Sensory play

Parenting

Hatching Chicks Sensory Tub

Yesterday, my brother set up an Easter egg hunt for Rosebud so there were plenty of eggs to use for a sensory tub. She’s been playing with these eggs all day so I wanted to find more interesting things she could do with them. In my house, it’s never been Easter without Peeps so I figured why not put these little guys in with the eggs.

This way Rosebud can enjoy the peeps without all that sugar!

What’s in the tub:

Plush peeps,

Plastic eggs,

Mini rubber ducks,

Easter rubber ducky from her Easter basket,

Shovel,

Mini cups,

Gold ribbon scraps.

I added the scraps of ribbon so she could make nests for the chicks, but most of it went on the floor. Luckily, she understood my explanation of how we can’t have ribbons on the floor because the cats will pick them up and get sick. After explaining this a couple of times, she understood so when she noticed she dropped some ribbon, she was quick to pick it up. Next I brought over a small basket and a large mixing spoon. We started transferring eggs from the tub to the basket using the spoon. Rosebud did this several times. This is a great activity for fine motor skills and coordination. We also discovered that the mini duckies fit into the eggs so we had some hatching ducklings. Then we made nests for both the chicks and the ducks and Rosebud poured all the eggs on top of them for good measure.

She loves these new activities and I enjoy planning and doing them with her. It’s exciting to watch her make new discoveries and be delighted by the smallest things.

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Parenting

Baby’s Bath Time Sensory Tub

As I’ve mentioned before, Rosebud loves to play in the water. Even when she was a newborn, she enjoyed baths. So, I know that if I can’t think of anything else and won’t mind a bit of clean up, I can entertain her with water. This time, I decided to go with a bubble bath theme.

She got excited when I filled the tub with water, added a couple drops of dish liquid and watched the bubbles form. She laughed when I couldn’t get the baby doll to stay in one spot for the picture and she was impatient to start playing.

Here’s what I put in the tub

Baby doll,

Wash cloth,

Bottles of different shapes, (They are from a toy diaper bag set she has.)

A scoop,

A funnel,

And a ball, just because…

She played with this tub for almost an hour. We did lots of scooping and pouring, counting how many scoops would fill each bottle and briefly washing baby. She was much more interested in what could be done with the water. The interest in the doll didn’t come until the end when I realized she was filled with water. I had to take her apart to get the water out. First, I had to take the head off and had trouble putting it back on. Rosebud thought this was funny. there was still a ton of water left in the body so I had to remove one of the legs. I struggled to get it back on and Rosebud thought this was great. We finally got the poor baby back together. I learned I won’t be using that particular doll for bath time adventures ever again. Luckily, I have another one that will be easier to clean.

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Activities, Parenting

Sparkly Lemon Play-dough

I am a big fan of play-dough. There are so many things you can do with it and so many ways to make it. I’ve used it for a sensory play activity, to teach numbers and shapes, to build fine motor skills and for pretend play. Also, I love to make homemade versions of things whenever possible. In the case of play-dough, it is cheeper to make your own, it lasts longer and you get a whole lot more of it.

I decided to make lemon scented play-dough. Something fresh and bright for spring. Here in the northeast, we have the feeling that spring will never come this year.

Rosebud was excited when I brought out the container of new play-dough that I had made the night before. As soon as I opened it, she said that it smelled good. She immediately got to work squishing, pounding and making holes in the play-dough. She used the play-dough cutters to cut pieces and the rolling pins to flatten it. I sat with her and first I made things to see if she could guess what they were. I made hearts, squares, circles and stars. She loves when I make balls, but then she is tempted to throw them. Fortunately, she usually squishes them before she gets the chance. Rosebud loves cooking in her pretend kitchen and loves to help me cook on occasion. She gets very excited about food, so she was thrilled when I started making play-dough ice cream cones. She guessed it correctly right away and then asked for more ice cream cones. We had fun playing with play-dough for about 45 minutes and towards the end, I was thinking about how great it is to just be in the moment. You’re in the present creating something with your hands and enjoying the company. It’s important to be open to moments like these. They will recharge you.

Here is the recipe I used.

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 lemon extract,

Glitter to make it sparkly,

A couple drops of glycerin to add shine,

Food coloring if desired.

How to make it:

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.

Store in an air tight container. All of my batches of play-dough have stayed good for a couple months at least.

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