Sensory Bottles

I've been making sensory bottles for my son since he was 10 months old but I finally got around to taking photos and blogging about them. I'm slowly collecting pop bottles to expand our collection since he loves them so much, but since I've given up drinking the stuff I'm slowly waiting for friends and family to collect them for me. Here's what what we've made so far:

How to make sensory bottles:

1. Collect clear plastic bottles

2. Wash the bottles & remove all labels

3. Fill bottles with a variety of materials

4. Secure the caps onto the bottle with super glue or duct tape

5. Use under parent supervision

Floating ABC Bottle

Fill your bottle 3/4 full of water. Add a few drops of corn syrup for fullness (& to make the objects move slower). Add alphabet confetti. Shake to mix. Seal tightly.

To use: Roll the bottle on the floor & try to find all of the ABCs.

Calming Glitter Bottle

Fill your bottle 3/4 full of water. Add a few drops of corn syrup for fullness (& to make the objects move slower). Add the glitter to the bottle. Shake to mix. Seal tightly.

To use: Roll the bottle on the floor & watch as the glitter moves in different directions. Try to make a whirl pool.

Static Electricity Bottle

Make sure your bottle is completely dry. Add small pieces of tissue paper & styrofoam. Seal tightly. 

To use: Rub the bottle on the carpet or in someones hair. Watch the static electricity reaction & hear the giggles as your toddler watches your hair stand up!

Lava Bottle

Fill a bottle half way with water. Add several drops of food colouring until you have the shade you are looking for (darker shades work best). Top the bottle off with baby oil & add glitter if desired. Seal tightly.

To use: Turn it upside down & watch as the oil forms blobs that will rise to the top like a lava lamp.

Bubble Bottle

Fill a bottle 3/4 way with water. Add several tablespoons of dish soap and a few drops of food colouring until you have the shade you are looking for (darker shades work best). Seal tightly.

To use: Shake the bottle to make bubbles.

Starry Night Bottle

Fill a bottle half way with water. Add several drops of blue food colouring until you have the shade you are looking for (darker shades work best). Add star shaped beads then top the bottle off with corn syrup.

To use: Roll the bottle on the floor & watch as the star beads move in different directions. Try to make a whirl pool.

"Eggstravagant" Easter Activities

I stocked up on plastic Easter eggs a few weeks ago & K & I have been having so much fun doing a lot of different activities with them. I've compiled a list of things you can do with plastic Easter eggs for toddlers, preschool & school aged kids. Take a look:

For younger toddlers:

Loud & Quiet (or silent) Eggs

Get 12 plastic eggs (there should be 6 colors-2 of each). In 1 egg place a jingle bell. In the other matching coloured egg place some rice. Super glue both shut. Do this with all the remaining pairs of eggs. Your child will need to shake the egg gently & sort loud & quiet eggs. Practice saying "Loud" & "quiet".

Note: My son figured out how to break the eggs apart even though they were super glued together. Make sure you do this activity together because if your toddler can open the eggs it becomes a choking hazard. If your worried about getting rice everywhere leave them empty & sort loud & silent eggs instead.

Sorting by Size

Buy large & small eggs and have your child sort by size. Teach them the words "big" & "small" or "little".

Sorting by Colour

Buy 2 different coloured eggs & have your child sort by colours. Ex: Place the purple eggs in one basket & place the blue eggs in the other basket. You can also use egg cartons to do this activity or even a muffin tin.

Basic Directions

Put all of the eggs in the egg carton. Take all of the eggs out. Use the tongs to transfer the eggs from one place to another.

Egg Toss

Place a hula hoop on the floor & make a line with a skipping rope or a piece of masking tape secured to the floor a foot or so away. Stand behind the line & take turns tossing the plastic eggs into the hula hoop. You can also use a laundry basket.

Egg Roll

Using sidewalk chalk or masking tape make a finish line on the ground. Have a race rolling the eggs & see which one crosses the line first.

For older toddlers & preschool aged children:

  

Color Match

Break 12 eggs of different colours in half & mix them up in a pile. Match the colours together to form an egg. You can also do this by leaving the eggs together by painting each spot in the egg container a matching colour. Your child has to match the plastic egg colour with the colour in the container.

Surprise Eggs

Hide a small object in one of the eggs & give your child clues. Once your child finds the correct egg it is there turn to hide an object.

Counting

Break coloured eggs in half. On the top half of each egg write a number. On the matching bottom half place the same amount of stickers. Your child will have to count the stickers & match with the number.

Count & Deliver

Put out baskets with different numbers attached (or a picture). Have your child count & deliver the number of eggs to each basket.

Missing Eggs

Set out 3-6 different eggs making sure there is something hidden in 1 egg. Talk about each one. For example, name the colours with each child. Let your child close his/her eyes while you remove 1 egg. Then let your child guess which one is missing. Once your child guesses the correct one it is his her turn to be the "hider".

Alphabet

Break coloured eggs in half. On the top half write the upper case letter. On the matching bottom half write the lower case number. Your child will have to match the letters together to make an egg.

Sort & Graph

Sort a basket of plastic eggs by colour. Older preschoolers will be able to colour in a simple graph showing how many eggs there are for each colour.  

Multi coloured eggs

Mix up your eggs so that each one has a different top half to the bottom half. For example, top blue & bottom green. Make flashcards of each of the colour combinations. Hide eggs around the house. Let your child pick a flashcard & then hunt for the matching egg.

For elementary aged kids:

Hot & Cold

Hide the eggs around your house & let your child look for them. The eggs should not be in plain sight or obvious places. As your child moves towards the egg say "hot" & as they move further away say "cold". You can add "boiling" & "freezing" if your child is older & understands.

20 Questions

Hide different coloured eggs around your house. You child needs to ask you 20 questions starting with "Is it...?" to try & figure out where the egg is. This is really good for practicing prepositions with older children.

Egg & Spoon Race

Give your child a spoon & then put an egg on it.  See how long/ far your child can walk before the egg drops.

For All Ages:

Treasure Hunt

Fill eggs with treats or small toys. Hide the eggs & let your child find all of them. For older children you can make it harder by leaving clues.


I've tried all of these ideas out in the past. Some with my students when I used to teach & others with my son. There are just so many great things you can do! So what do you think? Did I miss anything? Leave me a comment with your ideas or link up to your blog post. I'd love to see what you've come up with!


Hope your Easter is "eggstravagant'!

Saint Patricks Day Activities

Here's a roundup of some great activities to do with your toddlers & preschoolers for Saint Patricks day:

Make an "I'm lucky because..." Countdown Calendar 
with Gig-Harbor-Scrapper

Make & play with a Pot-O-Gold puzzle 

from Our Worldwide Classroom

Dress up like Leprechauns 
with French Knots

Play Shamrock Slap & Patterning 
with Katies Nesting Spot

Go on a shamrock hunt with
 Secrets of a Super Mommy

Why not make your own felt shamrocks 
with Bunnycakes

Make a Rainbow Connection 
with Make & Takes

Make a green & gold sensory table 
with Our Worldwide Classroom

Make & play with green play dough 
with The Long Thread

Make green carnations 
with Steve Spangler

Plant green beans with Kid activities

Make a leprechaun trap 

with Preschool Learning & Crafts

I love these creative ideas & I can't wait to do them with my son this year. Do you have any Saint Patricks day activities you'd like to share? Please leave a comment below.


Stay tuned this week for more activities & songs to celebrate Saint Patricks day! 

DIY: Bubble Recipe

My son & I have spent a lot of time in our backyard blowing bubbles. When he was younger he used to love running around trying to catch them:

He still loves to chase them but these days he is enjoying practicing blowing bubbles at me: 

We've been blowing so many bubbles that we ran out of bubble mixture. I keep forgetting to pick some more up when I am out so I opted to make my own. I'm not sure where this recipe originated from but I have used it over the years with summer camps in Canada, with my students in South Korea & Thailand, & now with my son in Australia. 

Home Made Bubble Recipe

Ingredients:

-3 Parts dishwashing liquid 

(In Australia Morning fresh works best. 

In America/ Canada Dawn or Joy work best)

-7 parts hot water

(Hard water can affect your bubbles so use 

distilled water if you have that problem)

-1 part Glycerol 

(Can be substituted with sugar)

Directions:

-Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly.

-Store in an air tight container

These bubbles work great when it is humid out which is good for us because Sydney is often very humid. The glycerin helps make strong bubbles so if you wanted to you could make big bubble wands out of string & wire clothes hanger & then blow giant bubbles!

Why not blow some bubbles for Saint Patricks day & see if you can spot some rainbows?

Happy bubble blowing! :) 

Other DIY Kitchens I'm Loving

Even though K & I are having heaps of fun playing with my imprompto kitchen I am still dreaming of one day making a full-sized one. By "one day" I mean when the stars allign in my favour OR the man around my house miraculously becomes helpful & handy. I know full well this latest obsession of mine will be my own masterpiece (or disaster) & that it will take me ages to make one since I am a master procrastinator. Fingers crossed K will still be young enough to play with it upon its completion! Or maybe I'll just get lazy from spending so much time dreaming of making it that I'll never actually do it.


All kidding aside, I love that moms (& dads) around the blogosphere are incredibly handy & sharing their amazing kitchen creations. I've found so many inspiring ones that I just had to share them with you. Check them out:

How to make a kitchen from recycled cupboards 
from Mama Kat

How to build a kitchen from Ikea components 
from Virginia on Ohdeedoh

DIY kitchen for under 10 dollars 

from Childhood 101

Improvised Ikea kitchen 
from Hahn at Ohdeedoh

Cardboard kitchen & printable template 
from Anna @ Forty-two roads

Make a play kitchen from adapting Ikea shelves 
 tutorial from Baby Andoo

Make a kitchen from repurposed shelves tutorial 
from Sutton Grace

Of course if you are inspired to make a kitchen for your child but lack space, tools, the funds or just a handy helper you can always do this:

Roll up kitchen play mat tutorial and FREE pattern 
from Jessica @ Balancing Everything

My tutorial on how to make an imprompto kids 

stove with FREE printable template here

Featured here? Please grab a button J
Inspired? Handy? Please come to my house and help me build one!
 Oh, and don't forget to bring your tools! 

DIY: Kids Play Stove

My son is 16 months old and currently really into housecleaning & kitchen stuff. He loves to go through my cupboards and pretend to make something to eat. It's really cute but starting to take a toll on my kitchen stuff & putting everything away a thousand times a day is getting frustrating. At the moment we are working on getting our house organized with storage solutions & don't have the room for a play kitchen. So instead this is what I did:

What you need:

-Printed Kitchen stove template

-Clear book cover (sticker)

-A clear plastic container

-Scissors


What to do:

-Print out this template
-Use scissors to cut it out

-Attach the cut-outs to clear

book-cover paper

-Cut out the cut-outs again

making sure to leave about 0.5-1

inch around the cut-out

-Attach to your plastic container

I really hope to make a big kitchen for my son to play with someday. But in the meantime this DIY kitchen has definitely been worth it. It cost $10 & took 20 minutes. Should he destroy it (because he will) it will be really easy to fix. Now all I have to do is find kitchen stuff to fill it.

I hope I've inspired you to be creative & make something for your kids to play with. You really don't need to have a lot of money or be crafty to make this. All you need is an imagination & a cute kid to play with it. 

Please leave a comment if you download my template. I'd love to see photos of your final product or hear any ideas on how to make it better.


 Happy playing!

Winter Olympics Themed Activities for Toddlers

I may currently be surviving summer in the land down unda' but I am a Canadian at heart. I miss snow, scarves & mittens. I dream of the day I can play in the snow with my son for the first time. I wish I could watch him wobble his way through his first steps in the snow while wearing a ridiculous amount of winter clothing. I'm also pretty sure I won't mind running into the house so he can use the potty right after I just finished dressing him in his winter clothing. Really!


While the Olympics are on (the next 2 weeks) I intend on teaching K all about our homeland & the winter Olympics. Here's some of the activities we are going to do:


Indoor bobsledding
-Put your kids in a laundry basket & run up & down the hallway pushing them. They will love it so be prepared to do it again
 & again & AGAIN!


Luge
-Lay your child down on a towel and carefully pull them from
 point A to point B


Snowball throwing competiiton

-If you don't have snowballs use rolled up socks


Pretend to ice skate/ snowboard/ ski

-Wood or tile floors work best


Mitten Match

-Collect different pairs of mittens. Mix them up &
 place them in a pile. Take turns finding the
 matching pair.

Hide the Mitten

-Hide the mitten in a room somewhere & 
see who can find it first. You can play "hot" (near the mitten) 
& "cold" (far away from the mitten)

Olympic Ring Games

-Have children jump in & out of hula hoops and time them

-Have children toss beanbags into the hoop


Obstacle Course

-Set up an obstacle course in your backyard or living room 
& let children play on it


Frog jump
Which frog jumps the farthest? Pretend to be a frog and jump
 with both  feet at the same time to the front. 
Measure and mark the spot.


Gymnastics
Place a large sheet on the floor. Taking turns, each child makes 
movements on the sheet. Balancing on one leg and making
 different  movements with their arm.


Bear races
Children pretend to be bears and make a race running on all
 fours  to the finish line.

If you have any other suggestions or other ideas I would love to hear them. Just leave a comment under this post. Cheers!

Chinese New Year Activities to do with your toddler/ preschooler

While working in Asia for 3 years I was able to celebrate Chinese New year with my students in Korea and Thailand. I even rang in the new year in Hanoi, Vietnam a few years ago. I've been spending so much time thinking about Valentines day crafts that I forgot that the 2 holidays coincide. Last week K and I spent a lot of time on Valentines crafts & activities but this week we will work on Chinese New Year. I am excited about it and would like to give you a few ideas to do the same:

Activities to do with your toddler/ preschooler:

Ribbon Dancing

-Give your child a long piece of ribbon, put on some music and practice dancing

-You'll probably have to show them how to move the ribbon up & down & around

Red clothing game

-select red clothing to wear

-play an "Eye spy" game in search of red objects

-Go for a "red walk"

New Years Animals

-Print out the 12 animals of the chinese zodiak from DLTK

-Cut them out and put them all in a container

-Let your child pick an animal from the container and practice making the animal sounds and saying their names
-Why not hide the animals around your house and go on an animal hunt as well


Matching Memory Game
-Print out 2 copies of the animals of the chinese Zodiak from DLTK
-Place them right side down
-Take turns trying to make a pair

Lucky Money Game

-Have your child paint 5 envelopes red

-Label the envelopes 1-5

-Cut out 15 yellow circles for coins

-Take turns filling the numbered envelopes with the appropriate number of coins 

Songs to sing with your toddler 

(Taken from Preschool Express)

Gung Hay Fat Choy

(Tune:  “Happy Birthday”)

Happy Gung Hay Fat Choy.

Happy Gung Hay Fat Choy

Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy Gung Hay Fat Choy.

      -Jean Warren

Lantern Parade

(Tune:  “When Johnny Come Marching Home Again”)

The children are marching into town, hooray! hooray!

They all have lanterns as they come our way.

Some are big with lots of light.

Some are small but just as bright.

Oh, we’re oh so glad the children could come today.

The children are marching into town, hooray! hooray!

To celebrate the New Year and it’s brighter days.

Spring has come, with all that’s new.

The old year’s gone and bad luck, too.

Oh, we’re oh so glad the children could come today.

     -Jean Warren

Dragon, Dragon

(Tune:  “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”)

Dragon, dragon, dance around.

Dragon, dragon, touch the ground.

Dragon, dragon, shake your head.

Dragon, dragon, tongue so red.

Dragon, dragon, stamp your feet.

Dragon, dragon, coming down the street!

    -Heather McPhail

Hope this gives you a few ideas to get started. Make sure to check back here over the next few days for crafts and recipes for Chinese New Year as well.