Potatoes and paint!

Tonight while i was cooking dinner my older 2 boys were hanging  around the kitchen getting rather impatient for food, so to stop them from being under my feet and to keep them occupied i quickly put together this activity that i did when i was little.

It took me around 5 minutes to prep so is great when you don't have time on your side.

To make:

1. Get a couple of large potatoes and cut them in half.

2. I used a permanent marker to then draw shapes on the potatoes.

3. With a small knife i carefully cut out the shapes on the potatoes, it pretty much turns them into stamps!

 If you have an apple cut that in half too to get that pretty star pattern.

If you don't have potatoes handy you can try other veg too, the softer ones work better and are easier to cut.

I rolled out some paper on the table gave them the potato and apple stamps i had made along with some poster paint. 

I didn't put newspaper down which you may want to do but if i had i could have just scooped it all up and either dried their art.

Poster paint is the best it comes off 90%of the time with water the other 10% with a bit of soap so clean up is quick. it took me around 5 minute to clean the table and wash their hands in the sink.

They really enjoyed stamping and seeing what shapes appeared.

It also kept them occupied while i finished dinner which by then they were ready to finish up!

I have to say i was really pleased with how this activity turned out.

Kinetic sand

A while ago as i was passing through a craft store i happened to come across Kinetic sand that was on display, i touched the sand that was out and had a quick look at it.

 I was in a hurry though and i couldn't make a choice there and then if i should get it so i left it. 

Over the past couple of weeks its gone through my mind and the more i thought about it the more i liked the idea of getting it, i could see no downside.

I was right. 

The only one thing that sticks with me is the price. 

When i do activities i aim to spend as little as possible.

 I created this blog so that i can share my activities with you, so you too- can create sensory activities to enrich your littlies minds with everyday items you may already have in your house. 

So forgive me but yes this one cost.

The link to where you can buy it is here.

But the cost did outweigh the fun the boys had. 

Its such an odd sensation -this kinetic sand.

 Picture if you will a cross between playdough and sand only less squishy.

Its soft and when you grab a handful it flows away from your hand like a waterfall. You can mould things and shapes. It doesn't stick to hands, or tables or carpet (yuss - i love things that dont mark the carpet). 

Its super easy to tidy up and the kids walk away with no mess to clean. 

My boys sat for nearly an hour filling up little jelly moulds and making sandcastles with them, they absolutely enjoyed it.

This activity though is not for littlies who still like to put things in their mouths as though its non toxic its probably not a great idea for it to be swallowed!

I highly recommend the kinetic sand, it can be stored away for another time and its such a great sensory activity- for that fine motor, cognitive and tactile stimulation.

Oats!

 On a bit of a colour kick after discovering i can colour salt, chickpeas and pasta i decided to give colouring oats a go. Who knows where this may lead me! What will i colour next?

Oats worked really well.

 (I am going  to invest in more colours though so will order some online)

It took a little time to prep but only in the drying

It was really soft and fun to play with, giving the boys tactile, cognitive and visual stimulation.  

The boys spent a lot of time playing with the oats. My middle discovered that his tiny snow plow 

and dump truck were great to shovel up the oats and load them in to the dumper.

They especially looked really great when mixed together.

To make:

1. I used 2 bags of 500g oats and divided them into bowls.

2. I added enough water to cover the oats then  added a few drops of colour, i mixed it around and let it sit for maybe a minute- any longer and the oats get too squishy. Do note- I only did a bowl at a time.

3. I turned my oven on to bake 50 deg c.

4. I took the bowl  and with my hand (gloves on) i took handfuls of oats out of the bowl giving them just a bit if a squeeze to get excess liquid out (otherwise they tend to clump in the oven) and put the oats on an oven tray.

I put the tray in the oven and every 5 minutes i gave them a stir on the tray to evenly dry them. I did it this way rather than drying them in the sun as i know you can toast oats so i figured i could do the same with coloured oats too. 

And it did work!!

They loved it!

Chickpeas!

Today i made coloured chickpeas as something different for the boys to play with and just a bit of a challenge to me to create something new.

My middle and baby loved it. Chickpeas make a great sound when they hit the tray which is a great auditory sensory activity to get their little ears tuned in as well as being quite tactile.

The chickpeas i used were from cans as i had no dried chickpeas which i think would have worked better and dried better once coloured.

It didnt take too long to put together but drying took maybe half an hour in the sun. Cleaning up didn't take much time either.

To make:

1. I used a can of chickpeas per colour but if you were to use dried i would say as much as you want as they don't swell up.

2. For the canned chickpeas i drained them then added each can to a bowl with a few drops of colour and mixed around (any excess liquid- drain before you put out to dry). 

For dried chickpeas i imagine you could do the same just adding a few drops of colour to the bowl but maybe add a bit of water if needed -just drain before you dry.

3. I then put my canned coloured chickpeas on a plate leaving them in the sun (again you can do the same with dried chickpeas).  

They didn't take long to dry but because they were canned didn't dry back to a hard state as they had been soaked in the brine in the can.

 I think the dried chickpeas would dry back to their hard state as they were before being coloured- probably a much better result.

I did this activity outside so when they were finished i was able to sweep up any chickpeas that had fallen out of the tray with a hand shovel and broom and put them in the compost.

Nonetheless my boys still really enjoyed scooping up the chickpeas and watching them fall- which is great for vision and eye tracking!