Blog Archives

Find the Grinch’s Heart

11/30/2016

Read or listen to:
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss.

Directions:

1) Place a red candy into 3 or 4 spots in the ice tray.

2) Mix green food coloring and water together.

3) Pour mix into ice tray. Place in freezer and remove when frozen.

4) Place ice cubes into a plastic tub or sensory table.

5) Tell the child to melt the ice with the salt to find The Grinch’s heart.

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Jingle Bell Feet

11/26/2016

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1) Cut ribbon into two 6-inch pieces. String the bells onto the ribbon.
2) Place the infant in an appropriate area for play.

3) Tie the ribbon in a bow around the child’s feet.

Note: Please provide appropriate supervision to the children in your care when completing all activities. You will need to decide what types of activities are safe for the children in your care. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when providing art and sensory experiences for children. **Always monitor children during the activity.

Early Childhood Education Courses Online

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Water Play for Infants

11/23/2016

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Water play is probably my most favorite sensory activities for children of all ages, there is just something so engaging and relaxing about playing with water. This is a safe and creative way to add water to baby’s sensory play.

A lesson plan is available for this project at www.Lessons4Learners.com.

Baby girl was a little hesitant about the water at first, but warmed up to it after a few minutes.

The rubber toys kept her interest while she explored touching and splashing the water.

Babies don’t need a lot of water but it can be a good idea to keep an extra supply nearby in case it gets splashed out.

When babies first interact with the world, they don’t have the words to describe what they encounter, but they do absorb information through their senses.

Sensory play can help babies build vocabulary and understand language. By using words and questions that relate to the child’s experience, the early childhood professional can link sensory experiences with cognitive growth.

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Toddler Threading Station

11/15/2016

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Prepare for the activity by cutting the straws into inch long pieces. You will want around 50 pieces or so. Put all of the pieces into the large bin. Place the pipe cleaners in the bin as well.

A lesson plan is available for this project at www.Lessons4Learners.com.

1. Invite the child to thread the straw pieces with you. If this is the first time the child has been exposed to the concept, show them how the straw piece goes onto the pipe cleaner.

2. Talk with the child during the entire activity, asking questions and introducing new vocabulary words.

Threading is a perfect activity for practicing fine motor skills and and hand-eye coordination! You could also use this opportunity to encourage sequencing and color recognition.

How long did it take them to successfully get a straw piece onto the pipe cleaner?
How many pieces were they able to string?

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Baby's First Sensory Board

11/10/2016

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This little gal was propped up using by rolling the end of blanket for more comfort during the activity.

A lesson plan is available for this project at www.Lessons4Learners.com.

She found the different textures intriguing, from the hard plastic to the fluffy pom poms. She also was happy to see our faces down on the ground with her.

Just shy of 3 months, she was able to spend several minutes exploring before letting us know she had enough.

Please provide appropriate supervision to the children in your care when completing all activities. You will need to decide what types of activities are safe for the children in your care. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when providing art and sensory experiences for children. Infants and toddlers require special caution, only use non-toxic materials, and do not allow children to put things in their mouths that are a choking hazard.

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Put Me in the Zoo Sensory Bin

11/7/2016

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Water beads are slippery, squishy fantastic fun and an engaging sensory activity for kids of all ages.

A lesson plan is available for this project at www.Lessons4Learners.com.

Caution:

Water beads are used in flower arrangements and although they are nontoxic, they are not edible and a choking hazard. It is important to provide appropriate supervision to the children in your care when using water beads.

You may want to consider using homemade water beads for this project:

Safe Water Beads for Toddlers by Teaching Mama (a recipe for homemade safe water beads)

Just a note, we haven't had a problem with kids putting water beads in their mouths at all. Even the youngest toddlers have understood that its not food. However, they do like to throw them. And, that puts our puppies at risk of finding them and consuming them. Water beads are one of the most fascinating sensory materials. It will keep children engaged for a long period of time. Please use caution while using water beads no matter what the age of the children.

Water beads can be purchased in the floral section in most craft stores. We bought ours on Amazon.

Add various scoops, bowls and cups.

Have you used water beads with the kids?
Share your experiences.

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Scarecrow Game

11/5/2016

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Simple Sand Sensory Bin

11/3/2016

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This is a perfect activity!
Kids will have tons of fun sifting and pouring, while working diligently on thinking and problem solving, developing sensory motor skills; as well as practicing small motor skills and sorting skills.

Create the sensory bins by adding all the materials to the plastic bin. Place the bin in an appropriate area for play and encourage the child to play with you.

As they explore, talk about what sorting means. You can ask questions like “why do you think people sort things?” to get the child thinking.

Early Childhood Education Courses Online

Sensory Bins 101 (ECE)

$28.50

Enroll

Playdough: Building, Squishing and Mixing (ECE)

$19.00

Enroll

Teaching Preschool Math Using Manipulatives

$31.50

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Transitioning to Kindergarten

$31.50

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Turkey Reading and Memory Craft

11/1/2016

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Find a comfortable spot and read I Love to Gobble You Up!

1) Paint the child’s hand and stamp it onto the paper.

2) Clean the child’s hand off.

3) Repeat with 3-4 different colors. These stamps will act as the feathers

4) Paint the child’s foot using the brown paint and stamp it down onto the paper.

5) Allow all of the stamps to dry.

6) Cut out the stamps and glue together to make a turkey.

7) Glue on googly eyes and a beak.

Baby girl enjoyed cuddling up with the book and feeling the soft felt on the pages with her fingers. She even gave us a few coos when reading!

During the memory craft, she seemed to enjoy looking at the different colored bottles of paint and interacting with the educator. A few of our older friends even stopped by to say “Hi” to her during the activity.

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