Week 4: It's a plan! Dr Seuss

Colours: Pastels (explore mixing colours with white)
Letter: S
Shapes: Circle, Oval, rectangle
Sensory: water beads

 Lorax snack find inspiration here and here
Monday: Truffula tree forest
Tuesday: Hop on pop hop scotch and exploding chalk
Wednesday: One fish, two fish goldfish graphing
Thursday: The foot book craft, here is a whole bunch of activities
Friday: Yertle the turtle stacking

Shopping list:
Food colouring
waterbeads
tissue paper
popsicle sticks
baking soda
cornstarch
vinegar
sidewalk chalk
paint
glue
card stock
goldfish/ Swedish fish

Have fun everyone!
Tiana

Monday started off with the Lorax, we made a Truffula tree forest and had a Lorax snack

It was also a "good day for up!" We went to a local fair and rode the Ferris wheel

We read "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" and used some Swedish fish for graphing

We took the fun over to Gramdma's house and hung out with our little cousin. We read "Hop on pop" and then played with the water beads, and made exploding chalk

Of course the clean up so much fun too

Week 3: It's a plan! on the farm

Colours: green, brown, red
Shapes: square, crecent
letter: F
Sensory: Vegetable garden sensory box or muddy pigs
Science: Sprouting beans

Monday: Corn on the cob painting
Tuesday: Corn bread muffins (I am totally going to use a mix that I have on hand!)
Wednesday: Cow foot print or handprint
Thursday: red barn collage (Use an outline of a barn, children tear pieces of tissue paper/ paper and stick on)
Friday: Chicken mask

Shopping list:
Corn on the cob
ingredients for muffins
paint
paper
paper plates
tissue paper/ magazines
cotton wool
beans
things for the sensory box
or
cornstarch, food colouring and pigs for muddy pigs

Have fun everyone! 

Tiana

Week 2 : it's a plan! Exploring great artists

I have to give a LOT of credit to Red Ted Art, for this week's inspiration! Her projects are nothing short of fantastic!

Colours: Red, Blue, Yellow
Shapes: Circle, rectangle, triangle
Letter: A
Sensory: Free painting / window painting (Recipe here)
Science: melting ice cubes/ colour mixing (Make red, yellow and blue ice cubes, melt together in water with different temperatures)

We will look for works by the artists and discuss their techniques and use of colour before we do our crafts this week)
Monday: Anothy Gormley sculptures with play dough (seriously the best play dough recipe ever!)
Tuesday: Kandinsky finger painting  (This doubles as the sensory activitity!)
Wednesday: Jackson Pollack marble painting
Thursday: Picasso sandwiches (Cut slices of bread into circles, give children a variety of food to create their own self portraits)
Friday: Matisse cut outs

Bonus: Obliteration room  This was so cool, it needed a special mention!

Shopping list:
Red, blue and yellow paint
baby oil
flour
cream of tartar
food colouring
salt
bright coloured card stock
dish soap
glue sticks
scissors
circle stickers
large sheets of white paper
ingredients for sandwiches
marbles
shallow pan

Have fun everyone!

 

Tiana

Round up! 

Play dough, ready for the week! 

Cleaning the windows for window painting! 

There was a thunder shower outside, so we decided to paint on the inside! 

Isn't it lovely? 

Matisse cut outs 

Supplies for self portraits 

 We had an event this weekend called the "Art walk". Local artists line the side walks for several blocks. Here is Kermit appreciating his grandma's work! 

I hope everyone had fun this week! I am having a hard time getting anything done, the weather has been so gorgeous here, we just want to be outside! 

Tiana

The Ins and Outs of sensory play

One of my earliest memories is of playing in the mud and making cakes, then decorating them with pebbles, flowers and everything else I could find. I remember having an outdoor "kitchen" of sorts, where I would brew all kinds of concoctions. My Mom understood the importance of sensory play. I am so thankful for the experiences I had as a child, and I would love it if my boys felt the same.

Kermit has a love-hate relationship with messy things, he loves to explore, but has a severe aversion to getting his hands dirty. Keeping this in mind, I have tried to provide activities to get him a little more comfortable with being messy.

But why is sensory play so important? From birth, children learn through sensory input. Not only does sensory play stimulate all five the senses, it is a great avenue for basic math skills, early literacy, fine-motor skills, gross motor skills, cognitive development, development of self control and creativity. And it is so much fun!

Now that I have you all excited about sensory play, where do you start?
Well, sensory play does not need to be expensive! A simple sandbox or water tray with a few tweaks, can provide hours of fun! I once filled my sink with bubbles and measuring cups, Tadpole played there for nearly an hour! You can add all kinds of toys and even a little food colouring to make things exciting!

Another avenue to explore when planning sensory play is a sensory box/bin/tub/table. When I set mine up, I start with a filler, I've compiled a list of my favourites, but you can add whatever you want.

Think about things that your children would enjoy, ask for their input regarding themes and work around their interests. I try to add things that will stimulate as many senses as possible. 

In my opinion, sensory boxes have the same allure for children as a junk drawer, they simply love exploring all of the little parts and treasures they find. Add some life skills practise by adding scoops, tongs, spoons, bowls or containers that need opening and closing.

Here are some pictures of the sensory activities we've done in the past:

Ocean animals and foam 

Cloud dough and dinosaurs

Rice, coloured with kool-aid, on  a light table

A giant ice cube with clear water beads and trucks to clear the "snow"

Bubble wrap and shaving foam

Green and blue water beads with empty easter eggs and spoons

Fall

a giant ice cube with little plastic dinosaurs,
ready for excavation!

Ice cream

Dinosaurs

Halloween (coloured cooked spaghetti)

If you need some more inspiration, have a look at the sensory bins  from Counting coconuts, she has been a great inspiration to me!

Happy playing!

Tiana