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.
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.
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.
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.
I want to share some of my favorite things and accomplishments for the month of March. This is something new I plan on doing at the end of every month from now on. Writing down my accomplishments will keep me accountable and moving forward and why not share some of my favorite things? You might like them as well. For this month, I have a book, a recipe, a perfume and some articles to pass along.
Accomplishments
I’ll start with my wins for the month of March. At the end of February, I started using my Pinterest account which had no views. As of this moment, there are 39,000 views. I know that’s a relatively small number for Pinterest, but it’s just the beginning. I think it’s good considering the endless accessibility issues I have with Pinterest, my limited ability to create eye catching photos and my lack of knowledge on how Pinterest works. I have been reading and researching which has given me a better understanding of strategies for using Pinterest. It’s a work in progress, but what isn’t? My second win and one of my goals for 2019 was to reactivate my Amazon associates account. I’ve been working hard to update older posts as well as create new content. Now the trick is making those sales. My third accomplishment was getting approved for ShareASale. That will be my next project.
Book
As I’ve talked about on the blog before, I always have an Audible book that I’m listening to. Earlier this month, I read the Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder. It was one of those books that sounded kind of interesting, but I wasn’t too sure about it. I found it in a two books for one credit deal. After the first couple of chapters, I really wanted to know what happened next. I listened to most of it in one weekend. I won’t give anything away, but the ending seemed to be an opening for a second book, but who knows. I’ve read a lot of books lately where loose ends aren’t tied up.
Unfortunately, I did not take a picture when I cooked this, but I’m not a food photographer anyway. This Easy Instant Pot Macaroni and Cheese is so simple to make. It tastes good. Rosebud loved it and that is saying something. She’s going through an extremely picky eating phase. The best part is it takes about ten minutes. The other great thing is you make it in the instant pot. I love having only one pot instead of a bunch of pots and pans to wash. The macaroni comes out perfect and it is very cheesy. If you try it, let me know what you think.
Perfume
I ordered some makeup and got a sample of Viva LA Juicy Noir by Juicy Couture. I quickly used it all and then had to order more. It’s hard to describe the scent. It’s kind of fruity, but it’s not over the top sweet. It’s not too strong unless you use more than you should. I normally stick with one or two scents that I use most of the time, but this one has become one of my favorites. What are your perfumes that you absolutely love?
Articles
Okay, so I have several for this month. I couldn’t narrow it down to just one, but they all serve different purposes.
This first article is about raising daughters and gender stereotypes. It’s well written and reminds us what is important about raising a girl. Click here to read, The Trappings of Girlhood.
I saw this cool article from Whimsyroo with a list of bath time activities. I know Rosebud gets bored with the same bath toys and this post has some great ideas to make bath time more fun. I love this blog and all the fun activities she posts. Click this link for Creative Bath Time Activities for Kids.
I am a big fan of journaling and one of the benefits of journaling is gratitude. If you journal about the things you are grateful for, it can boost your mood and if you are a believer in the law of attraction, gratitude will bring you more things to be grateful for. That being said, listing the same five things you are grateful for can be a little boring and not seem worth the effort, but Monica from Mindfully Monica explains how to start a gratitude journal that actually works.
Full disclosure, I saw this one a little before March started, but I have to share it. I’m featured on this post from GROWMOMMY.COM! Rosebud’s antics earned me a spot in this list of 10 Hilarious Reasons for Toddler Tantrums.
This post from Be Anxious About Nothing brings to light the very important and overlooked issues of disabled domestic abuse. The post was written in defense of Dr. Phil and his recent show with a couple where the man is disabled and the woman is not. I knew nothing about it until seeing this post, but there has been outrage online due to the show’s supposed ablism. I say supposed because I have not seen it and don’t want to comment without viewing it first. However, I will share this post because disabled people are more likely to be the victims of abuse and that has to stop.
This final link is to a Ted talk about being a good listener. Too often we forget to really take the time to listen to someone. Sometimes all someone needs is to be heard.
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.
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.
Vocabulary words:
Float,
Sink,
Light,
Heavy,
Absorb.
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.
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.
What’s on the tray:
Chocolate play-dough,
Candy boxes,
Measuring cup and spoons,
Rolling pin,
Play-dough tools
Cookie cutters.
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.
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.
Math
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.
Literacy
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.
We did this simple science activity before Valentine’s Day and Rosebud loved it. It kept her occupied for over an hour. What I love about science for young kids is that is so simple and they are learning without even realizing it.
1. Make some ice cubes. I used heart shapes, but you can make whatever shape you wish.
I added red food coloring to some of my hearts before freezing them.
2. Next, I took out a few ice cubes once they were frozen and then put them in a small bowl.
3. To help melt the ice cubes, fill another small bowl with water and show your child how to use the eye dropper to transfer the water to the bowl with the ice cubes.
This activity is so simple, but it’s great for science. We talked about melting, warm vs cold, the size of the ice cubes and how the water was changing color. This activity is great for fine motor skills as well. Next time, I will make more colored ice cubes and we can experiment with mixing colors as the ice melts. If you are using larger ice cubes, you can add treasures inside.
What are your favorite simple science activities for kids? Tell me in the comments.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I made chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate roses that were quickly squished. I made objects for Rosebud to guess, even this silly shoe.
What are your favorite play-dough recipes? Tell me in the comments.
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.
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.
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.
This week, I decided to make up a festive sensory tub for Rosebud. I’m calling it the gift giving sensory tub.
What’s in the tub?
Wrapping paper,
Small boxes,
Ribbon,
Bows,
Tissue paper,
Bells,
Snowman rings,
Sparkly pompoms,
A bulb shaped ornament that opens,
A gift bag
A small stocking.
Today was the first time Rosebud got to play with this tub and she played for almost an hour. I had to tare her away for bath time. She loved filling the gift bag, putting the items in the different sized boxes and trying to wrap them. We pretended to give each other gifts. She’d open a box of snowman rings and say, “thank you Mommy. This was the best gift ever.” Then I’d open a gift bag full of pompoms and tell her what a nice gift she gave. If you are working on sharing and kindness, this would be a great sensory tub for the theme.
We worked on math skills by counting the number of pompoms in a box. We used our listening skills to guess what was inside the boxes. We discovered that we can always tell when one of the bells were in the boxes, but we could only hear the pompoms depending on the size and style of the box. Rosebud folded wrapping paper and tried to tie ribbon to practice those fine motor skills.
If your child is a little older, you could include tape so they could practice actually wrapping presents. I did not include tape because I knew it’d be everywhere. I’d love to add more ribbon of different sizes, other Christmas and winter themed trinkets for a wider variety of gifts and child scissors to cut wrapping paper. If you’ve tried something similar or have a festive sensory tub of your own, tell me in the comments.
As I’ve written about before, Rosebud and I love to read. I often buy her new books based on the season and or if there’s a holiday coming up. For the spring, I get out her books about birds, plants and baby animals. In the fall, we read books about pumpkins, leaves and of course Halloween. The winter is no exception. The books we are reading right now are related to snow, Christmas and her birthday coming around the corner.
As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I’m visually impaired so I don’t see the pictures very well. In children’s books, one could argue that the pictures are the most important thing. Well, they are to the child at least. Since I can’t see all the little details, I love to find books that are more interactive. Not only does it help me, but these extra elements make reading more fun for the children. Here are some great interactive winter books I’ve found along the way.
1.
That’s Not My Snowman by Fiona Watt.
This book shows a snowman on each page with a different tactile element. the mittens are too fuzzy or the buttons are too bumpy. The book is short, but it’s great for infants and toddlers. Rosebud still loves this book.
2.
PeekaBoo Christmas!: Touch-and-Feel and Lift-the-Flap by DK Publishing.
This book is large, sturdy and has illustrations that are shiny and colorful. Some of the pages include touch and feel elements like the pompom on the hat or the ornaments on the tree. Kids love to lift the flap to see what’s inside. Rosebud has always loved the different peekaboo books and this one did not disappoint her.
3.
Little Critter: Just a Snowy Day by Mercer Mayer.
I bought this book many years ago to read to the kids I was working with at the time. Now I get to share it with Rosebud. I love all the interactive elements in this book. You get to spin a wheel to make it snow, smell a cup of hot chocolate and pull Little Critter’s sled. My only complaint about this book is that the pull tabs can be easily broken. This book has always been a hit with any of the children I’ve read it to. The book is now out of print, but you can still find it on Amazon.
4.
The Gingerbread Family: A Scratch-and-Sniff Book by Grace Maccarone.
This story is of a day in the life of a gingerbread family. There is a scratch and sniff sticker on each page. The scents aren’t very strong, but the story is cute. When I was a kid, I never had books like these. I always loved scratch and sniff stickers and am glad I’ve been finding these cool books for Rosebud. She loves the pictures in this book as everything is made up of candy. We like to see which candy we can pick out. When she asks for this book, she says, “Let’s read about cookies.”
5.
The Sweet Smell of Christmas (Scented Story Book) by Patricia M. Scarry.
Many people seem to remember this book from their childhood. I do not and I have not read it to Rosebud yet. It will be a stocking stuffer for her this year. This book is filled with scratch and sniff stickers and I know Rosebud will be excited to read this one.
What are your favorite winter and holiday books? Let me know in the comments.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Accomplishments
What I used:
Math 
Literacy
We did this simple science activity before Valentine’s Day and Rosebud loved it. It kept her occupied for over an hour. What I love about science for young kids is that is so simple and they are learning without even realizing it.
What are your favorite play-dough recipes? Tell me in the comments.
We worked on math skills by counting the number of pompoms in a box. We used our listening skills to guess what was inside the boxes. We discovered that we can always tell when one of the bells were in the boxes, but we could only hear the pompoms depending on the size and style of the box. Rosebud folded wrapping paper and tried to tie ribbon to practice those fine motor skills.
