Bean "Soup" Sensory Bin

I don't have access to a babysitter on Thursdays when I teach piano, so usually the boys either play and eat snacks in the dining room or K hangs out in the ERGO on my back or I turn on the TV.  I decided to try setting up a sensory bin to see if that would hold their attention for at least the first 30 minute lesson.

Materials

• Large plastic bin
• Egg carton with two plastic eggs
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Large spoons
• Small pot without lid
• Some plastic containers from the recycling
• Dried beans

I set this sensory bin up in the dining room so that I could still supervise them while I taught piano in the adjoining room.

The invitation to scoop, dump, and "cook."

Both boys were so excited to dig in.  J exclaimed, "Oh beans!  Mmmm...bean soup!"

Checking out the bin

Look at K measuring some beans.

This sensory bin kept the boys busy for a solid 20 minutes and I think my student was relieved to have had minimal interruptions.  However, things turned messy at this point.  J dumped the entire bin on the floor.  Then both boys started rolling and swishing the beans around with their hands.  They were having a blast, laughing and squealing, and the beans ended up EVERYWHERE.  That's when they abandoned the room, leaving this mess:

The aftermath

The sign of a successful sensory bin is always measured by the mess left behind.  And of course, our cat Scooter couldn't resist playing with the beans after the boys left the room.

Category: Preschooler, Recycling, Sensory Bins, Sensory Play, Toddler

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5 Literacy Activities Using Mega Bloks

I came across the idea of using Mega Bloks to promote literacy from Preschool Powol Packets by using a dry erase marker to write letters on the blocks.  Of course, I started brainstorming other ways to use them, so here are five literacy activities for toddlers and preschoolers using Mega Bloks.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Materials

• Mega Bloks
• Window markers or dry erase markers

I originally tried using dry erase markers, but I found that the letters rubbed off too easily.  Instead, I used window markers.  They dry quickly and don't rub off like the dry erase markers do.  And after many hours, they still cleaned up super quick with just a damp cloth.

I made 52 letter blocks so that I could have a full set of uppercase letters and a full set of lowercase letters.

There are so many ways to play with these blocks, but here are a few ways in which the boys played.

Literacy Activity #1: Naming & Identifying Letters (aka Toddler Play)

K was more interested in studying the letters and naming the ones he recognized.  I helped him name the ones he didn't recognize.  Then he started to build a tower.

Then he dumped out the whole container.

Literacy Activity #2: Letter Matching

Since I made both uppercase and lowercase letters, we could do some letter matching.

J tried this activity out for a bit and was, unsurprisingly, very good at it.  He's been a pro at his letters for so long so this part was easy for him.

Literacy Activity #3: Spelling & Reading Words

The blocks can also be put together to spell simple words to help your child practice their spelling and reading skills.  It would be a great way to practice sight words too!

Literacy Activity #4: Letter Sequencing & Singing the ABCs

J started building a long line by putting the letter blocks in alphabetical order, uppercase then lowercase.  Then J started running alongside his long line, singing the ABCs and pointing to the letters.

Literacy Activity #5: Letter Sequencing & Reading Dr. Seuss's ABC Book

After J built his long line of letter blocks, I thought it would be fun to read our all time favorite ABC book.  As you can see in the picture below, our copy of Dr. Seuss's ABC has seen better days.  It has been read every single day for as long as I can remember and it is in rough shape now.  Actually, when I picked up the book on this particular day, the cover slid right off.  Regardless, we read the book together and J pointed to the correct letters as we went along.  You could chose any of your favorite alphabet books, but we love this one. 

What's your favorite ABC book for children?  Tell me in the comments.

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Indoor Running Track

We are always on the hunt for indoor activities designed for active kids, like my boys, especially for rainy days and/or cold winter days.  

Kids like to run.  They need to run.  And I think it's great to give them a safe space to run, even inside your house.

Well, our dining room just happens to be laid out perfectly for an indoor running track.  There's lots of space on all sides of the dining room table and no obstacles.  All we have to do is tell the boys to run and they will start running.  Nearly every day after supper, J and K will spend a good 20-30 minutes just running around the table.  J often counts the number of laps that he runs or we take turns chasing each other around the table.  J will also run holding a pedometer.  When he completes a lap, he will check the pedometer to see how many steps he has taken.

They boys always get lots of exercise this way and J is becoming quite a fast runner.  Look at him go!

Full speed ahead!

K chasing J around the table

J running with the pedometer in his hand.

I know that it's not always possible to have a designated running space in your house, but consider pushing couches and furniture out of the way to clear a space for them to run on those days where it's difficult to get outside.  You could also make a start line and finish line using tape on the floor.  Or turn it into a counting activity and have them count the laps that they run.  Or encourage them to try other ways of getting around the track (e.g., crawling, crab walk, walking backwards, etc.).

Surface Tension Experiment

I came across this simple science experiment for preschoolers on Carrots Are Orange and just had to give it a try!  There's a good description on the original post about how it works, but here's the gist: when a finger is dipped in the dish soap and then placed in the pepper-covered water, the pepper will move away from the finger.

F grinding up some pepper with her two science assistants

Materials

• Large glass bowl
• Water
• Dish soap
• Pepper

My niece F was having a sleepover at our house all weekend, so I set up this simple experiment for all three kids to check out.

The setup

After explaining what the experiment was about, F started grinding up the pepper.

Grinding pepper

I encouraged the kids to dip their fingers in the pepper water to see what would happen.  F reported, "The pepper sticks to my finger."  J was fascinated by the pepper, "Oooh, pepper!"  And K...well...he soaked his hand in the pepper water and then licked it off his hands.  A science experiment with a toddler isn't successful until the toddler tastes something.

F and J then dipped their fingers in the dish soap and tested out what would happen now.  The pepper will move away from the dish soap, as seen below, which F thought happened "because it's magic."

The experiment didn't end there though.  J dumped the rest of the dish soap into the bowl.

Dumping in the dish soap

K then started using the mixture to clean the table, which was a bonus since the table was covered in little kid fingerprints.

Clean, clean, clean!

Then J and F mixed the soap and water vigorously to make some bubbles.

Mixing bubbles

F informed me that this activity was, "A FUN activity!" and asked to do it again.  Unfortunately, we were out of pepper so I guess we'll have to do it another day.

Category: Preschooler, School Age, Science Fun, Sensory Play, Toddler

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One Breast, Two Breast, Left Breast, Right Breast {A Parody for Breastfeeding Mothers Inspired by Dr. Seuss}

We love Dr. Seuss books in our house and we have been reading them almost daily since J was a tiny baby.  One book that we love in particular is "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."  It's so random and so fun.  When I was reading it most recently, I thought of a Dr. Seuss breastfeeding parody that I had read awhile ago.  I have also come across some other Dr. Seuss breastfeeding parodies since then. Anyway, I thought that this book would work well for a breastfeeding parody as well.

Breastfeeding Parody Inspired by Dr. Seuss

The book is quite long, so I only did the first part of the book (with a snippet from the last page), but here is what I came up with.  Enjoy!

**PLEASE NOTE: You must obtain written permission from me in order to repost this poem on your blog and/or social media. Failure to do so will result in a DMCA Takedown for copyright violations. Direct links (without sharing the entirety of the poem) are welcome and appreciated and do not require permission. You can contact me here.**

One Breast, Two Breast, Left Breast, Right Breast:

A Parody for Breastfeeding Mothers Inspired by Dr. Seuss

by Dyan Robson

One breast

Two breast

Left breast

Right breast.

Which one did

I nurse with last?

Which one will

have a letdown fast?

This one feels uncomfortable.

This one feels more pliable.

Say! both my breasts are capable.

Yes. Some are big.  And some are small.

Some nurse freely.  And some under a shawl.

Some get sore. 

And some make more.

And some have even nursed before.

Why are they

sore, make more, and nursed before?

I do not know.

Go ask a lactation educator.

Some nurse one babe.

And some nurse more.

Tandem nursing sometimes

feels like quite a chore.

From there to here,

From here to there,

I will nurse

my baby everywhere.

Here are nursing pads

to absorb leaking milk.

They absorb leaking milk,

both hind and foremilk.

Oh me!  Oh my!

Oh me! Oh my!

I leaked and now

my shirt's no longer dry.

Some nurse for days

and some for weeks.

Some nurse for months

and some for longer streaks.

When do you know when you should stop?  I can't say.

But a minimum of two years is what

the WHO recommends today.

We see them engorge.
We see them grow.
Some letdown fast.
And some letdown slow.
Some get plugged ducts.
And some do not know
The pain of mastitis when you feed 'er.
Don't ask us why.
Go ask your La Leche League Leader.

Say!
Look at the feedings!
One, two, three...
How many feedings
will I see?

One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven,
eight, nine, ten.
I've nursed eleven!

Eleven!
This is nothing new.
I feed when baby
gives the cue!

Pump!
Pump!
Pump!
Did you ever try to pump?
We have a pump
and it's a manual pump.
But
we know a woman
called Ms. Exclusively-Pump.
Ms. Exclusively-Pump has a double electric pump.
So...
if you like to go Pump!  Pump!
just jump on the pump of Ms. Exclusively-Pump.

Who am I?
My name's cradle hold.
Baby lays across your lap,
or so I have been told.

This is not good.
This is not right.
I am not getting
much sleep at night.

And when I am too tired,
Oh, dear!
Side-lying position works best,
I cheer!

Every day,
From morn to night,
I nurse my babe 'cause it feels right.

Other Ideas You'll Love

More About Why I Breastfed My Children Beyond Age 2

8 Poetry Books for Toddlers

Twas the Night Before Mother's Day Parody

This parody was inspired by these other Dr. Seuss breastfeeding parodies: Would You Could You Breastfeed in Public, Green Eggs & Ham for Nursing Moms, and How the Grinch Stole Breastfeeding Parody.

Ice Cream Foam Play Set

I love craft foam.  And I especially like that, when wet, craft foam sticks to glass, tile, or the bath tub.  As a result, it is a fun, easy, and cheap way to come up with homemade toys.  The other day I came up with a fun ice cream play set for the boys.

Materials

• Foam of various colors
• Ice cream scoop
• Container of water (or a bath tub)

Cut ice cream cone shapes out of a light tan/brown color.  Then cut out ice cream scoop shapes out of a variety of colors.

J is building a supreme ice cream cone.

I put all the ice cream parts into a container with a small amount of water in it.  I made sure to coat each piece with a little bit of water.  I also put out an ice cream scoop so that the boys could really pretend to be running an ice cream parlor.  I chose to set this up by the large window in our living room, but it works awesome in the bath tub too.

The invitation

J was so excited.  He loves ice cream.  So he started building some cute little ice cream cones.

Adding another scoop

Then he built a huge ice cream cone, with a cone on the top as well as the bottom.

I'd eat that ice cream cone.  Just sayin'...

And if you're building ice cream cones, it only makes sense to pretend to lick the ice cream...

Yum!

K also tried out the ice cream set.  He focused mostly on getting the scoops of ice cream to stick to the window.

Picking out a flavor to use.

It sticks!

Then, of course, it only made sense to make some ice cream numbers!

I tried to type something witty, but every time I typed
number 2, I thought of poop.  Clearly, I am a mom
and I have a childish sense of humor.

The number 3

A really awesome number 4

The next day, we used the ice cream set in the bath tub.  It worked great!

Bath time fun

Easter Egg Tissue Paper Bleeding Art

We decided to try the tissue paper bleeding art technique again after the Shamrock one turned out so well.  Since Easter's just around the corner, we did Easter eggs.

Easter Egg Process Art Idea for Kids

Here's what you'll need for this Easter art project:

• Water
• Tissue paper - We used some from my recycled tissue paper collection.
• Foam paint brushes
• Large paper eggs - Hand-drawn on some easel paper
• Embellishments: stickers, glitter glue, ribbon, etc.

I laid two large paper Easter eggs on the kitchen floor with the container of water, brushes, and tissue papers nearby.  J and K were already familiar with the technique, so they went straight to work.  F, on the other hand, had never done this kind of art before so she asked what to do and caught on right away.

The bleeding art technique goes as follows:

• Paint some water onto the paper 
• Place some tissue paper onto the watered areas 
• Paint the tissue paper with more water 
• Let the finished painting dry completely (Ours dried out over night) 
• Remove the tissue paper from the painting 

The idea is to cover the tissue paper completely so that the color bleeds out onto the paper.

A group effort on the first egg!

F doing an egg of her own

Two days later when F was over next, the kids went on to the next step.  They removed all the tissue paper and set about decorating their eggs further with some Easter stickers, glitter glue, and ribbon.

Decorating the eggs

Once they were done decorating, we cut out the eggs and here's how they turned out:

J's egg

F's egg

I really like this method of "painting" since it's so easy and cleaner than regular painting.  Have you tried this technique out yet?

Other Ideas You'll Love

Easter Light Table Activity for Kids

Easter Egg Sensory Bin, 6 Ways

Free Easter Bunny I Spy Printable

Spray Painting Snow

We still have snow.  A lot of snow.  Like a ridiculous amount of snow. 

Well, I was done with winter weeks ago and I have been itching to do some outdoor crafts with the boys again.  So I thought about the snow.  The plain white snow.  Could it be used as our canvas?!  Of course it could!  Here's what we did.

Materials

• Spray bottles
• Water
• Food coloring
• Snow

Mix some food coloring with water in the spray bottles.  I used quite a bit of food coloring as I wanted the colors to remain bright when we painted the snow.  J insisted on having purple paint, so we did purple, pink, and green. 

I sprayed some of the paint on the snow and set the spray paints on the ground by the snow bank.  Both boys love using spray bottles, so they picked them up right away.

The setup

However, J was only mildly interested in this craft.  He really doesn't enjoy playing in the snow unless we go sledding.  K didn't really try it out either since he preferred to taste the colored snow and/or bug my husband who was trying to shovel.  So maybe this idea would work better with older children.  Regardless, the snow looked so colorful and it got the kids outside to play for a bit.

Here's how it turned out:

Now if only the snow would go away...

Category: Crafts, Easy Crafts, Outdoor Play, Painting, Preschooler, School Age, Toddler

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Window Markers

Okay, I love window markers.  

Seriously.  

They are perfect for rainy days or snowy days or even sick days.  Or really any other day because they are tons of fun.  Plus, J loves the clean up part just as much as the actual coloring part.  They clean up so easy, even off surfaces that shouldn't be colored on like, say, a grand piano...ahem...just saying...

Usually, we use them on the mirrored closet doors in our dining room, but I thought it would be a good idea to switch things up a bit.  So I pulled back the couch in our living room and let the boys color on the big window instead.

J is loving whatever K is drawing

There is always lots of scribbling, colored fingers, and, of course, some number writing by J.  I was actually surprised that the first thing he did this time around was to write the word "SUN." 

The word "SUN" and the numbers 1 and 2 below.  Backwards N's are awesome, don't you think?

Coloring

K needs to use a lot of muscle to get those lids off!

Drawing and/or writing

Putting the lids back on.

As usual, they had a blast!