Glowing Egg Hunt!

Another Easter post just in time! Unfortunately I've been slowed down by my health this week so didn't get to put this up this sooner. However, this is really something that's fun for any time of year and particularly now we're heading into shorter days (here in the southern hemisphere) there's more opportunities for little ones to play after dark!

I got the idea for this alternative egg hunt from this post over at Play At Home Mom, and i'd been waiting a year for Bean to be old enough to try it! It's a fantastic alternative to a chocolate egg hunt for those concerned about the Easter sugar overload, and it's also great sensory play for little ones.

All it requires is:

• Plastic eggs (Available at dollar stores and supermarkets this time of year)
• LED lights (Available on ebay here and at Big W)
• A bucket or basket (From the sandpit!)

They don't look all that exciting before the lights go on but then....

...TAADAAAA! :-D So beautiful.

And the LED lights are super easy to do, you just take one out of the packet, twist to turn it on, and pop it into an egg...

...easy! Now to hide the eggs...

I chose to confine the hunt to one room so that i would have the time to set it up without being interrupted!

And since Bean is still very little and it was pretty late, I chose easy spots to hide the eggs...

Turn out the lights and let the hunt begin!

I didn't get many photos as it was so dark and I really just wanted to focus on guiding Bean through it, but I can tell you it was definitely worth the wait!

Happy Playing!

B xx

Easter Sensory Box

I'm finally getting round to posting this one after a very slow week - but just in time for Easter! We actually did this about a week ago and its still being played with now, although its layout has changed somewhat.

This sensory box was very quickly thrown together one day, as most of them are! Largely from items I already had in the cupboard and a few I'd bought a while back in anticipation of doing some kind of Easter themed play. The items included are:

• Furry Bunny Ears (Dollar Store)
• Paper Straw (Already had - available at craft stores)
• Plastic Eggs (Already had - available at dollar stores and Safeway)
• Easter Chicks (Dollar Store)
• Rainbow rice (Already had - home made)

And inside the eggs...

...Chicks!

Some big some small, and all different colours...

...Which Bean LOVED.

There was much excitement in opening each egg, discovering the chicks, and naming the colours...

...lining them up and counting how many...

...feeding them the rice and then pretending to be a chick and eating the rice as well :-)

Then the rice got poured into various containers I had put out with the invitation, and in the end when just the rice was left in the box she starting pouring and mixing in water as well.

Of course not forgetting the bunny ears - which inspired some pretend bunny play...

Priceless!

Happy playing and happy Easter to you all!

B xx

Pinkalicious Sensory Salt

I adapted the idea for this activity from on this recipe from The Imagination Tree. I've had it in the back of my mind for a while and then one morning Bean climbed up on to the dining table whilst I was clearing up from breakfast and began pouring out the table salt and drawing patterns in it...so I took the opportunity to redirect her with this!

Ingredients:

Table salt
Neon pink powder pigment (found on eBay)

All you do is fill a shallow container with salt then mix in a tablespoon or so of pigment...Et voila!

I set up the invitation outside because it was a sunny day, but this could also be an indoor activity with a dust sheet underneath for easy clean up.

Bean got straight to work pouring...

...and drawing in the salt...

...Then she decided to add some water from the nearby water table...

....of course the clothes got ditched after a while and she used the wet salt mixture to paint herself...

...which required some guidance from mummy about not getting the salt in her eyes!

Bean spent a good 45 minutes in focused play and exploration, and with the bright colour and interesting texture of the dry/wet salt mixture I think this is a really interesting sensory material to make. Its also pretty versatile in terms of varying the colour, adding glitter or other texture materials, or incorporating scent using dried herbs or flowers. We'll definitely be trying it again!

Happy Playing!

B xx

Rainbow Ice Sensory Box

Here in Melbourne we've been enduring an autumn heat wave, so when I was suddenly struck by the idea for this activity I couldn't BELIEVE I hadn't thought of it sooner! But anywhoo...

The rainbow ice sensory box was a big hit with Bean - who is currently obsessed with all things icey cold.  We ended up doing it twice in two days with different colors of ice and it was both beautiful to play with and a nice way to keep cool :-)

This was our first box, made with just water and blue, green, and red food colouring:

In the second box I opted for colours that would mix together better when melted, as the water from the first box ended up kind of black and grimy looking. So this one has pink, red, and yellow:

As the first batch melted we used the ice to draw:

Then with the second batch Bean requested we use the hammer! "BANG BANG BANG!" :-)

With the first batch we also put it on the light panel to add another sensory dimension (photo credit goes to Jake here! - I'm not this good):

But I just loved the way the colours melted together in the second batch - it looked like liquid sunshine...

This was a perfect activity for a hot sticky day, extremely quick to set up, and very minimal on clean up (FYI: whilst food colouring temporarily stains hands and clothes it all comes out in the wash)...

...Happy Playing!

Bxx

Water Beads

So...you may have noticed it's been quite some time since I posted anything! Well we had what can only be described as a VERY busy holiday season, which included overseas family visits and moving house right after new year...and I have to say I hope NEVER to be that busy again! 

But aside from all the mundane business we've also been busy at play, and I have loads of new stuff to share :-) 

I thought I'd start off with some fun we had recently with water beads! For anyone who doesn't know what water beads are this is a great post that explains the concept. I'd previously written a post about our first experience using water beads when Bean was much younger, but she was so fixated on putting them in her mouth I had to come up with a more edible alternative. 

Now at 22 months I figured it was time to give Bean another chance to explore this lovely play substance, and this time we had a blast!

I set up the invitation outside as I wasn't sure what the mess factor would be (FYI not too bad), and just laid out some scoops and lots of different size plastic containers. Bean loved handling the beads, running her fingers through them again and again, scooping, pouring, adding water, mixing, throwing, squashing...As you can see I didn't take many photos - I was playing too!

This is one of the most successful play invitations i've made in a while, and at only $3 for the water beads on eBay (including postage) its also the cheapest! The beads lasted for about three days of intense play and then started to get a bit mushy and break down.

 

Next time I plan to try them inside on the light panel for an extra sensory dimension...so stay tuned :-)

Happy Playing!

B xx

Cloud Dough Sensory Tub

Today I tried my hand at making cloud dough - which is really less like a dough and more like a moldable silky sand. I actually can't believe it's taken me this long to make, because it's SO easy and a really beautiful and interesting play substance. All you need is:

• 4 cups of plain flour
• 1/2 cup of oil (vegetable or baby oil)
• 2-3 tablespoons powder paint
• Glitter (optional)

Literally all you do is put the flour, powder paint, and glitter in a mixing bowel, add the oil and use your hands to mix together until it resembles bread crumbs. Done!

It feels wonderful to touch and can be molded to shapes much like wet sand (but far nicer consistency and no way near as messy!).

Today I decided to make my fist 'Sensory Tub' for Bean, using the cloud dough as a base medium. If you haven't heard the term 'Sensory Tub' before you can read more about the concept here. Our sensory tub is just a plastic storage box at this stage (although I have plans for bigger and better things to come!), and can be filled with all sorts of different substances and items for open ended play that also stimulates the senses.

For my first try at the sensory tub idea I wanted to create a little desert type scene, so I filled my box with:

• Yellow glitter cloud dough
• Coloured plastic shot glasses
• Glass pebbles
• A variety of scoops
• Some toy animals

I also put out some different size containers and a plate for scooping/filling.

I decided the test run for this play substance would be best executed outside, as I wasn't sure how messy it might be and it just so happened to e a beautiful sunny day! It was also the first activity we've done in Bean's newly set up outdoor messy play area (which, at the moment is just a low table I found on eBay with a box full of paints, paper, brushes, chalk, etc underneath - it's a work in progress!).

The first thing Bean picked up were the animals...

...Then Lion and Tiger had a little chat...

...Next she explored the different scoops and containers...

....scooping and pouring...

....touching and tasting...

...of course some of it got poured on the ground, and that was ok (LOVING the outdoor messy area for this reason!)...

...She then decided to 'feed' some of the cloud dough to the chalk animals I had drawn for her on the ground that morning...

...It looks like very pretty pollen on the Bee...

...she also found another scooping implement to use! 

This was a really successful activity, and Bean is still totally excited about playing with it three days later. Definitely will try some more variations on the cloud dough soon...and now i've seen the sensory tub idea in action there will be MANY more to come! Oh yes! Such a simple and creative concept for open ended play, and only limited by your imagination.

B xx