{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’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.
Grae and I absolutely love putting together fun play kits as gifts, especially when they involve sensory play materials. While we’ve made a very simple homemade play dough kit previously, time around we decided to make the birthday boy a colourful kit filled with a rainbow of play dough and a bunch of fun tools and loose parts to up its play possibilities.
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.
{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?!
Gracen and I are lucky enough to have one of her little friends join us for an afternoon of play each Wednesday. They play quite well together, so I put a few things out for them to explore in advance, then step back to let them play, helping communication and sharing happen when needed. We always have a good time together, but the last couple of times I’ve noticed that together they plow through the activities I’ve set out (2 minutes of play dough! 1 stroke of paint! 3 minutes of water play!) and then look at me with eager eyes for something more.
{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.
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.
Oobleck, goop, goo, cornstarch paste… Whatever you call it, we’re huge fans! The cornstarch and water mixture has been a staple in our play repertoire for a long time now and it never fails to captivate those who dare to dig their hands in. With Halloween having just come and gone, we’ve played with it a ton lately. Sometimes paired with creepy crawlies, sometimes with giant googly eyes, and other times all on its own. It’s been loads of fun for Miss G and her little friends in the courtyard, so today we decided to try something different… Colourful SCENTED oobleck!
With an expat moms breakfast 30 to 45 minutes away on tap for early this morning, I wanted to be as organized as possible last night. I prepped the usual – stainless bottles full of water and a couple of healthy snacks – then went in search of something that Gracen could quietly play with while I chatted with some of the other moms. Lately, her new unifix cubes have been keeping her incredibly engaged and happy during meals out and over at friends’ houses, but I also don’t want them to lose their magic. ☺ While digging through our craft shelf, I came across some slime I brought from back home. (Yes, I brought homemade slime from Canada… I don’t know what that says about me, and I’m not sure I want to know either…) I packed it in one of my favourite interlocking containers from Daiso and then went in search of a couple of things to pair it with. The result was this little sensory play to go kit, which Gracen just loved.
One day, while playing with our well-loved pumpkin spice play dough, Gracen asked if we could have some friends over so she could share her new dough with them. She’s always adored having friends come over, and now that we’re in an apartment building filled with teaching families, arranging play dates is easier than ever. A play dough play date sounded like a brilliant plan to me, so I agreed and immediately started thinking about another fall-scented play dough we could create. I quickly remembered the apple play dough post I’d seen on Fantastic Fun & Learning, and knew that Miss G and her friends would enjoy something similar. Because I was on a bit of a roll with the dough containing real pumpkin, I decided our apple dough would contain real apples and would be further fall-ified by making it apple pie scented. The good news is that my mission was a total success! The dough turned out soft, squishy, and smelled deliciously of warm apple pie drizzled with caramel sauce – yum! In fact, as I was making it, Brad came into the kitchen with eager eyes and asked what I was baking because our house smelled so delicious. Oops.