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Stone Soup
We just happened to have this book/cd set out from the library when everything around us got shut down. So in trying to think of something to entertain the kids we decided to use it! Audio books are quite new for them so it was kind of a treat to all sit together and listen to the book. After listening to the book we took out our witches cauldrons/ pots of gold/ soup pots (so multipurpose) and decided to make our own Stone Soup. We asked if they could remember how many stones were added in the story and counted out three rocks to add to each of their pots.…
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Play With Your Food!
Looking for a way to keep your kids busy, safe but entertained while you work or get something done? Extend snack time with a bit of fun – and play with your food! When they are done playing – eat your snack! Just make sure everyone has their own supply so theres no fighting over who gets to eat it (or germ spreading from kid to kid). All of these are super easy to set up – get in some playtime and continue the busy time by filling our bellies. Plus offer some great opportunities for picky eaters to gain exposure to new and different foods! “Candy” Necklaces Instead of…
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Activities You Already Have At Home
Stuck at home and don’t have any good craft supplies? Here is a great list to keep the kids entertained both indoors and out with things you already have around your house! Indoor Baths! Swim away, add some colors or bubbles (food coloring or dish soap can also work to make bubbles) Play-doh & kitchen toys (play kitchen or real kitchen stuff works here) – cookie cutters, cup cake pans, rollers, butter knives. It doesn’t matter what you bring out your kids will have a blast. We sit at the table to contain the mess a little bit. If you don’t have any cans of play-doh in house making your…
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Valentines
Sure you could give your kids a block of chocolate and call it a day, but we’ve been having a blast spreading the love with some of these valentines activities – just for fun with your kids or turn them into valentines to give to all the special people your kid loves! We opted for some multimedia valentines this year (because the beads and string I was hoping to work on bracelet making with turned out to be the wrong sizes for each other). But never doubt there are always plenty of ways to use your crafts! Instead we cut out some hearts and used our new stamp set to…
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Sensory Week
My kids have been showing more and more interest in pretend play – so this weekend I adjusted our toy bins to reflect that – removing the textured balls, sensory bottles, squeaky blocks and squishies and replacing them with things like toy phones/camera, glasses, dress up hats, baby care toys, play tools and doctor sets. With the lack of sensory play happening in our playroom I decided to focus all of our projects/activities around messy sensory play this week! But why do I care so much about Sensory Play? It is so important and good for your child’s development. Think about your own childhood or what brings back those memories?…
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Corn Three Ways
We had so much fun husking corn during our Fall activities that I thought creating our own corn would make a fun thanksgiving project! I just couldn’t decide which would be the best way to do it so we tried corn three different ways! The first one was definitely the best for my youngest little one. I cut out contact paper and added the husks (or leaves) then let the kids use our yellow pompoms to make the corn kernels simply sticking them to the contact paper! Great fine motor practice as we needed to use those pincer grasps but all around just a fun project they could all…
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Seasons – Fall
We had so much fun learning about fall! Living in New England it was so easy to go around and check out the leaves beginning to change colors as we get ready for “leaf peeper” season (when all the tourists flock to New England to see the leaves change). We took a great walk around our neighborhood and the “big” kids were able to collect lots of random leaves, flowers, and pine needles they found along the ground. We talked a lot about how the leaves change color and fall to the ground and were able to use some of the leaves we found on our “nature walk” to see…
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Music Week: Day Two
My babies are just LOVING music week! It’s been really fun to see my 15 month old really starting to sing full verses of songs and my two year old spontaneously singing full songs by himself or to his sisters. Today he was really into singing Happy Birthday to our youngest who turns one in just a few weeks! Time is really flying by… and while most of our day has been spent trying out our new jump pad (aka mattress pad) and singing our favorite jumping song, we did managed to do a fun musical art activity. We’ve been really working on turn taking with our instruments and our jumping…
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Music Week: Day One Songs
I find that we often get into song ruts in this house – even though as a friend of mine told me recently I “have a song for everything.” And it’s true I pretty much do have a song for everything from eating to driving to playing play doh – and will often get asked advice for songs from parents who are struggling to do something (like put their seat belt on). Even with all these songs kicking around in my head I find that I will do the same set of songs for a while forgetting about certain ones until they suddenly strike back up. They come and go…
