Drinking Straw Sensory Bin

Today's sensory activity is a bin full of drinking straws. It's clean and fun. 

I got the idea here: http://www.icanteachmychild.com/drinking-straw-sensory-tub/

I got the straws from Ikea. It was a package of 100 for less than $2. I thought that one package would be enough but now I wish I had picked up two bags. At least now I have an excuse to go back to Ikea!! 

Supplies: bucket, straws, measuring cups, tongs, spoon, strings

First I cut up all the straws. It took a little longer than I thought, maybe it was a good thing I only had 100!

Then I let Monkey explore. At first he was just touching all the straws with his hands. They make a pretty neat noise when you run your fingers through them. 

Then he started using the tongs. They are one of his favourite tools. 

 

Next he was scooping and dumping with the measuring cups. 

I wasn't sure if he would be interested in stringing the straws onto the rope. We've never done any sort of beading together and I'm not sure if he's had any experience with it at daycare or preschool. He knew what to do though. 

I really like how clean this sensory activity was and the fact that now I can pack the straws into a bag and we can use them again later. I've already got plans to use them for some art and for a patterning activity as well. 

Mar 

Rain in a Jar

Today we did a really neat science experiment. It didn't turn out exactly the way I thought it would based on the pictures and instructions we followed, but it looked super cool and Moneky loved it!

I found the idea here: http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2014/02/rain-clouds-in-jar-experiment.html?m=1

This is a great blog for all sorts of activities but I especially love the sensory ideas.

Supplies: shaving cream, glass jar, food colouring, droppers, plastic containers

First we made the cloud. I filled the jar 3/4 of the way with water, then topped it off with the shaving cream. 

Next we got the water ready to fill up the cloud. We had four small plastic dishes which I filled with water. Monkey added s few drops of food colouring to each one. 

Now we were all ready to go. We used the droppers to fill the cloud with the coloured water. 

We had to stick the droppers right into the shaving cream, otherwise it mostly just ran down the sides. 

You can kind of see in the pictures that the food colouring was sinking down through the cloud and into the water. It took some time to get enough into the cloud for this to happen, just like real clouds filling up with water before they rain. 

It looked awesome!

Once we were done with the cloud, Monkey was itching to get his hands into the shaving cream. So I transferred everything to our sensory bin and told him to go nuts!!

I can handle a contained mess :)

So this activity turned from a science experiment into a sensory activity. No complaints here!

Mar 

Egg Carton Lobster

I've had my eye on this lobster craft for a few months but I kept forgetting to save an egg carton! I finally remembered to keep one so today we did our second last sea creature for our ocean mural. 

I got the idea here: http://www.preschoolactivities.us/sea-animal-craft-idea-for-kids/

Supplies: egg carton, red construction paper, red paint, paint brush, red pipe cleaner, googly eyes, glue

First I cut a section of three bumps from the egg carton for the lobster's body. 

Then I got Monkey set up with the lobster body and the red paint. 

He started painting and after a few minutes asked if I would help. 

Once the body was completely covered in red we left it to dry.

I got to work cutting out the claws and tail from the red construction paper. 

I drew them both first, a whole claw with the paper folded to get two, and half the tail with the paper folded so it would be symmetrical. 

Once the paint on the body was dry, I poked two holes on top for the antennas. Then Monkey helped me glue the eyes, claws, and tail on, and put in the antennas. 

I love this one. Now all we have left for our underwater mural is a... shark!!!

Mar 

Name Search

Here's another quick to set up activity for practicing your child's name. Monkey is basically obsessed with spelling his name right now so when I saw this idea I knew he would love it.

I found the idea and printable here: http://mominspiredlife.com/name-search-activity-and-printable/

Supplies: free printable, pen, bingo dauber

First I filled out the printable. I wrote Monkey's name on almost all of the lines, using a capital for the first letter and lowercase for the rest. Then I filled in the rest of the circles with all the remaining letters of the alphabet in lowercase. The letters in his name only appear in his name, not randomly throughout the puzzle, to keep it simple for him. 

I gave Monkey the bingo dauber and showed him the name search paper. He found a capital right away and we followed across the page to make sure it spelled his name correctly. Then he used he dauber. After doing it once with me, he was able to find the rest by himself.  

A few times he marked an extra letter at the end of his name but he realized it almost right away. Unfortunately the bingo daubers don't erase. 

He has already asked me to make him more name searches that include Mommy, Daddy, and Peanut's names. That's my boy! 

Mar

Walking Water Colour Wheel

We haven't done a science experiment for a while. Monkey's been really excited about all the art we've been doing so I've been running with that just in case he loses interest.

So I figured we were due for some science. This actually falls under the category of art, too - colour mixing. 

Supplies: paper towel, food colouring, water, glasses or clear plastic cups

Start by setting up the six glasses in a circle. They need to be close together. Fill every other cup about halfway with water. Then add five drops of the three primary colours to the glasses with water in them, ending up with one yellow, one blue, and one red. 

Next you need to prepare the paper towels. We use the rolls that have smaller pieces, so I took six pieces and folded them in half the long way. You could also cut them. They just need to fit inside the glasses. 

Once you have six strips of paper towel, you put one in each glass and then fold it down to arch over into the glass beside it. You should see two paper towels arching to the neighbouring glasses in each one, as in the picture below. 

Now you have to wait. This experiment does take some time. We saw the best finished results after a full twenty four hours, although you can see changes after less than an hour. 

After letting the paper towels absorb the water and "walk" it into the empty glasses, here's what we saw:

The coloured water moves through the paper towel and then mixes in the empty glasses. The three primary colours combine with each other to make the three secondary colours: green, orange, and purple. 

Blue + Yellow = Green

This was the most vibrant and obvious of our mixes. 

Yellow + Red = Orange

The picture doesn't quite show the true colour we could see, but this was the weakest mix we made. 

Red + Blue = Purple

To simplify the experiment a little, you could do each combination separately instead of in a wheel. It would use a few more glasses but it might be easier to  talk about. 

I've done this at school in the past and have had to elevate the primary colour glasses, I guess the height allows the water to move into the neighbouring glasses a little easier. I'm sure it can't hurt so if you feel it's not working that could be something to try. 

I'm sure Monkey is not a colour mixing expert after doing this activity but it is exciting to see the water moving, a little magical for him I think, and it's a fun way to introduce primary and secondary colours. 

Mar