Simple Baby Bin - Balls

The other day I had a day where I just wasn't feeling great.  To keep Archer occupied, I got out this simple ball bin.  It just has a bunch of ping pong balls and plastic golf balls.  I threw in an empty tissue box, a silicone ice cube tray, a paper towel toob, a basket and a large plastic serving spoon. Since I took the picture, I also added a little metal container I found at Hobby Lobby. 

This little box has gotten SO much play!  He loves putting all the balls into the containers and then shaking them out (all over the room).

He also enjoys climbing into the box to play!

Edible Moon Sand Sensory Bin

Xander has been having epic battles with his Toob knights lately, so I was inspired to make a sensory bin with his Powhatan Indians Toob (one he picked out last time we had a good Michael's coupon).  I also threw in a few pieces from his Wild West Toob.  I saw this "edible" recipe from Surviving a Teacher's Salary and decided to give it a try.

I used about 2 cups of flour, 2 cups of corn meal, 4 T vegetable oil and 4 T corn syrup, but will probably add some glycerine next time, to help hold it together.

Both boys ended up playing for a long time. Xander played with the figurines, Archer ate played with the sand (he thought it was delicious).  While it does have a fun consistency and will do some clumping, it isn't quite like real moon sand.  I was thinking of adding some glycerine next time, to help hold it together.

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13.5 Month Learning Shelves

Here are the most recent shelves in our playroom.

Top left has knobby balls and stepping domes, then is his little car ramp and tobbles.  Top right is a shapes sound puzzle (which is a huge favorite right now), middle right are sorting disks a friend was kind enough to let us borrow.  Bottom right is our ice cream set.

We used the stepping domes and knobby balls to practice sorting colors.

With Xander's help we also balanced them.

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Oobleck - Not Just for Big Kids

Xander had a friend over the other day, so I decided to whip up a big batch of oobleck (cornstarch and water).

I set it up outside with plates, bowls and funnels. 

The big kids had lots of fun, for a long time. 

Archer decided he didn't want to be left out.  He ended up sitting at the picnic table playing for much longer than I would have thought.  Granted, he did eat quite a bit of Oobleck, but that's kind of its own sensory play, right??

Books on the Shelf: Fourth of July

These were last week's Books on the Shelf

To get in the spirit, we did a bunch of books about the Fourth of July, the flag and the Declaration of Independence.

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Early Readers: Playing Outside

I've been working on making early readers for Archer.  I wanted books that have big clear text on its own page. I have also been making them in Spanish. This one was all about playing outside.

I think I have finally settled on a format I like!  This book has horizontal pages (which makes using a 3 hole punch so much easier), with words on the right and pictures on the left.  I printed on cardstock and laminated the pages. Then, I used a 3 hold punch to make the holes and used 3/4" binder rings to "bind" the books.  

You're free to download the files to use with your little one:

Playing Outside - English

Playing Outside - Spanish

Playing Outside - English and Spanish

You can see my other Early Readers here.

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Oat Sensory Bin

Archer was 12 months

Lately, I have been making more of an effort to do sensory activities with Archer.  We're SLOWLY getting him to stop putting things in his mouth (still have a long way to go), so I thought maybe we'd try a more traditional sensory bin.

This simple bin had some oats for the base, a scooper, a plastic ramekin, some squeezy tweezers and his sand and water wheel. I put down an old plastic table cloth for easier cleanup. I modeled how to scoop oats into the ramekin and wheel.

His favorite thing to do ended up being just holding up some oats and watching them fall.

While he didn't play all that long, I think it was a great start to sensory bins!

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