Activities

Activities, Art, Fall, Preschool, Toddlers

Our Fall Crafts

Are you looking for some quick fall crafts? Here are some of the crafts Rosebud and I have done so far this fall. These are simple glueing activities that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Our fall crafts pin

Leafy Tree

Supplies

  • Leaves,
  • Paper,
  • Glue,
  • Green paint.

Leafy tree

First, we made this leafy tree. It started out as just a simple leaf collage. Rosebud and I went for a walk and found a bunch of leaves. She wanted to make art with them, so we just started gluing. After she glued all the leaves, we realized there was a vertical space in the middle, so we painted it green to look like a tree.

To make it look more like a tree, you can draw the outline first or use other natural items to decorate it.

Halloween Spider

Supplies

  • Craft sticks,
  • Pompoms,
  • Google eyes,
  • Glue,
  • Glitter,
  • Construction paper.

Halloween spider

I asked Rosebud what she wanted to make one afternoon and she really wanted to make a spider. When I asked her how she wanted to make it, she said she wasn’t sure, so I looked through my craft basket. We started off by gluing craft sticks for legs, adding a pompom for the body and then adding the eyes. Then she wanted to add a mouth and nose. To top it off, she wanted to add glitter and there is our Halloween spider. Not scary, but definitely a Rosebud creation.

Haunted House

Supplies

  • Craft sticks,
  • Construction paper,
  • Halloween foam stickers,
  • Jewels,
  • Glitter,
  • Glue.

Haunted house

I found a bunch of Halloween stickers at the dollar store and thought they’d be great for a collage. I got the idea to do a haunted house, so we did a 2d version with craft sticks. This project is great for fine motor skills because not only are they gluing and arranging items, but pealing stickers as well. Plus halloween is right around the corner. We started this project by painting a big piece of white paper all black for the night sky. At Rosebud’s haunted house, there is a pumpkin patch, a graveyard, the bat cave and the night sky with half moons and stars. Not to mention all the black cats and ghosts in and around the actual house. We had fun with this one.

Our fall crafts pin

Here are some supplies for your convenience.



What crafts are you doing this fall? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Art, Preschool, Toddlers

A Simple Ocean Collage

Here is a quick art activity for toddlers or preschoolers. I did this with my toddler class several years ago and they loved it. I was looking through old photos and found pictures of their collages. By the end our floor and table were covered with little white sticker papers, but they had a good time and worked on their fine motor skills in the process.

Ocean collage pin

What you’ll need:

Ocean themed foam stickers and some kind of ocean themed paper. I found these scrap book ocean sheets at a local craft store, but you could also use blue construction paper or print out ocean pictures from online. If you are adventurous or want the project to have an extra level, you could have your children paint their paper before adding the foam stickers. That would stretch the project over a couple days. Otherwise, it’s so simple and you only need two materials.

I can’t find a link for the sheets that I bought, but here are some other ideas. You can cut a square from this role or make a larger display.

Here are the the collages made by my little friends who would be in first and second grade now. How time flies! As a side note, sorry for the lower quality of the images. The lighting in the classroom wasn’t that great, but at least you can see them.

Do you have any simple art activities planned for your kiddos this summer? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play

Flowers and Water Beads Sensory Bin

Here is a fun spring themed sensory bin. Rosebud and I love flowers and I through this together in less than five minutes. After we waited for the water beads to puff up to full size, it was all set for play. This kept Rosebud busy for over an hour while I made dinner.

Flowers and Water Beads Sensory Bin pin

What’s in the bin?

  • Small tupperware containers,
  • Flower holders,
  • A funnel,
  • A measuring cup,
  • Measuring spoons.

I didn’t have any purpose in mind when putting this sensory bin together. I showed her how to put the flowers in the flower holders and showed her that she could turn the little containers into vases, but other than that, I let her take the lead.

The little funnel was perfect because the water beads fit through the hole. The measuring spoons were the perfect size as well. They work great for scooping up the water beads.

Flowers and water beads sensory bin

What are your favorite activities with water beads? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Parenting, Sensory Play

Calming Lavender Play-dough

Calming lavender play-dough pin

I made a fresh batch of play-dough for spring and I decided to add some lavender essential oil. Lavender is supposed to be calming, so I thought it’d be good for Rosebud to play with in the evenings.

Ingredients to make play-dough

This time, I thought it would be fun to make the play-dough with her. I usually use the same recipe, but will switch up the food coloring, glitter, or scent. This time I used blue and red food coloring, glitter and lavender essential oil.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour,
  • 1 cup salt,
  • 2 table spoons cream of tarter,
  • 2 table spoons vegetable oil,
  • 1&1/2 cups boiling water,
  • A couple drops of glycerin to add shine,
  • A couple drops lavender essential oil,
  • Red and blue food coloring, (optional)
  • Glitter to make it sparkly, (optional)

The dry ingredients in a mixing bowl

We started with the dry ingredients which she mixed. Of course, quite a bit ended up on the counter, but it could’ve been worse.

Next, we added the wet ingredience. The water and vegetable oil. If you need a substitute, you can use coconut oil instead. I also add the drops of glycerin at this stage. This is where it starts to get clumpy.

Before you start kneeding, add your food coloring, glitter or essential oils or extract. Sometimes I use vanilla or other fruit extract to add scent. You’ll want to kneed it until it is smooth and sticks together. If it’s too wet, add flour. If it’s too dry and falling apart, add a little water until you get the desired consistency.

Directions:

  • 1. Mix together dry ingredients.
  • 2. Stir in oil.
  • 3. Add water and stir until the lumps are gone and it comes together.
  • 4. Kneed. Add food coloring, scent, glitter and or glycerin at this stage.
  • 5. Store in an air tight container.

Large play-dough ball

This is the final product. As always, the texture was great and Rosebud played for quite a while, but she wouldn’t let me take pictures of her creations. I will have to sneak and try to get some next time.

Calming lavender play-dough pin


What are your favorite things to add to your play-dough? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

A Sensory Bin for Fine Motor Skills

Sensory Bin for Fine Motor Skills pin.

I set up this sensory bin often for Rosebud. She likes to be in the kitchen with me while I’m making dinner. I usually try to make foods that she can help me prepare, but when the meal is too complicated or if she isn’t in the mood to help, I put together this quick sensory bin. I don’t have a name for it because it’s random, but it’s fantastic for working on those fine motor skills. Squeezing, pinching, grasping and pouring are all skills that strengthen the hands and fingers, increase hand eye coordination and are a precursor to writing.

Sensory Bin for Fine Motor Skills

What’s in the tub?

  • Water,
  • Dish soap for bubbles,

Sensory bin with all the items

Other things you could include:

  • Tongs,
  • Stones or marbles,
  • Small bottles,
  • Mini strainers,
  • Sponges of different shapes and or textures,
  • Food coloring.

A Sensory Bin for Fine Motor Skills pin.

Rosebud’s favorite part of this sensory tub is the sponges. She loves squeezing all the water out into the cups. I only had these wedge makeup sponges on hand, but I will be buying different sponges to add. She also asked for the animals which allows for more pretend play. She has the penguins and seals swim through the bubbles, dive into the cups and she gives them a bath. It’s a win-win. I can make dinner or do dishes and Rosebud can play and learn at the same time. What are your go to activities when you need to be busy with chores? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

Easter Spring Sensory Bin

Easter Spring Sensory Bin pin

This post will be short, but I wanted to check in and share our latest sensory bin. I’m not sure what to call this, so I’m going with the Easter spring sensory bin. I went to the dollar store the other day and stocked up on some random spring and Easter items and here is what I came up with for this week.

Easter Spring Sensory Bin

What’s in the bin?

Easter grass,

Plastic eggs,

Mini and medium sized rubber ducks,

Glass and acrylic rocks,

Pompoms,

Scoops,

Tongs.

Rosebud’s hands reaching in the sensory bin

Rosebud mostly just played with the materials, but she hid the mini ducks in the eggs. We scooped up the eggs with the scoops. We hid items in the grass. We put pompoms in the eggs. I told Rosebud to pretend they were little bunnies, but she wasn’t having it. She started making nests for the little ducks and their eggs, but decided to dump everything on the floor instead. She enjoyed picking up items with the tongs and trying to get them free from the grass. It’s a great fine motor activity. She was tired, so this was short lived tonight, but I have a feeling this one is a work in progress. We will be adding and subtracting items when necessary and I will be changing up the sensory bins more often. I have lots of ideas for this spring. What are in your sensory bins right now? Tell me in the comments.

Scooping up an egg

Easter Spring Sensory Bin pin

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Activities, Education, Preschool, Toddlers

Sink or Float

This is a really simple science activity. You can use any items from around the house. This kept Rosebud occupied for quite a while and she was so excited that she was doing a science experiment.

Sink or Float pinWhat I used:

  • Glass bowl,
  • Water,
  • Pompom,
  • Penny,
  • Small plastic lid,
  • Small ball,
  • Piece of tin foil.

Plastic nut floating in water.

Before placing each object in the water, I’d ask Rosebud if she thought they’d sink or float. She guessed correctly on most of them. We talked about how heavier things sunk and lighter things floated. We talked about how the pompom absorbed water. In the end, it was still floating though. We also talked about what each item was made of and whether it was hard or soft.

Craft stick floating in water.

Vocabulary words:

  • Float,
  • Sink,
  • Light,
  • Heavy,
  • Absorb.
  • Toy walrus sinking.

Results:

Most of the items floated. The only items that sunk were the penny, the glass rock and the small ball. It was a ball from an old mouse. We will have to try this in the future with different items. Have you tried this with your kids? What are your go to simple science activities? Tell me in the comments.

Rosebud adding objects to the bowl.

All the items in the bowl.

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Activities, Education, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

Candy Shop

This was a left over activity from Valentine’s Day. We used the candy boxes with the chocolate play-dough to make some pretend treats. Here are some of the things we made and the skills we are working on using play-dough.

Play-dough Candy Shop pin

What’s on the tray:

  • Chocolate play-dough,
  • Candy boxes,
  • Measuring cup and spoons,
  • Rolling pin,
  • Play-dough tools
  • Cookie cutters.

Play-dough cakes decorated with beads

Fine Motor Skills

There is a lot of talk these days about children not getting enough practice developing their fine motor skills. For those who don’t know, fine motor skills is the early childhood education jargon for saying the things you do with your hands. Basically the smaller muscle groups. These are the skills children need for writing, cutting with scissors, tying shoes etc. Gross motor skills use the larger muscles for running, climbing etc. There are many ways for children to practice these skills like stringing beads, using stickers, popping bubblewrap or scooping water or sand. Play-dough is great though because you can role it out, squeeze it, mold it, use tools to cut it and so on. All of those actions strengthen the hands and fingers. Rosebud rolled out circles, hid beads in the play-dough to find and cut it into pieces using the play-dough cutter.

Rosebud taking play-dough hot chocolate

Pretend Play

Another wonderful thing about play-dough is you can turn it into whatever you want it to be. Since we had the candy boxes, we decided to make pretend candy. Some of our candies were circles and squares. We also made cakes and decorated them with the beads. As with other pretend play, it helps expand a child’s imagination and allows them to try out different roles. Pretend play can also help children work out issues they may be having difficulty with. It also helps enhance social skills. We pretended to make cups of hot chocolate. Rosebud grabbed out of my hand, so we worked on sharing and asking for turns. We worked as a team to decorate the cakes.

Five play-dough cubesMath

I asked Rosebud which shape I should make and she suggested I make squares. I’ve used play-dough often to help her with shape recognition. She’s gotten really good at identifying most shapes. Sorting, classifying and identifying shapes are all necessary pre-math skills.

Play-dough ABCLiteracy

On the literacy side, I made some letters and asked if she knew what they were. She has become interested in letters, but cannot name them yet. she has started asking me what they are and what they are for. If we are playing with letters, I’ll point out the letter, tell her its name and a word that it starts with. In this case, I first made her initials and then did a simple abc. This is a fun way to practice some of the pre-reading skills.

The best part is the kids are simply having fun without worrying about what they are learning or haven’t learned yet. What are some of your go to activities with play-dough? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Education, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

Hot Coco Play-dough

I found this chocolate play-dough recipe several years ago and it smells good enough to eat. When you cook it, it smells so much like brownies. I’ve never tried eating it, but I’m guessing it doesn’t taste as good as it smells. Anyway, I love using this play-dough for a Valentine’s Day or hot coco theme.
Hot Coco Play-dough

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups flour,
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup salt,
  • 1/2 Tablespoon cream of Tartar,
  • 1/2 Tablespoon oil,
  • 1 1/2 cups water,
  • A couple drops of glycerin for shine.

Play-dough, beads and cups

Directions

  • 1. Mix dry ingredients in a medium size saucepan.
  • 2. Add wet ingredients and stir together over low heat until a ball of dough forms.
  • 3. Remove play dough from the saucepan and knead by hand until dough is smooth and evenly colored. You’ll want to add the drops of glycerin at this stage. If you are kneading and find the play-dough is still too wet, add a little flour.

Store in an airtight container.

Cups of coco

Rosebud loved this play-dough. She kept saying how yummy it smelled and she said it was very squishy. We made cups of coco with marshmallows. I used white beads.

We made cakes and brownies.

Rosebud’s cakesMy decorated piece of cake

I made chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate roses that were quickly squished. I made objects for Rosebud to guess, even this silly shoe.

Play-dough shoe
Hot Coco Play-doughWhat are your favorite play-dough recipes? Tell me in the comments.

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Activities, Parenting, Preschool, Sensory Play, Toddlers

Water Beads Sensory Tub

One of Rosebud’s stocking stuffers this year was a bottle of water beads. I’ve been seeing these things on early childhood blogs for several years, but have never seen them in person. They always looked so cool and I’ve always wanted to try them, but never had the opportunity with any of my classes. Well, I finally got the chance to play with them with Rosebud and she loved them.Water beads.

I’m a big fan of sensory play. We do a lot with play-dough, sand or just plain water. There are so many benefits to sensory play and it really captures childrens attention. These water beads are definitely a different sensory experience. The ones we have are a little smaller than the standard sized marbles. They start out about the size of a sprinkle. At first, I thought of a grain of rice, but I think they are even smaller than that. I love dessert and sprinkles was the first thing I thought of. Anyway, they are tiny, but they start expanding soon after you put them in water. I think they were at full size after soaking for about an hour.

Sensory tub with water beads, scoops and cups.

I poured a bunch in the tub, added water and when it was ready, I brought it to Rosebud. She loved the different texture. They are squishy and slippery. They can fall easily and role all over the place which makes them more attractive to kids, but makes a bigger mess for us to clean up. I included little scoops and cups, so we did lots of scooping and pouring. We counted how many scoops would fill each cup. We looked through the water beads and discovered that we could see light through them. We saw them bounce off things in the tub. I added a large funnel. The opening was big enough so that one bead would fall through at a time. Rosebud had fun filling the funnel and watching them fall down.

I’m looking forward to playing more with the water beads and tying them into different themes. I also want to look for larger ones. Have you used water beads? What cool things have you done with them? Let me know in the comments.

Here are more links to explore.

10 Ways to Play With Water Beads from Teaching Mama

Exploring Water Bead Science and Sensory Play from Little Bins for Little Hands

Edible Water Bead Sensory Play from A Little Pinch of Perfect

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