From the Desk of Aly B.
Back to School. Wait…What?
So, it’s the beginning of August and some families are already Back to School or are getting ready to go Back to School. Wait…what? It seems like we just welcomed summer break. But alas, truth be told the schedules are different these days. When I was a kid, we never started school until after the big Labor Day weekend. Maybe some of you are still on this cycle. My Mom was a teacher. We spent most summers at the beach for a week, or two, or more, and always dreaded that time when we had to head back and help her get her classroom ready for the new school year. Decorating bulletin boards, setting up reading corners, adding nametags to desks… I never would have imagined it would set the foundation for getting a college degree in the field of education, and now operating an online retail space for products that promote social-emotional learning. This season has me thinking about foundational learning. Foundational learning is the base platform for a lifetime of learning and includes basic literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills. These skills are critical in child development starting at PreK and graduating through each grade level.
We’ve got a lot of great products to help with foundational learning:
- Preschool Puzzle Pairs: Colors or Numbers-These fun award-winning puzzle games not only enhance color and number recognition, but also help develop pre-reading, counting, visualization and moto skills. At just $10.95 each, you are making an investment in helping your children/students take another step forward.
- What Happens Next? Picture Sequencing Game-This is a great product to help young children learn about logical order. Children observe and identify patterns and only the correct pieces will fit together.
- Emotion-oes-This game offers a fun twist on the long beloved game of dominoes. But instead of matching numbers or dots, players match emotion icons with the same matching face or sight word. It’s even more fun if each player must act out their domino connection. Being able to express emotions is foundational to self-awareness and self-regulation.
These products and others are perfect for use in early learning centers or childcare centers, for use as a homeschool resource, for use with special needs educators or simply for family learning fun.
Whatever your situation is, we hope you have a fantastic school year. Don’t forget to PLAY AND LEARN.
Of course, if you ever want to drop us a note you can do so via email, or through our contact page. We welcome your feedback, comments, collaborations, and encouragement. info@gsplayandlearn.com