Dear Friends,

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, so take time to PLAY! Research shows that play helps relieve stress for both kids and adults, which is why making time to play together as a family is so important. In addition to spending quality time together, family play helps to reduce stress, strengthen relationships, and encourage creativity and imagination. If you’re not sure how to get started, here are some easy ways that you can incorporate play into the time your family spends together and eliminate your kids using that dreaded ‘b’ word – I’m bored!

• Have some winter fun – Put on your favorite pair of snow pants and warmest winter boots and head outside for an activity like sledding or ice skating at Canalside. Take a trip to your local park and play on the equipment in the frigid weather. Blow bubbles – yes! – Bring your bubble mixture outside and let the fun begin! Let the bubble sit on the wand after you blow it to see it slowly freeze and transform into a crystal ball up close. 
• Make some art – Gather supplies and do a group art project. Give each family member a blank canvas and create some new wall art or take turns drawing portraits of each other.
• Host a game night – Are you the all-time Monopoly champion? Challenge your family to a game night. Be sure to rotate who gets to choose the games played each time. I suggest that you play the latest and greatest, Monopoly City of Buffalo. Who will be lucky enough to own Explore & More?
• Take a nature walk – Play can be calm and low-key. Explore the outdoors as a family while walking around your neighborhood or strolling the Boardwalk at Canalside.
• Make chores fun – Turn everyday tasks, like cooking or cleaning, into a bonding moment by doing them together. Find opportunities to make tasks fun and silly to get everyone laughing.
• Build a fort – Grab the couch cushions, some cardboard or even a stack of pillows and blankets and build the hideout of your dreams. Don’t forget the flashlights!
• Dance – Put on your favorite tunes and let loose with the family. Bring back some of your favorite dance moves, like the robot or the moonwalk.
• Have a family photoshoot – Grab some props and costume pieces and let kids direct a family photo shoot.
• Sing – Share your love of music with a karaoke sing-along. Everyone can pick their own tune or have a theme for the night, like 80’s music or songs about summer (Oh, how we miss you!)
• Support imaginative role play – Let kids take the lead by letting them plan the fun. Have them choose what characters everyone will be, then play along as a superhero, doctor or whatever else they’ve dreamed up. I personally, will choose Wonder Woman every time!

It doesn’t matter how your family chooses to play, as long as you’re spending quality time together and having fun. Play has important benefits for people of all ages, so take the time now to make it a priority and see how your family benefits. If you need more convincing that play isn’t just for kids, experience all the fun that we have in store for you at Explore & More throughout the month of December as we celebrate “Holidays Around the World.”

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Lisa Chrapowicz

Director of Strategic & Community Initiatives

New STEM Outreach Program: Race Car Rollers! Did you know Explore and More offers Program Outreach? This is an opportunity for your class, group, or gathering to have Explore & More come to you! Our programs range from 45-60 minutes in length, and they are taught and guided by a member of our wonderful Education Team here at Explore and More. These educational experiences are hands-on, engaging, and fun for all elementary level students (PreK-5th), all while aligned by the New York State learning standards!

As the new STEAM Educator of the Education Department here, I wanted to highlight one of our newest Outreach Programs- Race Car Rollers! You will find this on our Outreach Sheet listing under options for First & Second Graders.

This program will begin with some creativity and building! Students will receive all the materials to create their very own car, where they will decorate, construct, and add the wheels themselves. When the cars are ready, it is time to move on to the next step! The students then get to perform an experiment with the cars they just created. Students will be asked to perform two tests with their car, with two different height ramps. The class will be introduced to the topic of force and motion and will be asked to run tests to see which ramp causes the car to move faster! Students will be introduced to new vocabulary, will be able to participate in conversation, create (and of course keep!) their cars, and get an introduction to creating and analyzing data to prove a theory.

At Explore and More, we like to play through learning, and this experience is just that! Any questions about this lesson? Feel free to reach me at [email protected]!

Holidays are right around the corner which means students have some upcoming breaks from school. Did you know that Explore & More has just the solution for families balancing work and break schedules for their kiddos? Come check out our Day Camps and Break Week Camps! We have everything from Art Explorers Day Camp to a Drop & Shop – Stay & Play Camp day (parents, drop off your kids for fun in the museum while you get some early holiday shopping done!). We even have a Winter Kids Camp where students will explore a different theme each day related to “Holidays Around the World” that is guaranteed to shake off the winter blues and keep kids engaged during their winter break. Click here for more details!

Here are some other fun Thanksgiving facts:

• Did you know pumpkins are native to the western hemisphere and have been cultivated as a crop long before foods such as corn and beans?  Native Americans have been farming pumpkins for over 9,000 years.
• Did you know that an estimated 50 million pumpkin pies are consumed for Thanksgiving every year in the USA?
• Did you know that the largest pumpkin pie ever made was 20 feet long and weighed a hefty 3,699 lbs! It was made at the New Bremen Pumpkin fest in Ohio in 2010.

Now that’s a lot of pumpkin! We hope you and your little “pumpkins” will join us for play at Explore & More this November!

I love the colors of Fall- red, orange, yellow and brown! In our “Explore Even More” class we discuss the changing leaves, and how they fall from the trees. One activity we all love is to pull out our parachute and place leaves on it (felt, plastic, or real!) When we move the parachute up and down, the leaves follow. You can do the same thing at home, even if you don’t have a parachute. You can have a lot of fun with a simple bed sheet. We like to name the colors of the leaves, count them, then watch them fall up and down as we play and sing. Here’s a fun song to include in your activity if you’d like:

ALL THE LEAVES ARE FALLING DOWN

To the tune of “London Bridge”

All the leaves are falling down,

All around,

To the ground,

All the leaves are falling down,

Red, orange, yellow and brown.

A related activity that’s super fun is q-tip painting. You’ll need paper, red, orange, yellow, and brown paint, q-tips, and a brown marker. I started this craft by drawing a tree with bare branches using my marker. Then, I dipped q-tips into paint and dotted them across my canvas. It’s an easy art project and the results are very cute.

By Silvia Steele

November is the start to a busy season of celebrations and gatherings for many. Holidays with extended family or participating in community events can be joyful as well as stressful. Planning and being flexible can go a long way to help ease the stress, for everyone! Families with children with special needs may find it even more challenging if their children struggle with changes in routine, sensory issues or becoming overstimulated in large groups.

As much as possible stick to your child’s regular routine. Talk about changes that will be happening the day of a family or community gathering. Write out a schedule or make a visual schedule. Picture schedules can serve two roles, to help children understand a change in routine, as well as provide visual cues to alert them to what comes next. For younger children, role playing or rehearsing ahead of time helps make the day more predictable and may prevent meltdowns.

Incorporate toys or objects that they love. Familiar objects can help children ease into a transition that is new or that they may not be comfortable with. Your child’s favorite activity or game can be a great way to encourage them to initiate interactions or conversations with others. Children tend to feel more confident when they can talk to others about things that they love most, such as hobbies or their favorite topics. Always bring along any items that help with sensory issues such as headphones, fidgets, or a special blanket. Make sure you plan for a quiet space to go, if your child needs a break or is overstimulated in a larger group.

Set realistic expectations, especially with family, and be flexible! Your child does not have to participate in every activity or tradition if they are not comfortable. Make gratitude the focus for your family on these special days. Talk about what you are thankful for! Encourage and model this for your children. Gratitude can be taught to children at any age and throughout the year.

Here are some helpful tips to teach and practice gratitude at any age!

• Nightly expressions of what they were grateful for during the day
• Gratitude over the food they receive
• Share appreciation for others – compliments
• Donations of money, gifts, outgrown clothes, and time (volunteering) to those in need – giving helps foster gratitude in what we have
• Gratitude walks – appreciating the world around us
• Creating a gratitude jar – writing down anything that happens or comes to mind
• Showing gratitude through gift-giving to others
• Looking for the positive in every situation – teaching appreciation
• Writing thank you cards – not just for presents – also for actions
• Saying please and thank you – appreciating everyone through good manners