Writing Party - add the sprinkles

 Learning to write should not be a chore.  It shouldn't be all worksheets and tracing.  Let it be a party!  With this writing activity, making letters and writing is a sensory activity and fine motor exercise (& yummy too).  I found sprinkles at my local dollar store and have had this wood try for a while. I found it in the craft section at Walmart, but any flat tray will work.

 Simply pour in the sprinkles and let the kiddos make the letters in the sprinkles.  It's that easy.  Learning should be fun and - in this case - very colorful!

 You can use salt, seasonal sprinkles, flour, so many possibilities.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Sensory for Infants and Toddlers

 Sensory for Infants and toddler is easy peasy with items you have around the house.  I found these little containers at the Dollar store - 12 for $1.00!  I gathered up some items around the house and in the pantry that will make different noises when shaken.

I simply filled the containers and hot glued shut for safety purposes.  Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers will make all kinds of music with these sensory shakers.

Have a fun and playful day!
Mel

Bird Sensory Table

 On Wednesday, we added birdseed, Easter grass, yarn, eggs, a mini birdhouse, and Safari Ltd. Backyard Birds Toob to our water table.  The girls had a ball with it.  I posted a few pics on Wednesday, but I wanted to share more.

Playdough Pasta and Straws - Toddler Sensory & Small Muscle Exercise

What I love most about playdough is the toddler educational benefits.  Playdough is probably the number one way to play to strengthen those small muscles in little fingers.  While they are molding and smooshing and manipulating the playdough, those little toddler finger muscles are getting a workout.  And strong finger muscles are needed to hold a pencil properly and control it and write.  Who knew playdough was so amazing, right?

You can set up the scenario at the table for your kiddo.  I started with a glob of playdough and poked 3 thin straws into the glob.  Roo immediately knew what to do, but if your toddler needs help, you can model what they are supposed to do.  Fit the pasta onto the straw and let it slide down.  Repeat again and again.  Toddlers learn through repetition.  You may go bored with it, but a while a toddler is exploring, they are learning.

This activity held Roo (who is 21 months) for about 30 minutes.  That's a looong time in toddler time!  Let your kiddo experiment and play until their attention span wears thin.  It could be 2 minutes.  It could be 22 minutes. 

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Exploring Textures with Playdough

I love playdough.  I love the texture of it.  I love the creations. I even love the smell (am I weird?)  But what I love most about playdough is the educational benefits.  Playdough is probably the number one way to play to strengthen those small muscles in little fingers.  While they are molding and smooshing and manipulating the playdough, those little finger muscles are getting a workout.  And strong finger muscles are needed to hold a pencil properly and control it and write.  Who knew playdough was so amazing, right?

Today, we explored playdough and pasta (lions and tigers and bears oh my!).  We rolled the pasta across making ridges and made flower or gear impressions by pressing the end of the pasta into the playdough.

Phew!  That was a mighty good workout!

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Planting a Toddler Garden 2

A couple weeks ago, I did a different version of this toddler garden but with fake flowers (and broccoli, too!).  Roo,age 20 months, LOVED it.  It's a great activity to strengthen those little finger muscles.  (You want strong finger muscles, so you can hold a pencil and control it when writing.)  I decided to do this activity again for a few reasons:
1. She loved making the garden
2. It's Spring
3. I found a Flowers Toob at Joann

This fun, colorful Toob from Safari Ltd has 8 flowers (2 Toobs are shown here).  Their stems easily pushed into the Model Magic dough from Crayola.  Doesn't it loo like a garden in full bloom?

Roo was busy "planting" her garden then "unplanting" over and over.  I think her Babyzilla side took over and she enjoyed destroying the garden as much as planting it!:)  Such a toddler.  Then, Big Sister walked into the room.

"I want to plant a garden, too.  I love working in the garden with Daddy." G, age 4.  So G planted the garden and Roo picked all the flowers.  Then, G had to replant.  It was a cycle - again and again with lots of giggles in between.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

A Lesson in Animal Camouflage

Remember those water beads that I got at the Dollar Tree a couple weeks ago? Well, the kids keep requesting to play with them, so...we do.

I decided to talk a little about animal camouflage today? Which animals blend in? If they blend in, how does it keep them safe?

"It's like they are hiding. They are right there, but you can't see them. Foxes can't see them either. Foxes eat lots of things." -G

 It was fun then then Babyzilla dumped the bowl! Oh my. TOTALLY toddler.

I noticed that the water beads were a little slimy and a couple had black on them. Time to wash our hands really well and pitch those water beads.

Note to self : water beads can go bad.

The animals are from Safari Ltd Pets Toob. I bought it, because we are still planning our Pigeon's Pet Shop soon. But these little animals were the perfect size to camouflage.

Have a fun and playful day
Mel

Water Beads

 So I was wandering around my local Dollar Tree and found this kit! It's a grow your own water bead kit.  Great for a mini science lesson and for sensory.  All for a buck.

 At first, they are teeny tiny, but, after a couple hours, they are marble size.  I couldn't resist taking pics of the stages - how colorful and happy they are.

 I also bought this mini fishbowl at the Dollar Tree.  It's the perfect size but glass.

 The above photo was taken after 20 mins...

 These photos were within 2 hours.

 They feel all wet and jelly like - super cool.

Yep, that's what I am doing on a Saturday morning!

Have a fun & play weekend
Mel

Feed the Animals

Ever see those signs that the park or zoo?   DO NOT FEED the animals!  Well, I am going to turn that thinking upside down.  I am saying feed the animals - well, maybe just the birds, squirrels, and chipmunks.  It's late winter, supplies are low.  It could be a fun activity to do with the kids.  Set some seed out then maybe make some birdseed playdough found on two-daloo.com with Safari Ltd birds or  cookie cutter shaped bird food found on apartmenttherapy.com

Stay warm and have fun!

Have a fun & playful Saturday!

Mel

Sensory Table

Sensory is the most fun (and usually the most messy!) and kids love it!  Whether you visit a play place like The Wonder Place that has an a-MAZ-ing water table or you have a small one like this Step2 one, or you have a simple plastic container, sensory can be explored any time.  The Sensory Table lets children explore textures, scoop and pour, act at imaginary scenes, explore habitats hands-on, and more!  I have many posts planned on Sensory ideas.

Have a fun & playful weekend!
Mel

Big Bag of Gems

 What do you do with a big bag of gems?  Well...you decorate a castle and...

 do patterning and...
(this would be great for a princess or pirate theme day at preschool)

 Sort by color and...

 Some of these gems are HUGE.

 It's a 1lb bag that I found at Michael's store.  The bag was $14.99 but I used a coupon.

 You can put them in the sensory table and "dig for treasure".
This container is the perfect toddler size sensory bin.

 The princesses have brought the gems home with them.

 The Lego castle was decorated with gems.

and the "castle box" was decorated too.

Light Table & Aqua Gems

Everyone knows that toddlers are a whole different creature. Cute and lovable, independent and storming. I needed something new to keep little missy doodle busy. She is 15 mos. old but any preschooler would love to do this. Heck, my 14 year old played around with these for a while. Some people call them aqua gems, some call them water beads.

You find them in the floral section. Caution: Children should be supervised as these shouldn't be eaten. To make the light table, you'll need: 2 clear bowls, 1 strand of white Christmas lights, aqua gems, and a dark space.
Simply place the lights over an inverted bowl. Put the other bowl on top. Fill with aqua gems. Turn out the lights. It's sooo cool!
Little missy doodle put a spin on it. After a little while, she popped up and walked away. I thought, "well, she is done." Nope. She returned with her Sesame Street characters and Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert, and Ernie went for a swim! :)