Last week's theme was birds, this week's was Sensory. Everything is truly sensory, but these activities encourage sensory play and may be new experiences for the girls. The week's schedule took some twists and turns (all good), so I didn't get all of the things I had planned done and I switched some activities ( we added playdough, cookies and sensory bags, didn't get to homemade finger paints and lavender cloud dough - there's always tomorrow !). Over all, it was a good week and we had plenty of fun! : )
Day 1- Shaving Cream Painting on the Window
When C and FL saw their aprons come out they got excited!
They dove right in to painting!
FL went back and forth with having fun and not being so sure about her crazy American mom and her hairbrained ideas...
C was all about it!
It was a good sensory experience eventhough we ended up smelling like a bunch of old men - choose unscented if you do this activity! ; )
It was pretty messy in the sense that shaving cream got evverywhere, but it was fairly easy to clean up. I gave them too much at one point. Next time, I'll put them in their bathing suits and give them a little less! : )
C would have put it anywhere and everywhere if she could have!
FL didn't like that she couldn't get it off of her hands easily. I had to agree with her - it was hard for me too and I wasn't even playing in it!
We ended up sticking other objects to the window because I overloaded them with shaving cream. : )
Foam letters, paint brushes, cups, plastic coins, junk mail credit cards - it was all fun!
You couldn't see out of the bottom half of the windows when we were done!!!
My windows got cleaned really well afterwards (and the girls liked that part, too!) and this is most definitely an activity that we will revisit (but with bathing suits and maybe in the bathtub!).
Day 2 - Water Beads with lavender oil
I saw this idea on another website, but originally discovered these at my cousin's wedding while they were putting together centerpieces. Everyone loved playing in the beads!!!
I added some lavendar oil because I heard that could be calming (and who doesn't need more calm these days?). I really hoped the girls would like them...
And it was a hit! One of my daughters struggles with being overwhelmed by new activities. She doesn't know what to expect, and predictability/familiarity is her security blanket these days. Totally understandable.
Both girls love, love, loved the beads and the scent. Even Sam and I liked them!
They did bounce out from time to time, but you can just rinse them off and reuse them over and over.
We love the beads and I plan to keep a container of them on hand at all times. They are great for children (and adults!) who just need a little redirection when overwhelmed or overstimulated. Also good for tired children or when you just need to get dinner on the table!
I put aprons on the girls for the first time, but they weren't necessary.
All in all, our family gave this activity five stars and eight thumbs up!
Day 3 - Sensory Bags
This was another idea I saw online I thought the girls would enjoy. They did!
I set the timer for 5 minutes and we switched bags at those intervals.
One bag had shaving cream and food coloring, the other soap and beads. I was worried about the soap and bead bag getting punctured or torn, but it withstood light use.
FL really liked the shaving cream bag. She kept picking up her hands and looking at them to make sure she didn't have anything on them! : )
C liked the beads. The shaving cream bag went bad after a few hours and the bead bag started to leak where it was sealed and taped over and over with packing tape. I might do the shaving cream bag again, but I will transfer the soap and beads to bottles for the girls to play with. It was fun, but didn't keep them interested for very long.
Day 4 - Texture Table/Cookies
Textures are great to explore physically, but I also enjoy textures visually and wanted to introduce that to my children early on. I searched the house for flat, textured objects that we could make crayon rubbings with and taped them to the table. ( Grams, do you see your old wallpaper here?!)
The girls could not wait to see what I was up to - all I heard was "Mama Mama Mama Mama!" during my entire prep time! : )
I let them explore all of the objects with their hands first. They weren't quite sure what I had done with their table!
C and FL enjoyed the process, but the crayons I chose weren't the best. Something wide and flat with no point would have been better for this age group. They kept wanting to use the pointy tip which didn't reveal the pattern.
They did have fun, though! This was a hand over hand activity. I helped each child with each texture object. My girls' fine motor skills are on target for their age, but they lack a little strength and coordination for this particiular project. I think if we did it again in a few months' time with different crayons it would be spot on!
The rubbings came out well, but the prep work took longer than the activity!!! ; ) Our favorite items were corrugated cardboard, a used up sticker sheet of stars, flat lace, canvas and canvas wallpaper.
I have to confess that C and FL's favorite part was helping me peel off all of the tape and put everything away! Well, I guess that's a sesory experience, too!!!!
Day 4 Part 2 - Cookies!
We came, we baked, we ate! Round Two of trying to make cookies for a neighbor, and no, they never made it! That's ok, because I love baking with these two sillies, and they love eating cookie dough and chocolate chips! They jumped right in with so much excitement when I told them what we were doing. : )
Someone even agreed to have her picture taken with a smile, albeit a silly one!
It was a good way to end a busy week!
Thanks for taking time to post this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking time to post this.
ReplyDelete