meaningful. Swipe to see the talent and imagination of our young storytellers and artists!

06/25/2024

Eating outside is more than just a fun change of scenery – it’s an essential part of fostering healthy habits and happy kids! 🌳✨

Why do we love outdoor lunches?
1. Exposure to Nature: Fresh air and natural surroundings are crucial for children’s physical and mental well-being. Outdoor meals provides an opportunity to appreciate nature’s beauty.
2. Healthy Eating Habits: Sharing nutritious meals in a relaxed, outdoor setting encourages kids to try a variety of healthy foods. It’s the perfect chance to introduce new fruits, veggies, and wholesome snacks.
3. Meaningful Conversations: Lunchtime is ideal for engaging conversations. It’s a time for kids to bond, share stories, and practice social skills, all while enjoying their meal.
4. Fun and Adventure: Turning lunchtime into an outdoor adventure makes eating more enjoyable and memorable. It’s a simple way to make everyday moments special.

Let’s cherish these moments of sunshine, smiles, and healthy eating!

06/24/2024

Are you looking for a school where your child can thrive? Look no further! At Play and Learn Prek, we offer:

-Highly Qualified Teachers: Our experienced educators are dedicated to providing the best learning experience.
-Outdoor Activities: We believe in learning beyond the classroom and embrace nature as our playground.
-Parent Involvement: We encourage parents to be an integral part of our community.
-Inclusive Education: Our inclusion group ensures every child feels welcome and supported.
-Bilingual Education: We offer a rich bilingual program to expand your child’s horizons.
-Learning Through Play: Our play-based approach makes learning fun and engaging.

Join our vibrant and supportive community today! ✨

Enrollment is now open! Secure your child’s spot at Play and Learn Prek and give them the opportunity to excel in a nurturing and stimulating environment.

DM us for more info or call us at 305-860-4020 to schedule a tour. We can’t wait to meet you!

06/20/2024

So proud of our dear Ms. Crystal

On our next Future Call, we'll speak with Crystal Sherwood,Florida Association for the Education of Young Children’s 2023 Early Childhood Educator of the Year. Crystal, from Play and Learn PreK in Miami, has been working as an early childhood educator for over a decade and holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood with a focus on Special Education. She'll share what FLAEYC’s recognition has meant for her and her career and what she wishes people knew about the importance of early childhood education.

Register at the link below!

🌐: bit.ly/thefuturecall

05/08/2024

🎉 CELEBRATION GIVEAWAY 🎉 We’ve hit 500 followers and are toasting to the end of an incredible school year! As a huge THANK YOU, we’re launching a giveaway just for you!

Here’s how you can join the fun and win:

1️⃣ Follow Us: Be sure you’re following us – stay tuned for all our updates and future giveaways!

2️⃣ Like This Post: Show some love and hit that like button! ❤️

3️⃣ Comment & Tag: Drop a comment sharing your favorite memory from this school year or what you’re looking forward to during the summer. Plus, tag a friend who shouldn’t miss out on this giveaway!

Great Prizes Up for Grabs:

-1st Prize: 50% off your registration fee for next school year
 -2nd Prize: 5 free Drop-In Hours to help you when you need it most
 -3rd Prize: 2 free Drop-In Hours – every bit helps!

Winners will be announced right here on May 17. Get ready to tag, comment, and win! Good luck to everyone!

05/01/2024

Be present! An environment based on relationships and connections is essential to support children's healthy brain development. Always remember the importance of the critical developmental period. During the critical developmental period - the first few years of life - the brain is rapidly developing and laying the foundation for future learning and behavior.

04/23/2024

04/02/2024

02/29/2024

Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is now open! Join us for a year filled with laughter, learning, and endless adventures. Secure your child’s spot today and let the fun begin!

02/01/2024

When your mischievous T-Rex walks all over your art piece

01/29/2024

Unstructured play:
🌈 Encourages Imagination & Creativity
🧩 Helps Develop Problem-Solving Skills
🌟 Boosts Self-Esteem
🤝 Fosters Cooperation and Social Bonds
At Play and Learn Prek, we're dedicated to creating a nurturing environment where children can learn, grow, and play freely. Encourage unstructured playtime at home and watch as your child's imagination, creativity, and self-confidence soar to new heights.

11/10/2023

November is a special time for family, and at Play and Learn, we are excited to celebrate the importance of family bonds. We have a month full of activities and opportunities for your child to learn, grow, and appreciate the love and support of their family. Personally, the holiday season brings a sense of joy, celebration and carries significance for family and togetherness. It is a time when loved ones come together sometimes from afar to celebrate through festive activities, special meals, or heartfelt conversations. Families build a treasure trove of shared experiences and create cherished memories.

This week we focused on the theme, “Family”. We explored lessons, activities, and discussions that emphasized the importance of family in a child’s life. We believe that a strong family foundation is key to a child’s overall development. The holiday season serves as a reminder of the value of family and togetherness 😊

This week during circle time, we have been having discussions about families. We are also encouraging the children to talk about their feelings. We observed children being able to identify their own feelings (self-awareness). We also observed that they identified the feelings of their friends and showed empathy. We will continue to discuss feelings and emotions during circle time and throughout the school day, because learning to manage emotions is a very important skill.

11/09/2023

Sensory play, like exploring cooked pasta, is a vital part of a toddler and preschooler's development. It engages their senses, helping them learn about texture, temperature, and shape while enhancing fine motor skills. Through this playful experience, kids not only have fun but also build a strong foundation for cognitive, social, and emotional growth. It fosters creativity, problem-solving, and self-regulation, making it an essential ingredient in early childhood development. 🍝🧒🎨

11/09/2023

Using pastels and watercolors, children delved into the world of arachnids, creating intricate and colorful spiderweb inspired art

11/03/2023

Experimenting with leaves! We love science and all things STEM. We collected leaves from the playground for our science table. Children were also encouraged to bring leaves from home, and we also had a couple of jumbo leaves from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

After exploring and learning about the parts of leaves we decided to try out some fun simple leaf experiments. The children learned about leaf color and chlorophyll. We did a simple experiment to extract chlorophyll from leaves.

We spent time diving into the fascinating world of photosynthesis. We explored how plants make their own food and contribute to our beautiful world. We did another simple experiment using leaves and water to observe how plants breathe. We also explored how water travels through leaves. After placing a leaf in red food coloring water, on day four we saw that the red water did travel! I love it when we can combine science and art.

11/02/2023

Children continue to use their creativity both in the classroom and art room by using various tools to make open-ended art pieces. Many of the crafts created were inspired by the theme/environment. All the materials used were collected from the recycle bin, or on the playground. We had a wonderful time exploring the materials we found. Some of the crafts created included a simple leaf collage reusing materials (cardboard box), leaves, twigs, and paint. We created autumn leaf mobile using paint, and cardboard boxes to create leaves. We found a real branch and hung the leaves unto our branch. The end results look so gorgeous. We combined art and STEM and explored leaf rubbing two ways. The science behind leaf rubbing is to learn the basic structure of a leaf, label the various parts and understand their function. The art objective behind the activity is simple creating beautiful leaf prints. We started the week in a traditional leaf rubbing activity. At the end of the week, we experimented with slightly different materials than the standard white paper and crayons. We decided to use foil. The activities involved plenty of opportunities for vital fine motor development tasks to strengthen and refine small hand muscles. This included snipping, stringing, sticking, tearing, ripping, and painting with brushes.

11/01/2023

The crisp fall mornings are here! Our playground is once again surrounded by lots of falling leaves. Fall is such an amazing time of year to explore nature through many ways in the classroom. Our little nature enthusiasts have been exploring the great outdoors this month. In fall there is an extra abundance of wonderful, natural materials to incorporate into play, learning and craft activities. We took full advantage by gathering leaves to create nature-inspired masterpieces. Fall is also a perfect time to teach a preschool leaf theme. We want to share some of the exciting activities and learning experiences your children have been enjoying in the blue classroom with the “Fall/ Leaves” theme. We spent the week exploring how leaves change and how the weather gets cooler during the season. The children had so much fun exploring the many leaves that were collected from the playground. We incorporated all the leaves into our activities all week😊

10/26/2023

❤ 🍃🌿🎨 Embracing the beauty of nature and unleashing our creative spirits! Great experiences experimenting with leaves and paint. It's all about the magic of process art, where there are no rules, just pure imagination and self-expression. 🌟🎨 Exploring the textures, colors, and shapes of leaves not only fosters creativity but also offers valuable sensory experiences.

10/23/2023

10/20/2023

Our preschoolers had an absolute blast with our volcano experiment. They eagerly took turns measuring, pouring, and mixing, and the anticipation was palpable as we combined the acid (vinegar) and the base (baking soda). The moment these two met, there were wide-eyed gasps as the magical chemical reaction unfolded, creating bubbling lava-like eruptions. Witnessing the eruption was pure delight – it's science and fun, all in one! We had an explosive time watching the lava flow from our mini volcanoes, igniting curiosity and a love for learning. 🌋🔬

10/19/2023

Lets support the development of creative thinking and expression! We encourage children to enjoy the experience and focus on creating. This emphasis on the process allows them to experiment and discover their own unique creative approaches.

Our goal is to allow children to explore different materials, techniques, and ideas and encourage Self-Expression and individuality.

10/18/2023

🕯️🔥 Little scientists in the making! 🔬👦👧 Today, we had a blast with our preschoolers as they delved into the fascinating world of fire with a simple yet captivating experiment. We introduced them to the magic of candles and, more importantly, taught them that fire is a friend we need to treat with respect. 🕯️🔥 By observing closely, our little ones discovered that fire relies on three vital ingredients: heat, air, and fuel. Take away just one of these elements, and the dancing flame disappears! 🌬️❌🕯️ Such hands-on experiences not only educate but also ignite curiosity in these young minds. I asked the children to tell me why did the fire go out? These are some of their responses: “the fire went out because the jar was covering the candle and there was no air” (air) ; “The water made the fire go out” (water); “the last candle that went out had nothing left” (fuel).

10/17/2023

🎨 Finger painting! 🖐️ Fantastic way to engage little ones' senses, enhance finger dexterity, and refine those fine motor skills. As they swirl, smudge, and splatter paint, kids are not only having a blast but also sharpening their coordination, sensory awareness, and strengthening the hand and finger muscles. Activities like finger painting encourage children to experiment with making shapes, lines, and patterns. These are early pre-writing skills that lay the foundation for letter and number formation.

10/16/2023

🍽️👶🤩 Mealtime milestones are all about fostering independence in our little ones! 🙌🧒👧 Whether it's mastering the art of using a spoon or exploring new flavors, watching our toddlers learn to eat by themselves is a heartwarming journey. 🥄💕 It might get messy, but it's all part of their growth and development. Let's celebrate those tiny victories as they discover the joy of feeding themselves and gaining a taste for independence! 🎉👏

10/12/2023

TBT Water play! Nothing beats the joy of playing outside, especially when it involves water play! 💦 There's something truly magical about playing with water and it isn't just about fun. Playing with water is also incredibly important for child development! Research shows that playing outside and exploring the sensory wonders of water can boost creativity, problem-solving skills, and physical development in kids.

10/11/2023

Our little architects at work! 🧱
Building a strong foundation for learning starts with play! 🏗️ Playing with blocks is a vital part of early childhood development. When building with blocks kids develop essential skills like problem-solving, spatial awareness, creativity, and fine motor skills. Plus, it encourages teamwork and communication when little builders collaborate on their masterpieces. So, let's keep the blocks rolling and watch our little ones grow, one brick at a time! 🌟

10/10/2023

Fall is here! Children used different fall colors to create their many art paintings. Some included hand print apple tree, paper plate apples, yarn apples, and fizzy apple. Fizzy art was the class favorite. We love combining art and science so we used our favorite baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. Everyone was saying “wow” and “I need more vinegar”. We had a lot of fun making fizzy art. Many skills were reinforced through the art activities including measuring and following directions, mixing, and experimenting with colors and fine motor skills. We use various tools to strengthen their hands and fingers. This involved a lot of cutting with scissors, tearing paper, using glue, and painting with brushes.

10/09/2023

Dress up play is a magical journey of self-expression and development! 🌟 It fosters creativity, imagination, and a sense of identity. It allows children to experiment with different identities, develop their social and emotional skills, and learn about the world around them in a fun and engaging way. 💖👶

10/08/2023

We made Apple Crisp! Apple Crisp is an easy way to achieve the taste of an apple pie. The children had so much fun participating in washing, cutting, measuring, and combing all the ingredients together. There are many benefits of cooking with young children here are a few:
- Social-Emotional Development: Children develop confidence and skills. Following recipes encourages children to be independent and self-directed, it also teaches them to follow directions.

-Physical Development: Fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills are developing by mixing, chopping, spreading, and squeezing.

-Cognitive Development: cooking encourages problem solving and creativity. They apply counting knowledge, measuring, and following directions.

-Language Development: children are encouraged to talk about they are doing, counting, and watching changes(color, medium, texture). Our first cooking learning experience of this school year was a success. The best part of cooking together is having fun!

10/04/2023

When children engage with music, instruments they work on auditory discrimination, concentrating on distinguishing different rhythms, tones, and pitches.

Using music and instruments to practice rhythm fosters cognitive development by improving concentration and memory, aids in emotional and social development through self-expression and teamwork and it contributes to the development of auditory and listening skills that are essential for later literacy development.