Feeding the Monster

Confession Time: I sometimes stress about whether I am giving the Bug the best learning opportunities I can.

I recently read an article about how over scheduled our lives have become and how important free play is for our children. We're actually inhibiting their creativity by over-teaching and over scheduling so I took a step back.

The Bug has TONS of toys for a kid who hasn't lived through Christmas or a birthday yet and while I often feel that he needs this or that, I decided instead of setting out centers for him, I was just going to set out his toys. I had previously labeled the baskets and took those off because there aren't baskets for every shelf so some stuff was out plus, he doesn't get them... (Really he just wants to eat them...) So now, I rotate the toys around. In and out of baskets, on the floor or on the shelf. The sensory/art stuff is still out of reach except for the activities I set out but I leave his sensory table open most of the time.

So he has recently become obsessed with "feeding the monster". I'm super helicopter on him with this because 1. the only caps we had a lot of were baby food pouch caps which fit in his mouth, and 2. when he's done feeding the wipe box monster, he likes to feed himself...

As he picks them up, I say what color he is feeding the monster. For an older child, I would count or add letters!

There are currently 4 of each color cap (yes I had to find a pouch he'd eat so we had the whole rainbow...) so we try a little color sorting when he's first starting.

I was worried about where his fine motor skills were because he was so focused on gross motor skills. Guess what? It all comes. 

There is such a difference between reading in books, teaching in a classroom, and having your own child. I know what he should be doing (he's doing it all and more) but when I see or hear about another child doing something he's not doing, I'm like PANIC. But seriously, he's almost 11 months now and he's walking well. He's starting to say "all done" and "that" and he can grasp objects and drop them.

Mayo Clinic says between 10 and 12 months, your child will be improving gross motor skills, have better hand-eye coordination, have new cognitive skills, and an evolving language. So don't compare your child to mine- compare your child to him/herself! If you are ever worried, don't hesitate to talk to your pediatrician!!! The earlier developmental delays are caught, the easier it is to help and the more access to resources there is!

Sensory Boards Part 2!

A while back, I posted about sensory boards that I had made for the Bug and he still loves them all but we thought we'd add a few to the set!

Up first is his Christmas board! It's the Bug's first Christmas and Christmas is so magical so I made him (and a friend) Christmas themed sensory boards!

There are all sorts of things on the board most from the Dollar Tree/Target with bows, pom poms, pretend greens, ornaments, and anything that looked like fun! My favorite part of the Bug's board is the box in the middle (on the black)- the lid comes off but is attached with a bead necklace (like the green one on the white board) so the lid can come off and be put back on! 

The center of the white board has a "peek-a-boo" window made from the top of a Pampers wipe lid (the travel ones) and was the first thing the friend we gave this board to went for!

  

  

When the Bug woke up from his nap, he was pretty excited! He was a bit disappointed when he realized he couldn't hold everything...

So a friend and I found mini foam boards at Walmart and since we've been going to a class where the Bug sits in his stroller, I thought some mini sensory boards would be perfect!

I wanted to separate colors (and spent a long time looking through my stuff to figure out what worked best) but I thought it turned out pretty nice! I did add glitter to divide the colors after I took pictures but the Bug used it and shared it with some other kids at class- it was popular!

Because the small ones came in a pack of 3, I decided to try to make the Bug a peek-a-boo board! I used Puffs lids (the center is a Boogie Wipes lid) and put pictures underneath.

Peek-a-boo!

 This one was also popular at class today! I recommend using wipe lids as the Puffs lids were super hard to attach because of the space between them and the board!

BONUS: The Bug has been obsessed with watching Daddy in the workshop lately so he's getting his very own busy board for Christmas! He has seen it since I'm horrible at surprises and he's 10 months old so I'm not worried (I mean, he was with me when I bought most of his presents...) I'll update and add more info after he gets it in 2 weeks!

Candy Cane Rice

One of the Bug's very favorite sensory bins is rainbow rice but with the holidays approaching, I wanted to give it a little holiday spirit! I put half a bag of white rice into a plastic bag and added 15 drops of red food coloring and 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract.

We shook the bag until the rice was covered and then I used the plain rice and the scented rice to make candy cane stripes in the sensory bin. I happened to have some plastic candy canes so those went in to!

The Bug dove RIGHT in. He tried a plastic candy cane and mixed up the rice. We added some green eggs and other containers for him to fill and dump (his new favorite game!)

He played for quite a while and the more he played, the more it smelled like peppermint!

What are your favorite holiday smells???

Snow Day!

Tis the season and in New England, we're feeling it already! The weather turned to full on winter just before Thanksgiving and we got about 6 inches of snow in our area so the Bug got to try out all his snow gear!

My in-laws gave his Daddy's old sled and the Bug has enjoyed it since he can't walk in the snow...

After our snow play, we did some finger painting. Before we started I hot glued some snowflake designs onto the paper to give it an interesting texture and because paint doesn't stick to it.

I had tried an edible fingerprint recipe and it's not as awesome as Pinterest makes it out to be and it's not something that can be stored for long time use (I made a HUGE batch in every color) so that was sad.

There was lots of eating so I am on the lookout for nontoxic paints (I want to try these but I'm not sure they're cost effective...).

After a nap, I decided it was time to introduce play dough. At 10 months, he is younger than most but he's slowed down on eating things a bit so we tried!

Just making the play dough was quite the sensory experience- the Bug helped measure and mix the ingredients. 

1 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

1/2 cup water 

food coloring

Mix the flour and salt together. (This matters because the salt absorbs the water to give you the dough!) Add food coloring to water then mix slowly into flour mixture adding more water or flour if needed. (We often need to add more water or flour until we get the right consistency.) 

The Bug enjoyed using some winter cookie cutters with the play dough.

He did eat some but I know what's in it so I wasn't worried.

Mommy thought it would be fun to build a snowman so we added some sprinkles to our play which the Bug thought was pretty neat!

And Captain Destructio strikes again!

The play dough lasted about 20 minutes which surprised me! He did keep trying to eat it but he really liked exploring it so we'll be trying out play dough again soon!

Why Sensory Play is Important for Babies, Toddlers, and Kids!

I came across someone with a kiddo the same age as the Bug asking why sensory play is important and I realized that all through my time as a preschool teacher, the importance of sensory play was expressed but never explained. Even with my MAEd program, it was never fully explained so I did some internet research because I know it's important but I needed to be able to explain WHY it's important!

Babies come into the world expecting to explore through their senses- they touch/feel, see, taste, smell, and hear everything going on around them. It's how they learn so increasing their opportunity to learn is every parent's dream! Highscope (a childhood education company) describes sensory play as "food for the brain" creating stimulation that brain development.

As babies grow into toddlers, they start to learn about cause and effect and sensory play has major benefits. "What happens when I dump this cup of sand?" "What happens when I shake a cup of rice?" As babies and toddlers explore, they develop fine motor skills through grasping at sand, rice, and other materials. Language skills thrive during the toddler years and sensory play can play into that by giving children a chance to describe what they see, hear, and feel in new ways.

These benefits continue as children grow- preschoolers continue to develop new language skills and start to explore more complex scientific reasoning and math skills. They can discover what happens when 2 things are mixed, explore measurement, and so much more.

We incorporate as much sensory play into our days as possible. The Bug LOVES sensory boards and we've been making and using them since he was about 3 months old! I rarely buy things for them and instead look around my house and ask my mommy friends if they have things I can use.

The Bug and his first sensory board! 

 

A slightly more involved sensory board (though mostly fabric scraps from my mom!) but this one is still used almost daily!

A Christmas themed sensory board made at the suggestion of a friend!

This is the first time the Bug sat up without us holding him up... He wanted to play with that sensory board enough to sit!!!

A nature themed sensory board! The Bug loves to be outside but sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate so he gets to explore (washed) items from outside!

 

The Bug and his first sensory bin! He hadn't developed a pincer grip so the rice just fell through his fingers meaning eating/choking wasn't an issue!

Before he could sit on his own! We use cookie sheets for everything- they're so versatile!!!

Playing with sand!

Edible water beads from Fun at Home with Kids!

Texture crawl!

Colored pasta with different shapes (Wacky Mac)

Water and Toobs animals!

Fabrics

Oats

Textured finger paints!

Spaghetti

Oats and Cinnamon for an added scent sense!

All of these bins are baby safe (so taste safe) so get ready to get messy! If you are afraid of the mess or nervous, get a shower curtain liner that your kiddo can use to make a mess on because nothing can replace these sensory experiences!

Peel and Stick Pictures

The Bug is finally reaching the point where if I do something, he will try to repeat it which has opened a whole new world of activity options (but he still puts everything in his mouth so I have to watch that...) I wanted to do a sticky paper activity and seeing as we had just gotten 6 inches of snow, (and I had white felt...) we tried some peel and stick snowmen! 

I precut out the circles and drew the face and buttons on both side of those circles. First I put on one of the snowmen and tried to get the Bug to do the same but he was more interested in peeling off the snowman I had put on so we put both snowmen on the paper so that he could peel and stick.

He was interested in the contact paper (bought in the shelf liner section at just about anywhere!)

The he realized the snowmen were a fun texture too!

Then he decided to stick them back on!

This activity lasted for a LONG time compared to what normally happens with my super mobile 10-month old (seriously, never encourage your child to walk before they're like 2...) and once he was done, we peeled it off the lid and used it as decoration on the window!

Sensory Table Makeover

Since the Bug started moving, he hasn't been nearly as interested in his sensory bin or really anything that means sitting still so I found a picture on Pinterest of a box like ours inside a wooden holder to keep it off the ground so I convinced Daddy that the Bug needed one and it was done by the time nap time ended!

We used the same box and measured it as well as how tall the Bug could use it comfortably before we began then cut the pieces and put it together. Because this can differ greatly box to box and child to child, I don't have real directions but there are two 2x4's underneath to hold the box and everything is cut at angles.

I painted it red (I have an insane number of Home Depot samples in colors no one should ever use for a room) and it has become one of the Bug's favorite spots again! Sand and spice shakers were a hit though I'm glad he doesn't know how to unscrew the caps yet because any sand in the shakers ended up on the floor...

To celebrate fall, oats, cinnamon, and apples! The Bug loved this bin a lot- I think adding sense of smell helped!

We are still very careful to keep our sensory bins "edible" though I still discourage eating anything. The Bug is only 10 months so he SHOULD be trying to eat things (it actually more worrisome when kids don't try to eat everything at this age!) Some other ideas for baby safe sensory bins are:

*cooked spaghetti

*dry rice or pasta (this makes some nervous but rarely does my very mouthy child eat much. I also use vinegar and food coloring if I dye pasta at all)

*cool whip 

*play sand (hardware stores sell PLAY sand, be careful with non play sand!)

*oats or other cereals (we like Kix and cheerios)

*water or ice

Check out Fun At Home With Kids with lots more baby safe sensory play recipes!