Squishy water beads

So for a while now I've been wanting to do this activity with my boys,

 I've seen it on other sensory blog posts and on pinterest but they all had the type of beads

 that should a little person put it in their mouths could be rather yucky and possibly poisonous.

I found these instead. These are edible.

In other countries they're called boba pearls but here in NZ they are tapioca balls, 

the ones that can be used in making dessert.

You can get bigger ones most likely from asian food warehouse as they are used in bubble

 tea but i just used supermarket small ones.

To Make:

1. I used the whole packet but you don't have to, they swell up so a whole packet is plenty.

 I put the packet in a pot of boiling water and cooked them for about 15 minutes on low. 

2. Keep stirring as they tend to stick to the bottom of the pot and then start to burn even on a 

low heat

3. After about 15 mins you'll notice they star to look like the picture above. 

That's when I tipped them in a strainer in the sink and ran cold water over them, 

using my hand to swish them around a bit.

4. I used just 4 bowls and divided up the beads into them, I added some colour-  

i used wilton food gel as that tends to work best with liquidy things and washes off better 

than regular food colourng.

5. I added just a bit of water and colour and let them sit for about half an hour, 

After that I then rinsed them bowl by bowl in the strainer just a bit to get any excess 

colour off, by now the colour had well set in to the beads.

6. I tipped them into a water table with  bit of water for the kids. Without any water the 

beads are really really sticky.

The kids loved this activity and cleaning up was a breeze. They loved squishing the beads 

in their hands and tipping them from container to container.

I might have even enjoyed playing with them its such a unique sensory activity! 

Also super pretty in the sunlight!

Quick paint from 3 ingredients

Its been a while since i did a sensory activity due to being a busier year than expected 

but lately this little toddler of mine has been bored to say the least during the day while

 his brothers are away at school.

So today i thought i'd put something together for him to let him have some fun, 

To make:

1. Find any little tray that can be used as paint palette, egg cartons are awesome!

2. I used 4 little bowls for my 4 colours but you can do as many colours as you want.

3. I put maybe half a cup of plain white four in a bowl then filled  a measuring jug with

 200mls of water and added a few drops of colour. 

4. Add some of the coloured water to the flour and mix until you have a runny paste- 

you may need to add more water if its still quite thick.

Repeat for each bowl/colour

5. After doing this with each colour i added the paints to the palette and let him have fun.

Clean up required a quick shower for the toddler and a hose down of the concrete outside 

but didn't take long and he actually enjoyed taking the paint palette in the shower because it was plastic to clean it himself

This is such a great activity i am thinking i'll do again this weekend with the other 2 boys,

 the paint was gooey and vibrant plus being made from flour totally safe if the toddler

 happen to put it in his mouth.

Coloured foam!

Today i created a different kind of foam and it was so

 quick to make it was only about 10 minutes of preparation.

We haven't done a lot of activities these holidays because my 

middle has been unwell and has taken a long time/still is recovering.

Every time i do the dishes the boys love the foam the dish soap makes in the sink so i thought how could i recreate this for them to play with?

Dish soap foams when you mix it with your hand so 

perhaps an egg beater would do the same thing but better? I mean my poor egg beater only gets to come out for christmas to whip the cream so i thought i'd make it feel useful!

I tried it 

It worked!!

To make:

1. In a bowl, i added 1/4 cup of water, about 2 tablespoons 

of morning fresh dish wash liquid. 

And for colouring, i used Wilton food gel- just a tiny blob on 

the end of a skewer added to the water.

2. I put the eggbeater on high and with in a minute had created a decent amount of foam.

 I think though for next time my cake mixer might do a better job and create a larger amount with more formed foam, like beaten cream with stiff peaks.

3. I added the foam to the tray and moved on to the next colour.

They really enjoyed it and spent quite a while playing in the foam, they 

clapped it between they're fingers and slathered it through each others hair.

Food gel is nicer than food colouring in that it washes out quite readily 

where as food colour tends to stain.

Luckily because it is dish soap, clean up is quite easy; i showered them 

afterwards because of the amount in their hair but had it not been in 

their hair i could have washed hands and changed their clothes, the tray i just

 hosed down and left outside.

Definitely an activity to do again and great for heightening their senses!

Shaving Foam!

Yesterday  after our Christmas break and being off school for 2 weeks the boys were starting to show signs of being bored, so i decided to make a rough plan of some things to do with them during the day sort of like a holiday programme at home that i can easily adjust for when they're not up to it or the weather is no good. 

Ive made plans like this before but after being so tired finishing school for the year i hadn't anticipated  they'd be bored already- there's another 4 weeks yet!

This was one of the activities i set up.

Shaving foam.

This kept them happy and entertained for quite a while.

i usually do messy play outside but shaving foam dissolves with water so any that made it off the the tray and the splash mat i had down was easily cleaned up.

I put some cars in for them to drive around, they really enjoyed the foam between their fingers, and the great thing about shaving foam compared with cream is that it stays foamy.

Clean up just involved washing their hands under water and taking the tray outside to be hosed down and left in the sun.

 I bought the cheapest shaving foam which i think was a few dollars but with the can once you start spraying the foam it swells up a lot so you dont need the whole can and can use again at a later date.

I didn't let the baby play in this, shaving foam wouldn't taste great so maybe this should just be for older ones who wont put in in their mouth.

Great  sensory fun that can be an inside rainy day activity!

Corn

Its been a while since i have posted anything on here, we've all been a little unwell and this time of year it gets busy quite quickly.

But today i decided to do an activity with the boys as they needed to do something different after school that didn't require a lot of energy on their part as they don't have a lot of it lately so i created this.

Coloured corn.

This was quite easy to do but requires some prep work ahead of time.

To make:

1. I used just a couple of nags of corn kernels and emptied into 5 different bowls

2. I added enough water to cover the corn and added a few drops of colour and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and stirred it all around.

3 I left mine to sit overnight but a few hours will do.

4. Once they've soaked a bit i scooped them out with a slotted spoon and put the individual colours on plates that had paper towels to absorb any extra liquid. I left them on the table all day to dry then when ready added them to the tray and put a few cars in.

They really enjoyed playing with the corn- it sounded great when they dropped it onto the tray they loved hiding their cars amongst the corn as well as scooping it up into containers.

They sat for nearly 40 minutes doing this so i was pleased they got so much out of it without requiring them to do much.

They were quiet, calm and happy

What more could a mama ask for?

Maybe the baby having a turn when his brothers were done?

He loved it too, he scooped them up in his baby hand and let them go again feeling them and pushing them around.

The corn came out so beautifully vibrant and a little shiny too

I recommend this for older ones who no longer put things in their mouth and corn kernels could be a choking hazard.

Clean up was easy.

I actually decided to keep the corn kernels for another time and i gathered it all up into a ziplock bag and added one of those little sachets that keep contents dry- you can find them in some packet food items.

Any corn left on the floor i quickly swept up with a hand brush and shovel.

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.