Snow Inside

Since it had not yet snowed yet I decided to make some snow for Little Man. When I taught school one of my students' favorite things to do was clean their desks with shaving cream. I gave Little Man some shaving cream and he had a great time spreading it around. We talked about how it is white like snow. Little did we know the snow was going to be here soon! : )

Christmas Playdough

Little man loved when I made the apple pie scented playdoh during the fall when we were talking about apples. So I thought I could make some Christmas playdoh. I just followed the same recipe but added just cinnamon and some glitter instead of the other spices. He loves using the cookie cutters to make shapes and sticking beads and buttons in the playdoh.  Here is the recipe:


1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
red food coloring
1 teaspoon cinnamon
glitter

Stained Glass Leaves

It has been very wet and rainy around here lately. We have been doing all these things with leaves and had not had the chance to get outside and actually play in the leaves. We finally got out and collected some leaves. Afterwards we made some leaf murals. I taped down a piece of contact paper (sticky side up) and gave Little Man leaves to stick to the contact paper. We talked about the color of the leaves as he put them on. When he was finished I put another piece of contact paper on the other side to seal the leaves in.

Fall Sensory Box

I have not put together a sensory box for awhile and honestly now I don't know why!! Little Man LOVED this fall sensory box. He mostly enjoyed putting the beans from the bottom into a bowl and then back into the box. Who knew!?!?

In the box I included red and brown/tan dry beans, fake pumpkins and gourds, fake leaves, and some fall cut outs. It was fun to go through the different things and name them, talk about their color and shape. I got most of the things from the Dollar Tree so it was a pretty cheap set up. I plan on keeping it around for awhile for when I need a minute to make a meal or take a breath. : )

Contact Paper Leaf

We have started to talk about leaves since all the leaves are changing and many falling now that it is cold here. To start out our time about leaves Little Man did some more dot painting from 2 Teaching Mommies' Leaves Unit.

Since it was rainy outside we weren't able to go out and collect leaves so we made our own leaves. I gave Little Man a piece of contact paper (sticky side up) and some pieces of torn up construction paper. He then stuck the construction paper on the contact paper. When he was finished I put another pieces of contact paper on top to seal it in. 

Then I taped an outline of a leaf on top and cut out the leaf to make the leaf shape. When we were finished we talked about the colors and how they were like the colors of the leaves outside. 

Sensory Apples

Little Man is starting to repeat many words that are said to him. So it is fun to expose him to new things and name them for him. Today we had a sensory experience. I used a cut out of an apple and made four different textured apples. I made a bumpy apple out of bubble wrap. A sticky apple out of  contact paper. A soft apple out of cotton balls. Lastly, a rough apple out of sandpaper. Little Man and his friend enjoyed touching the different apples and saying the words. 

Bug Smash

We had fun smashing bugs in Play-Doh. We then played hide and seek with the bugs by hiding the bugs under the Play-Doh. We also counted the legs on all the bugs. We even put bugs on our head. This was a great way to introduce bugs. : )

G is for Green Easter Grass

To recognize St. Patrick's Day we have started doing some green activities. The first one was a hit with little man. I picked up some Easter grass from the store for $0.28 and he had a blast. We talked about the color and how it felt, what we could do with the grass, and just played in it.

Red Tinsel

This was a really funny sensory activity. I just put some red tinsel on little man's tray. We talked about the color and what he was feeling. He liked it. 

Valentine Sensory Bin

If you have not noticed I enjoy sensory bins. Little man also likes them. He likes to dump them, shake them, fill them, and dump them again (dumping is his favorite). This one was so easy!! It was the first time we used pasta and he really liked it. The dog also liked it (he ate the dry pasta). I just threw in a few "Valentine" items and there you have it. We talked about the textures he was feeling, the colors he was seeing, and we also dumped and filled many times. 

This is how it ended up. I will be finding dry pasta on my kitchen floor for months. : ) 

Soap Mud Fun

I was inspired for this activity from The Imagination Tree. Although it seemed daring I figured it was doable. It is called Soap Mud. All you do is grate a bar of soap, tear up a half roll of toilet paper, and add a little water. Mix it all up and you have Soap Mud.

It was really fun to play in. I just put a sheet down on the floor and it was an easy clean up too.

And then the clean up...

Snowflake Painting

In Oopsey Daisy's W is for Winter Mommy School packet she has an activity called Snowflake Painting. This is such a cute idea but I felt like it was a little daring to do with little man. But we survived. : )
All you do is take painter's tape or masking tape and make a snowflake on a white piece of paper.

I then taped the paper to little man's tray.

Put a little blue washable finger paint on the paper and showed him how to spread it around. (Had to put the bink in because blue hands went straight for the mouth. )

I even gave him a sponge paint brush to try to show him how to paint a little.

It was a little messy but easy to clean up and we ended with a fridge worthy product!! (Aren't they all though?)

Snow in the Tub?? Shaving Cream

While going through Oopsey Daisy's W is for Winter Mommy School packet I found an activity where she suggests letting your child play with shaving cream as fake snow. I knew with little man this could be a huge mess. So I decided to put him in his bath tub with just his diaper on and put the shaving cream in the tub with him. He loved it!! He even wanted some of his toys to join in the fun.

When he was all done I just turned on the water and cleaned him up.

Number Two Texture Cards

To talk to little man about the number two I made six number two texture boards. I actually used the cardboard you find in a new pack of construction paper. I cut it into six sections and used glue to draw a number two on each. I then sprinkled each with a different household item.

Winter Sensory Box

Little man loves new textures so when I saw the Winter Sensory Box in the W is for Winter Mommy School packet from Oopsey Daisy I knew that was right up his alley. It was a very easy activity and something that could entertain little man while I worked on dinner. All I did was find white items around the house. In our Winter Sensory Box I included silver wrapping ribbon, fake Christmas decoration snow, cotton balls, tissue paper, and Kleenex.

I introduced each of them to little man and we talked about the color and the texture he was feeling. I then put him in the bin with all the items and he was free to explore.

Winter Words

Continuing on our journey through W is for Winter from Oopsey Daisy we did a texture activity called Winter Words. I used glue and wrote out winter words and sprinkled sugar on the glue. Before giving them to little man I read the word to him and spelled it out while pointing to the letters. I obviously know little man cannot read these words but he loves the face to face interaction.

I gave him the words and then tried to help him draw his finger over the words and spelled them out again. He liked to feel the texture and eventually crinkle up the paper. : )

 

I then put a little bit of sugar on little man's tray and let him play with the "snow". We talked about the texture. It was fun until he decided to put his sugar covered hands in his mouth. ha! I do want this child to sleep. So we had even more fun by taking a bath in the sink (one of his favorite things!)