I discovered the world of Sensory Bins! Not only amazing for the kids but pretty wonderful to put together for them and watch them play, and play, and play.
Sensory Bins and Bags: I Spy, Ocean Blue and an African Habitat
First we made a sensory bin. Thank you Pinterest for this blog list of some great sensory bins. Since my son was 3 years old he loves playing with small toys (you know the ones with warning labels not for under 3 years old). Ya those! Well he is very into fine motor skills play and is well aware of not putting things into his mouth. So I grabbed my newly empty bin (from my Lenten Giving Up on Giving Up Clean Up) and added some bulk bought rice that is ages old. Even now at age 4 he loves those small figurines, so I grabbed a few miniature animals and trees.
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But then - I also added some pouring and measuring spoons so he can dabble in a little math while he plays. The first time out, I played with him for about 10 minutes to also
Introduce the sensory bin:
- talk about each animal that went inside, their habitat (for example hippos love the water and giraffes eat the leaves off of trees
- and safety rules (of Course) don't let the baby near it
- call mom for help
- don't put anything in your mouth
- keep the rice inside the bin
- and you can only pour the rice and animals inside the bin
- when you take an animal or spoons out make sure to wipe off any rice.
- Close the lid to the bin when your finished and come get mom.
Even tho he's playing about 6 feet away from me I still encourage them to come and get me whenever they want to show me something they made/created.
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| African Habitat Sensory Bin Areyousureaboutthatblog |
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| Baby Girl Sensory Center, bowls and a spoon and spatula, for making music: Areyousureaboutthatblog |
Our 1st sensory bags. OKay so I went crazy, over 3 days we had to try everything to see what we liked best....and we love it all. My inspiration for these bags came from Growing a Jeweled Rose here and Mama OT who has a list of over 40 sensory bag ideas here.
The red I spy bag has some knick knacks from around the play room and through our clean up process mentioned here. Its 1 cup water, 3 drops red food coloring, 1/4 cup baby oil and lotsa fun items. Confetti in a winter theme with sequins snowflakes, a bat, and rabbit. There's a green lobster and a blue alligator eraser. A red disk from some broken plastic gun, lotsa glitter and sequins.
Don't over fill the bag, it should still lay flat and thin. Seal the bag and then apply clear tape. Fold over and tape again. Ours unfortunately leaked from very heavy use and was transferred to a bottle. Very cool results! The die from the blue alligator (I think) came off a bit and made the baby oil in the bottle blue, the water stayed red....great for my 4 year olds color mixology obsession right now.
The blue bag is 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup baby oil with 2-3 drops blue food coloring (which gave it that amazing blue beautiful texture. Glitter, and some SOFT fish toys with their corals form the bath tub play set. Baby girl loved this. I had to monitor her NOT to put it in her mouth. BUt the little baby oil that spilled on the bag helpedeep her at bay too. Seal the bag and then apply clear tape. Fold over and tape again.
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| Our 1st sensory bags - Red I-Spy complete with poem and the Blue Baby Oil Ocean Areyousureaboutthatblog |
Lastly is a GREAT sensory toy from walmart of all places (I do like them :-) for $5. The plastic sticks shape molding. You know you can push your face in to see your image. We keep this in the kitchen table and everyone loves to try it and use it. Even mom and Dad!
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| Baby girl loves this plastic sticks shape molding frame, areyousureaboutthatblog |
Keep playing those games and having fun with your kids.
Update: September 18, 2013
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We've made more Sensory Bags here, learning about the different properties of oil, water, gel (dissolves) and paint (changes waters color). See more here. We love sensory bags and bins, there a frequent "go to" activity.
While there are crazy amounts of Pinterest crafts and books to buy with science, arts and craft ideas, you can find ONE great idea and make it over and over again. Each time to craft will vary a little, and kids are building on there experiences from the previous time. Don't feel the Pinterest Pressure to do it all, pick one and do it over and over again works too.
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Our family has had many adventures through the years. Mom, the @Minstr0Interior had an a-ha moment . . . Suddenly I See what we will have filled our life with, ADVENTURES! We travel, craft, sing, dance, collect insects and spend loads of time together. Sometimes too much time together. Our kids have recently begun to document their own adventures, and so this channel was born. Enjoy our adventures. Or not. WANT MORE? If there is a blog post accompanying this video we will share it here. Sometimes we will include the ingredients list of the craft or recipe, or the itinerary of our trip. In the meantime click play.
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The days are long, but the years are short - Chinese Proverb.
Make Mistakes. Breather, Reflect, and Laugh.Out.Loud.
Originally published in Febuary 2013
The days are long, but the years are short - Chinese Proverb.
Make Mistakes. Breather, Reflect, and Laugh.Out.Loud.
Originally published in Febuary 2013
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