It’s time to talk about books!  With school around the corner, the month of August is a fantastic time to discuss reading and children’s books. 

Explore & More has always emphasized literacy, reading comprehension, and cognitive growth.  There are countless books all throughout the museum floor spaces.  Each play-zone has books representing the play area that they are in; Learning, Caring, Healing, has books about medicine and the human body, while the Treehouse has books about nature, and animals, and so on and so forth. 

Also, the Book Nook and both Sensory Rooms have a multitude of books for more relaxed or extended reading time.  Reading for children has been proven countless times to be one of the most beneficial activities one can partake in.  In a recent PBS article, the benefits of reading (specifically reading aloud) are highlighted with the following excerpt:

“Reading aloud to kids has clear cognitive benefits.  For example, brain scans show that hearing stories strengthens the part of the brain associated with visual imagery, story comprehension, and word meaning.  One study found that kindergarten children who were read to at least three times a week had a “significantly greater phonemic awareness than did children who were read to less often.”

Books at Explore & More have been reviewed by the Education Team, ensuring their educational benefits.  Explore & More’s books also encapsulate the diverse world of cultures, ideas, and topics that children’s literature encompasses.  It is our hope that with the books we have every guest of our museum finds some representation within the pages, as this truly makes a difference in the lives of those children flipping through the book’s pages.  Our books are regularly updated and there are always new titles being put out, so keep your eyes open for your child’s next favorite story.  On your next visit, encourage your child to read a book, or read a story to your little one!  These books will enhance the experience of playing and more importantly, learning at Explore & More.   

Dear Friends,

Summer is the perfect time for students of all ages to relax, but it’s also a time when summer learning loss can occur. This learning loss is called the “summer slide,” and happens when children do not engage in educational activities during the summer months. Have no fear! Although we are entering the month of August, it’s not too late to focus on making playing and learning so much fun.

As parents and caregivers, we may not realize that learning opportunities are everywhere. Kids can read cereal boxes, menus, recipes, and signs as they go about their summer activities.  You can play a game in the car or on the bus where your child reads all the words that they can see to help them practice their reading skills and grow their vocabulary. 

Young children also begin to read by use of pictures, so encourage them to make that “picture-print connection.” You can also practice math skills when dining out or shopping by having your child be responsible for paying and counting the change.

Consider taking community field trips this summer to create opportunities for learning. For example, you can go to sporting events to discuss the strategy and rules of the game. There’s another perfect place to do this. In case you haven’t heard, Explore & More is offering Free Play Fridays outdoors on the Pierce Lawn at Canalside from 11am-1pm until August 25^th. We provide sports equipment and coaches, and it’s FREE!

Use your imagination to give your child fun learning experiences for the remainder of the summer.  You’ll find making small efforts now will yield big benefits for them in the future.

Looking for more ideas? Check out the Explore & More website at www.exploreandmore.org.

Hope to see you soon at the museum,

Lisa Chrapowicz
Director of Strategic & Community Initiatives

July is here and I am so excited for Touch a Truck 2023! On July 30^th trucks, cars and busses galore will be at Canalside from 10AM-1PM with a quiet hour from 10AM-11AM. There will be so much to see and do, it’s one of my favorite summertime activities in Buffalo. 

To get into the things-that-go spirit, I wanted to bring back a fun activity using markers, crayons, tape, recycled materials, and your own toy cars you probably have around the house. 

Here’s a link to our website for the official lesson plan!

Have fun and see you at Touch a Truck!

Ms. Jackie

By Silvia Steele

Summer is here! Whether your family enjoys going on new outdoor adventures or spending time at a familiar neighborhood playground, WNY has many options to consider. Planning ahead when venturing somewhere new is key if your child will need accommodations or has accessibility needs. At Explore & More you can call ahead 716-655-5131 Ext. 7081 or email [email protected] if you have any questions about accommodations when planning your visit to the museum. You can check out our calendar of events, here, for special summer museum programming and fun outdoor activities with our community partners at Canalside. Below are resources to help you and your family have a safe and fun summer.

 Resources

Join us at Explore & More for our signature Touch a Truck event, sponsored by M&T Bank on July 30^th from 10 AM – 1 PM. There will be a quiet hour from 10 AM – 11 AM so families can enjoy a more sensory-friendly experience without the sound of engines or horns! 

Our friends at Parent Network have put together a 2023 Recreation and Leisure Services Directory for families. The directory includes inclusive venues and programming throughout WNY.

Parent Network has a growing list of inclusive playgrounds in WNY on their website, here, including an indoor playground at Explore & More!

• Planning a summer vacation: Travel tips for families of children with disabilities

• Scripted Stories, visual schedules and choice boards are a great way to prepare your child for an outing especially when visiting somewhere new. You can create your own visuals specific to your outing or look for social stories online. Autism Little Learners has a “summer vacation” social story, here, to help with the transition to a summer schedule. The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) has a resource library including instructions on how to create a visual schedule for home routines, here.

Now that school is out, and summer is in full swing, Explore & More families have a fantastic opportunity to encourage play and learning for the summer months.  Continued summer development is vital to fostering growth physically, socially, and cognitively.  All of this can be done with simple engagement by parents and caregivers and will do wonders for childhood development.  This excerpt from the National Academies of Sciences perfectly encapsulates the impact of play on development:

“Play, which is often unstructured, is critical to children’s development and can promote decision-making, social skills, and creativity (Ginsburg, 2007).  Play is an important tool for elementary-age children, both to engage them in academic learning and to foster growth and a sense of competency in a variety of developmental domains (Ginsburg, 2007; Milteer et al., 2012).  Play promotes development in a number of areas, including cognitive, social emotional, and physical, and when engaged in with parents or other adults, play also promotes the development of supportive relationships (Yogman et al., 2018).”

Play at Explore & More is the perfect way to supplement this growth, as is playing outside, and exploring nature.  Using July and the rest of the summer months as a launchpad for the next school year can bring truly awesome benefits to your children.  Aside from the cognitive benefits structured summer play brings with it health benefits.  The American Academy of Pediatrics, “calls for toddlers to have at least 30 minutes of structured (adult-led) physical activity and at least 60 minutes of unstructured (child-led) physical activity each day.”  Staying active even at a young age will be foundational to the creation of healthy habits and physical growth.  Summer ‘vacation’ is the perfect time to advance the brain and body of children, and as caregivers, it is important to remember that play is the perfect avenue for this progression.