4/30/18-5/5/18

For the past six weeks, my dad, who is a physicist, has been teaching me about Einstein’s theory of special relativity (with the help of a book designed for people like me who missed out on advanced math), and we’re also reading a book called Galaxies: A Very Short Introduction.
 
I’m working hard to keep up with my dad, and in the process I’ve been thinking about very, very large numbers, mostly distances in time and space. I have shared little parts of this with my 4-year-old daughters and have been excited to see some of it capture their imaginations. I’m also talking to them about planets and stars (with the help of yet another book, tailored to their little-kid frame of reference).
 
In these moments with my dad and girls, I’ve noted the privilege of time, as well as the things that connect us: the great unlikelihood of being human, of having our lives intersect during this tiny moment in time and space—and of those even rarer, smaller moments when our interests align, and we are all turned into little kids together by fascinating subjects.
 
With thanks to my dad (who said, “How about some astronomy for the kids at PLAY?”), we are looking to space this week. Complete info on the week’s activities is below.

Hope to see you at PLAY—
Anne


Messy Mixed Media: Experiments + Imagination

For the next three weeks, kids in Messy Mixed Media (ages 2-5) will be combining materials, making predictions and testing them out, playing with “alien” slime, looking at images from space and using them as jumping off points for exploring textures, colors, and tools, and, finally, collaborating to build a space craft.

For more info about Messy Mixed Media for ages 2-5, please click here.


illustration by Vivian S. Chen

PLAY music: “Big Round Sun”

Kids are born researchers, and it’s exciting to watch them discover the natural world and our celestial objects. From the current session of PLAY music, here’s a simple song about a fascinating subject, by Willie Aron. We hope it inspires questions (How big is the sun, Mom? ) and helps to encourage that innate curiosity as your kids get older.

If you’ve learned the movements we do at PLAY to accompany “Big Round Sun,” try them out at home with your child. You may find a little bit of ballet in the arm movements, and this can be fun to try together or to dance in call-and-response.

Not enrolled in PLAY music? See what’s still available for the current session. You can also check out our award-winning PLAY music recordings on SoundCloud.


Stories & Art: Stars

This Thursday, Rebecca will be sharing Stars, Mary Lyn Ray & Marla Frazee’s lovely book about stars and all the places they can be found. Arrive by 10am to catch the reading, which will be followed by art time inspired by the book. Toddlers to five; drop-in. Complete info is here.

(We don’t carry this book in our store, but you can find it on Amazon.)  

STORIES & ART SCHEDULE:
Every Thursday, 10-11:30
(holiday closures are always posted)


Messy Art

Today, Mon. 4/30, through Sat. 5/5 during Messy Art, we’ll invite your painters to explore some color combinations and shapes inspired by images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Toddlers to five; drop-in.

CURRENT SCHEDULE (check for updates HERE):
Messy Art: Mon. 10-12
Messy Art: Tues. 10-12
Messy Art: Fri. 10:45-12
Messy Art: Sat. 10:45-12


modular spacecraft