Calm down bottle

I have seen these bottles all over Pinterest and have had it on my to do list to make for about 7 months or more. Yeah I finally did it. It was so easy and both my little ones love it. Lets be honest here, there are times in the day where I am staring into it too to find my calm spot as a pray for patience. What can I say I like stuff that is shiny! Okay so here is how to do it. get a clear container of your chose. I used a Voss water bottle cause it was a harder plastic and I was not about to use glass around an upset child. Especially since my son thinks you should throw everything that is handed to him. fill it 3/4 of the way with warm water then add 1/2 bottle of glitter glue. Elmers is the best. put the lid on and shake then add more glitter use fine glitter the bigger ones kinda ruin the effect. I learned from experience on that one.:( then fill the rest of the way with water and hot glue the lid. and you are done. Ingredient: *container of your choose *warm water *Elmer's glitter glue *fine glitter NOT big ones *hot glue

Valentines playdough

I am a huge fan of play dough!! it is such great sensory play and it is open ended creativity. You can make anything with play dough the possibilities for imagination is endless. I like to give some special toys to add interest and fun for holidays. I added several heart cookie cutters to this one for Valentines day and added glitter to it to make if sparkle. She has a small cookie sheet and decided to bring it over to pretend to make cookies and have a cookie shop. Then she made a snowman and a snake I love how open it can be. I love making my own play dough cause it is cheap, easy and I can make it whatever I want. This one is a kool-aid recipe, I used pink lemonade kool-aid for smell and color. However, the pink was not quite pink enough for me so I added a couple drops of neon pink food coloring. I didn't want it to pink because you wouldn't be able to see the pretty red glitter. I make it for the first time in my kitchen aide mixer with the kneading tool wow so much easier than by hand. My daughter measured and poured everything in the recipe except the water. I really think it is important to let kids explore the kitchen with you at a young age. there is so much to learn from math to following directions and the most important thing bonding and have that special one on one time.

Kool aid play dough recipe
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 pk kool aid any flavor
glitter I used red
3 tbs oil
1 cup boiling water

mix dry add, add wet, knead till all comes together will be hot don't let kids help with this part. if you don't have a mixer with kneading attachments knead by hand on wax paper or cool surface. Store in a air tight container. keeps for a long time.

Practicing writing letters

I used shaving cream on the table for finger paint to help H practice writing her letters. It is a great sensory project.

Rainbow sensory tubs

We are talking about rainbows this week. So I made a rainbow sensory tub. I colored rice in snack size Ziploc bags with a few drops of food coloring and one pump of hand sanitizer. You can use rubbing alcohol as well but I find the other is easier and dries faster. Then I added rainbow colored sequins, and scoops.

Valentine's Sensory Tub

I LOVE sensory tubs! When my daughter just needs a break or I do lol it great entertainment. To feel the rice run through your fingers is such a calming feeling. H "makes sand castles" lol and pours, dumps, scoops,and plays for a long time. Great for when other kids come over. I am going to get a little dust pan and broom to go next to it so she can learn responsibility to clean up the ones that fall out too.
I make it in a gallon size ziploc bag. I add 4-5 pumps of hand sanitizer and 8-10 drops of food coloring and mix in closed bag. then let it sit for about 12-24 hours it is actually ready before that but I usually make things like this after I put my little one to bed so it sits overnight. good luck it is supper easy.

Fall Sensory Tub

When I think of fall I think of apples, leaves, (I am originally from the south so acorns), and the beautiful colors of fall. I created this sensory tub with dried popcorn seeds, fake apples and acorns, leaf confetti and some leave gems. I add spoons, cups and small buckets for play.

water sensory table

We recently went to the Sea World and the beach so we have been talking about water a lot so when I set up this water table i keep that in mind. I just used a storage tub on a end table. In the box I have rocks from a fish tank, cut up pearls and sequins. Also shoves, rakes, and buckets. I wanted to add more sea life stuff but did not have chance to go to the store to get some so a rubber duck will have to work for now. She had so much fun pouring, shoving rocks into buckets, feeding the duck and just splashing around. At one point she was separating the blue rocks and putting them in a bucket and sorting them by color.

Shaving cream painting

When I was a teacher for 2 year old's this was one of their favorite activities! H loved it she said it was cold and soft, and she was making her daddy a birthday cake and stirring it. After she had played for a few minutes I joined in and tried to stack the shaving cream, and made letters and shapes. It was a really fun way to throw in educational learning and it didn't even feel like it.

Seeds, Flowers and Plants sensory table

This week we are learning about plants seeds and flowers. So I thought it was only appreciate to have just that in the sensory table. I used soil, kidney beans, fake daisy's, shoves, buckets, and rakes.

Homemade Goop

Ingredients: cornstarch, water, and food coloring! yep that is it. For less than two bucks and two minutes of your time, the kids will be occupied for a long time. You can add a squirt bottle and let them add more water to the mix to see what happens. You can ask open ended questions like: What does the corn starch smell like? How does it feel? What is it doing? Young children learn through their five senses,this is how they explore the world around them. When the mixture is in the bucket it is solid and hard but when you pick it up it turns to liquid and slides through your fingers.



H how does it feel on your hands? "Nice"

Sensory Project

Sensory projects are great for kids of all ages. It's a place designed for squishing, sifting, sorting, digging, and pouring, where children can get messy, discover, and play freely. They can vary in styles from water, sand, beans, rice, shaving cream and many other things. For this one i just used lentils, a spoon and two cups. This kept H busy for at least 30 minutes pouring, scooping, and mixing the lentils.