Homemade Musical Instruments

Ok so what kind of kid blogger does homemade musical instruments with her three year old while the 6 month old baby is asleep??

Me that's who!

Oops.

Apart from the fact that we woke the baby up with our instrument playing, this activity was so much fun. I'd been wanting to do it for ages. I had been gathering and collecting materials, and finally had the time this week. 

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10+ Cool Activities to Keep Busy this Winter

Ok confession time. This blog post has been sitting in my drafts folder for a whole YEAR! I had this idea that I'd do two wintery themed blog posts - one about Fun Activities to do Indoors which actually got published (but could do with an update mind you), and this one. So it's time to actually get - it - done!

I love seasonal themed learning, it's a great way for children to explore their changing world through their play. A four seasons round up post is also currently in the drafts folder!

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Snowflakes 

An oldie but a goodie! Miss M is obsessed with folding and cutting at the moment and she's finally learnt how to use scissors, so naturally she loved these. She took care of the folding, and I just held it for her while she cuts. Great for decorating windows!

Want more? Glue popsticks together to create a snowlake like this one at Childhood 101.

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{SENSORY PLAY} How to make it cool for big kids

Sensory Play is a term define an activity or play experience that stimulates one or more of a child's senses; sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. Common sensory play activities include play dough, rainbow rice/pasta/beans, finger painting and sand. It's often messy, and most children love it!


All images used with the Blogger's permission

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Sensory Play Ideas | For Christmas Week

Christmas is nearly here! My little miss has enjoyed some Christmasy sensory play this week.

For something different (and just because it was in my pantry) I dyed some risoni pasta with red and green food colouring (hand sanitiser and few drops of pine essential oil was the best method I found - sets the colour and smells like Christmas). I raided my left over Christmas decorations, craft box and bits and pieces we had around the place and made her this sensory bin. Big success!

I thought a Christmas discovery bottle would be lots of fun for my little nephew (8 months old). I popped some of the red/green risoni pasta in with some jingle bells, red/green pom poms, red glitter and scrunched up cellophane. I hope he'll like it!

Last year (before I had my blog), I put together these treasure baskets - one red and one green. Thought I would give it another go, just with bits and pieces from Miss M's toy boxes. As I've mentioned previously on the blog, sometimes the same old toys presented in a different way can seem new, interesting and visually appealing to babies and toddlers. Older children could find the items themselves - set them the challenge! Count how many objects you found or make a pattern - red/green/red/green.

My last batch of playdough was getting a bit old and tired, so I thought it would be a perfect time to make some more. I made it with the traditional red/green Christmas colours in mind, but thought white would be fun as well. When you provide your little one with colourful decorations - they really stand out against stark white playdough. Some cookie cutters in Christmas shapes and loose parts completed this play experience for little miss.

If you're still thinking of a gift to give a little person, whether it be your own, a niece or nephew, or a friends child - consider giving the gift of sensory play (sometimes called 'sensory kits' if given as a gift). Children have so many toys already - why not give something handmade and a bit different?

Happy play.
Lauren :)

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT (my favourite link up I must say - if you're a blogger get onto it!)

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We're Going on a Bear Hunt | Bringing the Story to Life

Soooooo...my surname is Hunt. Ever noticed? That makes my teacher name "Mrs Hunt". The number of times I hear my name each day at school is too many to count. Funny story - when I returned to teaching after getting married over the school holidays, my first lesson with the children was "We're going on a Bear Hunt" to help them remember my new name in a meaningful way. We kept it simple, read the story, had a giggle about "Mrs Hunt" just like the "Bear Hunt", and the children re-told the story using the following sequencing cards from kizclub. Little people figurines and a teddy bear completed the story props.

I also found these pictures and key word cards from Sparkle Box (click image to download)

I came across this little you tube clip of Michael Rosen (the author) performing the story. Will definitely use this next time I read this story. He is so animated!

We're going on a bear hunt - Michael Rosen performs.

This is such a fantastic text to incorporate some sensory play! One simple Pinterest search gave me several great ideas that I'll definitely use in the classroom one of these days :)

Discovery Bottles

From L-R

• Grass - green shredded paper
• River - water with food colouring, oil and blue glitter
• Mud - self explanatory
• Forest - twigs and leaves
• Snowstorm - cotton wool and white rice for the sound effects

Sensory Bins/Trays

Simply use the above discovery bottle materials but put them in five separate plastic tubs and allow the children to engage their sense of touch as they play and re-tell the story. Some alternatives include actual grass clippings, or shaving cream for the snowstorm!

Here's an example, just in one big tub - this image is from my guest post over at Childhood 101 (click link to read more).

Sound Story
Add your own sound effects...

• Grass - Swishy Swashy (broom)
• River - Splish Spash (water bottles)
• Mud - Squelchy (jelly in a bottle or container)
• Forest - Stumble trip (bang a pot with a wooden spoon)
• Snowstorm - Hooo wooo (blow into a bottle)
• Cave - Tip toe (bang the pot softly)

Art Work with Water Colours (Learn with Play at home)

Image used with permission - click for image source

Drama - get up and act out the story! Walk around the classroom and pretend that you are walking through each of the different textures. So great to engage the imagination! I picked up Miss M from Child Care one day and got to observe the children acting out the story in the yard.

Why not make links with Bill Martin Jnr / Eric Carle's book "Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?" Remember my Eric Carle post way back when? Or what about the traditional fairy tale "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"?

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt" is such a wonderful repetitive story, which is key for establishing early reading skills. It helps the children predict what comes next, while engaging and immersing them in the text. I'm sure you've heard of this book - why not try it with your child or class?

Thanks for stopping by :)
Lauren

PS This is the first time I'm linking up with a super Aussie blogger Essentially Jess for #IBOT (I blog on Tuesdays). Not sure if I'll be able to stick to it for every Tuesday, but I'll give it a go!

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Food Colouring Fun | More Sensory Play Ideas

Sensory Play is becoming a regular activity in our household...and we are loving it! I've built up my resources and figured out a great way to manage the mess. I'm really enjoying watching the cogs turning in my little toddler's mind as she plays, and then asks for "more" by signing (incase you're wondering, we've also taught her "eat", "all gone" and "toilet" in baby sign language).

I've posted back in February about making rainbow rice and rainbow spaghetti for sensory play, and this week I tried coloured macaroni. The difference between this and the rainbow spaghetti is that it's dry rather than wet and slippery. Such a feast for the senses - sight, sound and touch!!

I searched around a bit and tried three different methods -

• simply diluting some food colouring in water
• food colouring with vinegar
• and food colouring with alcohol hand wash

I simply put the liquid in a container with some macaroni, shook it around a bit and left it out to dry on paper towel. I must say the pasta that I mixed with water became a bit sticky, and the vinegar had quite a strong smell (although many bloggers say that if you leave it out in the sun for a bit the smell will almost disappear). So the best result was actually the hand wash!

I had two things in mind for the rainbow pasta - a sensory bin (above) and a new discovery bottle (below).  Click this link for my other discovery bottle ideas. I was all enthused to create some new and interesting discovery bottles for my little miss, as they loose their appeal after a while.

From L-R Gems & Glitter | Coloured Pasta | Pom Poms & Rice | Paperclips & Foil | Oil & Food Colouring.

It's also lovely to combine plain pasta with other sensory materials such as lentils, beans and oats.

From L-R Macaroni | Oats | Red Lentils | Red Kidney Beans | Penne Pasta

So - my secrets to keeping the mess to a minimum, is to set up for sensory play outside. However it's winter here in little old Adelaide at the moment so my alternative is on the kitchen floor inside a little sand pit/ball pit/paddle pool/clam shell whatever you like to call them. It certainly contains the mess and makes pack up quick and easy. I'm currently modelling and teaching my toddler to use a dustpan and broom to pick up any stray sensory materials that might escape the pool (one of the key Montessori approaches to early learning is 'practical life' - ie washing dishes, cleaning up etc).

And there you have it - some simple sensory play ideas with items you may already have in your pantry :)

Thanks for reading
Lauren

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Discovery Bottles | Baby Play & Homemade Toys

At around 5 months old, my little one became very interested in my plastic water bottles, so I used this opportunity to create a couple of 'Discovery Bottles' for her and I've added to our collection over the past few months.

The possibilities are endless of what you can fill the bottles with. Think visually appealing, colourful, things that make noise, things that are fun to look at when you shake them, things you have in your pantry or around the house. As babies get a bit older, you can include hidden items that they can search for, find and discover!

Here's my version of Discovery Bottles, the idea that I got from a couple of mummy friends. There are loads of other examples on Pinterest (or Google Images) if you just do a search.

1. Green/Red Rainbow Rice 

(stay tuned for an upcoming post about how to make Rainbow Rice)

2. Water, dish washing liquid and gems

3. Colourful pom poms

4. Torn and scrunched pieces of alfoil

5. Dry pasta

6. Food colouring with glitter 

(you can add oil to this one for a lava lamp effect)

7. Colourful paper clips

8. Twisted sparkly pipe cleaners

*** It's very important to always supervise babies when playing with homemade toys. For extra safety with Discovery Bottles, glue the lids on, especially when babies are transitioning to the toddler phase and may be able to remove them.

***UPDATE
I just remembered an idea I've heard of for the glitter and water discovery bottles. This technique might be handy if you use a 'time out', 'naughty corner' or 'thinking chair' approach with your toddler or young child. If your child is doing the wrong thing, angry or frustrated, remove them from the situation and take them to the 'time out' area. Tell them to shake the bottle as hard as they can (to help manage expel some of that frustration). Then they need to watch the glitter gently fall down to the bottom whilst taking some deep breaths. When all the glitter has fallen to the bottom of the bottle, they may return to the activity (toddlers and very young children find it difficult to stay in 'time out' for very long). For older children who may need a little longer in 'time out', simply tell them how many times they need to repeat shaking the bottle and watch the glitter (eg 4 times for a 4 year old).

Thanks for reading

Lauren

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