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Showing posts from February, 2016

DIY Shopkins soap

need~ muffin tin (if you use that it is better to rub some coconut oil on it so they do not stick, or you could just use a non stick tray) few Shopkins clear glycerin soap essential oil (we used lavender) Start by melting the clear glycerin soap in a microwavable bowl for 30 seconds or until melted. Then pour into the molds. This part you can do two different ways.  You could just fill the whole thing like I did for the Moo milk and then just place the Shopkin or you could fill half way and let it dry then place a Shopkin and then more soap. Either way you do it if you want to add essential oil make sure to add it before it dries. Once done let it sit in a freezer for at least half hour & done~

Sensory balloon with water beads

This by far is one of my favorite things to make and play with now. It is so easy and pretty durable for play time with kids. All you need is a big balloon,water beads and a soda bottle. First make the water beads. I filled a bowl with water and let mines sit over night to make sure they are the biggest they can get. Once they are done fill a empty clean soda bottle little over half full with the beads. Next blow up the balloon as big as you want but make sure its not too full or it might pop at the next step.  Next place the balloon on the filled soda bottle. I found it easy to have help with this step so the balloon wont deflate, but it is possible to do it alone. Then turn over the bottle and gently pour the water beads into the balloon. Once all the beads are in tie off the balloon and done!  This was such fun. My kids loved rolling it around and trying to bounce it. It has a really neat feeling and can withstand a lot of rough play. We still actually have it and plan on takin

DIY EOS pocket hand soap

NEED~ Food coloring (will not stain hands once cooled) empty eos container (the middle needs to be taken out, easy way to do this is with a knife so be careful) any kind of essential oil you like (we used lavender, only need few drops) glitter (if wanted, it does not come off when washing hands) clear glycerin soap (I got mines at my local craft store) Steps~ First place the top of the eos in bottom, this will make it stable for pouring and cooling. Then place the middle piece in the top. (make sure you place it back in correct so it closes still) After done take a chunk of soap, place it in a microwavable bowl for 30 seconds.(until melted) Make sure you have enough as once the soap is cool you can not add more, it will not stick together.   This is when you need to move quick as it will harden quick. Mix food coloring and essential oil then pour into eos. Pour enough so the middle piece is covered. Let cool in fridge for at least half hour.  & Done! Just snap the bo

Planetarium in a box

needed to make~ Big box black construction paper paint (color of your choice) decorations of your choice I pad/ kindle fire anything that will allow you to play a video   Start off by cutting a hole big enough for a child's head and maybe even shoulders to fit into. Then cut a hole on top just big enough for the device of your choice to fit without falling in.  Now is the fun part and the part that is kid friendly...Decorate your planetarium any way you want. We painted blue then used black glitter and yellow paper stars. Once done let dry. After that find a nice dark spot and a great video to watch and have fun! 

Lego numbers

Great way for a Lego lover to work and learn with numbers. You could also make a plus and subtraction sign to add to this learning experience. 

Baking sheet+bath time

While doing one of our actives recently I found out a baking sheet is great for a bath time table. It floats and can carry many toys around like a boat. :) lol Both my kids enjoyed messing around with it and seeing how much it could hold before tipping over.

li'l woodzeez toy review

Li'l woodzeez is little woodland animals that have all different sets to inspire hours of play. Recently we got two different sets to try out and see if it was worth the money.  First we got the farmers market. (seen below) It cost $20 at my local Target and from the looks of their website Target is the only place to buy. ( http://www.woodzeez.com/index.html ) Has 97 bright and colorful pieces and is for ages 3 and up.  There is a fish, dairy, and produce section which makes for many learning opportunities.  The next set we got it the birthday play set, costing $10. Once again everything is really cute! Some things me and my daughter loved about this set is the ice cream(that fits in the ice cream bucket and spoon), the drinks (they do come out of the cup, so when the party is done they can be "cleaned") and the gift.(the teddy bear does come out and fits right back in the box!) Again all bright nice colors and very sweet. This one does come with birthday bu

Soapy ice play

this play time activity is easy to recreate and can be done inside, outside and even in the bath. All you need is kid soap and a muffin/cupcake tray. The soap I used was all ready colored but if you get one that is not try mixing food coloring in to make it colorful. Pour soap into each section and freeze. Once frozen run under warm water quickly to make it easier to get the cubes out. Few of ours melt pretty quick but left behind a soap ice mixture that had a real neat feeling. After some play it was taken into bath time. The bottom left picture was how it looked after most melted. (we used a baking sheet to play with them on) You could also turn this into a color mixing lesson if wanted.  Note~thinking if you add some water into the soap before freezing they would stick longer/melt slower.  

Learing with cars and poster board

This was a quick thinking activity that I used for my son so I could get dinner started. On poster board I drew a small race track on one side, counting circles on the other, and in the middle color lanes. I then asked him if he could place the correct number of cars in the circles and put the same color cars in the middle lanes. He loved it and it was easy enough to store away to play with another time!

Shopkins Ferris wheel

Need~ Popsicle sticks one big straw hot  glue shopkins baskets play doh or clay  wooden dowels Step 1~ Make two A sides (make sure they are the same size) Step 2~ Make two sides of the wheel, again making sure they are the same size then hot glue together. Step 3~ Cut a one inch piece of wooden dowel and a once inch piece of straw. Glue the dowel to the middle of the wheel and the straw to the top of one of the A's. Do the same thing for the other side. So when done you should have two A's with straw glued to top and both sides of the wheels with a piece of dowel glued to the middle.  Step 4~ Holding one side of the wheel glue on 6 pieces of dowel so it looks like above ^ (ours was little longer then the shopkins baskets itself)  Step 5~ Add the baskets. Season 1 &2 work best. Then add glue o each dowel and place the other side on. Let dry Make sure to have the middle dowels on the outside  not the inside of the Ferris wheel. 

Fine motor skill Valentines active

Fine motor skill is the coordination of small muscle movements. Usually involving the synchronization of hands and fingers with the eyes. In this craft we cut out paper hearts (cutting practiced)  and colored dots all over them. After done my son placed stickers on each dot, counting as he went.  After he put his name on them and will be giving them out for Valentines day. 

Valentines day sensory bin

This was a idea you can remake in all different ways.  We used shaving cream, sprinkles, food coloring, toys and candy hearts. You could use whipped cream to make it all edible, glitter rather then sprinkles, and other toys you have on hand. We were able to talk about a few of the 5 senses in this activity.  Smell of the shaving cream, touch of the different things included, the way everything looked for sight, and the noises the shaving cream made when squeezed in their hands. If you use whipped cream you can cover all 5! This was a great before bath idea and lasted awhile for us, until mommy said it was bath time.  note~ the toys we used are called num noms, bought at our local toy store. 

Home made real strawberry play doh

need~ 1 cup of cut strawberries 1 cup of salt 2 cups of flour 2 tablespoons of oil 1 cup of water place all ingredients in a pot  over  med. heat and stir...must admit I did not stir to often ..maybe every two mins...play doh will be done when it is no longer sticking to the mixer  spoon. Let cool before play. idea~ maybe add sprinkles next time just for fun. It is all edible but I am sure to much salt to taste any good.  <3  

Fingerprint Valentines day card

Matching/adding game for Valentines day

Match up adding game using paper hearts we made and cut out    heart emoticon

Hole puncher hearts

great for practing fine motor skills we added a string to ours and taped them to the windows