Tinkergarten

Hurrah! It's summer solstice, and a new season has officially arrived. We wish everyone daily doses of summer joy and adventure. Looking for ways to celebrate? Check out our summer solstice page at https://lnkd.in/eXhhRrxx

Summer is a sensory playground—a perfect classroom, bursting with memory-making potential. It's also a time to gear up so kids can stay safe, healthy and playing outside. To make the most out of this wonderful season, we asked our Tinkergarten Teachers, TG families and our friends at Outdoor School Shop for their tips and top recommendations for gear and summer play items. See their favorites and more in our 2024 Summer Gear Guide! Cheers to for making this year's gear guide, Beautifully Warm , W. S. Badger, Sunday Afternoons, Black Girl Sunscreen, Earth Mama® Organics, The Coleman Company, Inc., Speedo, Nantucket Spider & Nantucket Footprint, ZOKU, and more! https://lnkd.in/eDx3t8wp

It’s not every workday that you get to interact with a colleague whose passion knocks your socks off. And, luckily, that happened for me this week when I teamed up with Ilana Nankin, Ph.D. of Breathe For Change to share how nature and mindfulness can help kids grow and thrive. And, what better day for it than on Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day! If you missed the interactive webinar, don't worry! A full recording and some highlights (and a few very special offers from Breathe for Change and Tinkergarten) are here!

Join us for a webinar TOMORROW, April 30th at 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific to explore how EVERY book can spark playful learning outdoors! I'm so excited to join our friends at Reading is Fundamental for this interactive webinar—part of RIF’s Every Book Counts series. Join in, and you’ll get fresh ideas about how to use books from your classroom or home library to engage kids in purposeful, outdoor play. Natural settings are ideal landscapes for imaginative play, and picture books provide limitless invitations to play! I'll model ways to use a range of books as invitations that inspire kids to initiate, lead and sustain meaningful, playful learning sessions outdoors or in nature-inspired indoor spaces. Register at https://tkgtn.com/3xQr9is , and spread the word!

When was the last time you encouraged a child to break something?! Destruction and mess making are an inevitable part of loving and working with young kids. And, as it turns out, breaking things apart actually teaches kids a whole host of skills—and helps foster creative thinking! Fortunately, nature, with a nearly endless supply of fallen treasures to pick apart and plenty of space to make messes, is an ideal space for deconstruction. Read more here about the benefits of destructive play and how to lean into the joy to destroy! 

After last week’s testimony to congress, I’ve been reflecting on how to help all kids grow up safe and whole in our digital world. Where do the answer and the responsibility lie? What is the right mix of corporate accountability, education and just plain filling-kids’-buckets that can ensure kids truly thrive? After turning it over, the focus for my team's work feels more clear than ever. How do you feel about it? What are you prioritizing?

Crafty? Aspiring crafty? Crafts not for you? However you feel about it, you’ll love these unique, earthy ways to boost kids empathy and creativity as you celebrate love with kids this Valentine’s Day!

This week's featured artist in our #BlackHistoryMonth Inspiring Artists series is Betty Blayton! Since it’s origins in the 1920s, every Black History Month has a special theme. This year is all about “African Americans and the Arts” and highlighting the impact Black Americans have had on the arts, cultural movements, and more. We know that artistic expression and creativity are critical skills—not only for artists or musicians, but also for kids as a way of thinking about and being in the world. Visit https://lnkd.in/gje6n2Np for our "Creative Collages" activity for kids to learn more about Betty Blayton and get inspired by her techniques to nurture your own creativity through hands-on, nature-inspired play!

February is #BlackHistoryMonth. In honor of this year's theme, “African Americans and the Arts,” we’ve designed four creativity-sparking activities for kids, each inspired by the work and techniques of a different African American artist. Check out these four activities to learn more about these artists, their work, and how you and kids can celebrate their creativity through hands-on, nature-inspired play. We know that artistic expression and creativity are critical skills—not only for artists or musicians, but also for kids as a way of thinking about and being in the world. We’re honored to feature Betty Blayton, Sam Gilliam, Lillian Thomas Burwell, and Noah Purifoy in this series, as featured in our February Activities Calendar. Read more about the series at https://lnkd.in/gjbxNEW9 or visit tinkergarten.com/calendar to get all four activities plus outdoor play activities for every day of February! #TeachersOfLinkedIn #PlayBasedLearning #ProcessArt #PreschoolActivities #PreschoolTeacher #EarlyChildhood #BlackArtists #Creativity