Insect Scooping

To go with Xander's Bee Theme, I dumped his Insect Toob and water beads into the water table.  He had a great time scooping and playing with them.  

When the day got warmer, I added water.

  

 All lined up and ready for a swim.

Look what I got! 

Butterflies! 

Fishing for Shapes

As I said in this week's Tot School Post, we are having an off week.  We're not doing our normal activities, but we are still managing to sneak in some educational fun!  I took the shapes from his Playskool Shape Sorter and put them in with his water beads.  I gave him a mini strainer and let him try to scoop them out.

While he had fun trying to scoop them, he had more fun pointing to the shapes I would say.

Water Beads - Not Just for Toddlers

Last week I posted about Xander's water beads.  Well, over the weekend my brother came home for spring break and brought his girlfriend and a friend.  Xander had his water beads out and they were all captivated!  More then once they exclaimed how cool the beads were and how they were jealous of Xander's awesome toys.  My brother probably played with the beads for at least half an hour.  Goes to show that those cheap little beads were a great investment!

Water Beads

I am sure anyone who has been following any mommy blogs has seen at least one post on water beads.  I saw a few, but filed it away as an idea for when Xander got older (he is 15.5 months).  For some reason, though, I got it in my head this weekend that we should try them.  For anyone who doesn't know, water beads are these little beads that swell with water, intended for decroative plants and vases (similar to those found here).

When I first poured them out, I was incredibly skeptical.  I saw no way those tiny beads could swell to hold as much water as the package claimed.  I was also a bit disappointed at how long they take to sweel (4-6 hours).

Fortunately, I was proven wrong!  Those tiny beads did in fact swell to absorb all the water.  I added a spoon, some scoops, and some cups.

Expecting Xander to get really wet, I put the container on a vinyl tablecloth and put on his art smock.  It turns out I probalby could have gotten away without it, he didn't really get that wet.  He had an absolute blast though!  He played for over half an hour and kept wanting do to it more throught the night.  I love the great practice it gave him spooning and scooping.

SO excited!

As he was sitting next to the bin of beads, he started trying to put his foot in.  I decided to take his socks off, roll his pants up, and set him in it.

His facial expression while standing in the beads.  Needless to say, he wasn't such a huge fan.  However, once I set him down to play again, he tried to put his feet in again.  Go figure.

I bought a container for our beads that had a tight fitting lid.  I was able to snap it on and contain all the supplies so we can use it again and again.  I have read that if they start to shrivle, you can just rehydrate them.  I am definitely glad I tried this activity!