{this post contains affiliate links}Last week, while standing in the courtyard browsing our copy of 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids {as you do}, one of my mama friends mentioned wanting to start some simple sensory play with her little lady. Lucky for us, her first birthday was coming up, which allowed us the perfect opportunity to put together a taste safe sensory play kit for her!
Today, while out touring around Heidelberg, Miss G and I kept our eyes peeled for pretty winter nature items. As we came across different things, we added them to reusable bag and then continued along our way. Just the fact that things like evergreen branches and winter berries can be found here is a huge treat to our little desert-dwelling lady, so collecting a bagful with the intention of making a winter nature sensory soup was really exciting.
While Grae and I both seem to be extremely good at avoiding the terrible sicknesses that circle through our groups of friends, today she woke up with a runny, but congested nose. Since we prefer to do things the natural way in our house, the first inkling of a cold means a day filled with non-stop fruits and veggies, and extra powerful green smoothie, and a garlic-filled dinner. …Plus some sick kid sensory soup as of today – hah!
Today’s advent activity card invited Miss G and I to create a squishy snowman sensory bag, so that’s just what we did. Creating this adorable little guy is actually an idea I came up with back in October when I saw these sensory bags with slimy eyes, so I’ve been anxious waiting for quite a long time now and luckily Grae seems to share in my excitement when it comes to all things play-related.
By now, I think it’s pretty obvious that Miss G and I love to make and give homemade gifts. I love giving something unique that can’t just be purchased at a store, and I think we both love the process of coming up with an idea, collecting the materials, and putting it all together in a fun way. Our gifts are never overly involved {okay, with the exception of the portable activity packs maybe}, but they’re fun and normally aim to inspire play and creativity, which is very much us.
The fact that it’s fall doesn’t rule out ice cream shop pretend play, does it? Because today when Miss G realized that it had been a looong time since we last played with cloud dough {the last time probably would have been when we had our indoor beach kicking around}, ice cream play is what came to mind.
{this post contains affiliate links}This week’s book club book, We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, is a book that Miss G and I both knew, but not one we absolutely loved previously. Well, that changed this week. As soon as we watched the video of Michael Rosen performing his story, we couldn’t get enough.
While fall may not be in the air here in the desert, that certainly doesn’t stop us from pretending. One of my favourite things about fall back home in Canada {besides the crisp air, the colourful leaves, the scarves, layers, and boots}, is walking outdoors with my girl with a steaming hot chai latte in hand. It’s the way we began many of our mornings during our most recent two years in Vancouver… G would be bundled up in her stroller, I’d push her up the big hill on Fraser Street, we’d pop into Breka for my hot drink, and then make our way to a nearby playground where we’d stay for an hour or two. Ahhhh… Those were the days!
{this post contains affiliate links}This week of our preschool book club was a much anticipated one. Our book, Press Here by Hervé Tullet, has been a favourite of ours for a very long time due to its interactive nature, so we couldn’t wait to explore it further. If you’ve not read it before, each page requires the reader to complete an action of some sort before moving on to the next page to see what has happened to the dots {for example, ‘five quick taps on the yellow dot’ or ‘try shaking the book…just a little bit’}. Definitely a fun and unique book!
Since we already had a bunch of fun things leftover from this week’s classes at Bright Minds, Grae and I decided to put them to good use by creating a senses-themed play date for she and her little buddy from downstairs. Here’s a peek at our very simple materials…
We’ve made many beach-themed sensory bins in Miss G’s {almost} 3.5 years and I’ve got to say, they’re always a hit. I mean, who wouldn’t want a miniature indoor beach to play at, right?!
Today, after nearly 3 1/2 years, I had my first day back in the classroom, only this time it was teaching 1 and 2 year olds! The best part? I have the sweetest little teacher’s assistant I ever did see. ☺
{this post contains affiliate links}One of the things we love most about our living situation in Kuwait is the fact that Miss G has had a built in community of friends since we first arrived… A posse of munchkins that she sees and plays with everyday. Of course, lots of kids means lots of birthday parties, which means more opportunities to put together thoughtful, creative gifts, which both she and I adore.
{this post contains affiliate links}On Wednesday afternoons, Miss G and I are lucky enough to have one of her little friends join us for some afternoon play. While they happily engage in their own games and play for part of the time, I also like having a couple of fun invitations to play and / or create out for them to explore if the choose to. When I asked Grae if she had any activity ideas for our play date, she suggested that we play with the ocean items we collected at the beach last weekend. That was that – an ocean-themed day it was!
Cloud dough is an old favourite of ours. We started experimenting with it when Miss G was about 19 months old and she’s loved it ever since. If you’ve not played with it before, you must. It’s soft and silky and powdery, but mouldable at the same time, which is loads of fun. Pair it with some scoops, spoons, and small containers, and you’ll have some very happy kiddos.