Category: play


Jan
2015

Taste Safe Snow Dough for Toddler and Preschool Sensory Play

categories: kids, play, toddlers

Taste Safe Snow Dough for Toddlers and Preschool

Living in Texas we don’t often get to play in the snow. The Bear knows what it is, but we haven’t had any yet this year. We decided to take matters in to our own hands and make sparkly snow dough to play with inside (and make our own tiny snowman). Because the Pearl Girl is still at the stage where she puts EVERYTHING in to her mouth (as you can see above), I knew I had to make taste safe snow dough. Read on to find out how to make your own, plus find fabulous snow dough ideas from the other 12 Months of Sensory Dough bloggers. Find more of our indoor play ideas here and preschool posts here. For more snowy fun check out my Indoor Snowman Building Ideas here.

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Jan
2015

Active Indoor Play: Dance Through the Alphabet

categories: kids, play, preschool

Easy Ideas for Active Indoor Play - Dance through the AlphabetThe weather outside is frightful, and the indoors might not be so delightful if your kids are filled with pent up energy. My little ones are VERY active and when they don’t get to play outside we have to get creative. I’ve shared before about our dance parties and indoor obstacle courses. Today I’m sharing a new idea we tried this week as part of the Gross Motor Activities from A to Z Series with Still Playing School – lots of great ideas for active indoor play.  We’ve been working on the alphabet as part of our home preschool, and the Bear can now identify all of his letters. To practice them while getting some exercise we had an alphabet dance party. With the whole body involved, simple silly dancing becomes a gross motor skill development tool. It was silly, fun, and both kids really got in to it. Best of all you don’t need anything except a little creativity and music. Bonus: Enter to win a Parachute Pack to take active play to the next level. (more…)


Oct
2014

Preschool Fun: L is for Light Letter Activities & Free Printable

categories: free printables, play, preschool

Oct
2014

Too Loud! Helping Kids Tolerate Loud Noises & Learn Volume Control #Sensory4All

categories: kids, parenting, play

Helping Kids Tolerate Loud Noises and Learn Volume ControlToo loud! Too loud, Mommy! This phrase is often heard in our home and accompanied by yelling, crying, and hands held over ears. The same child often loves to create a noise level much higher than the one that bothered him by yelling, banging, and testing the range of his voice. What I’ve learned recently is this behavior is linked to his auditory sensory needs, and I can help him adjust and get those needs met. If your child has behaviors you long to understand, I urge to join in during Sensory Awareness Month as the #ProjectSensory team of bloggers shares posts about Decoding Everyday Kid Behaviors. Every child has sensory needs, and you can help them meet those needs with simple solutions.

DecodingKidBehaviors_zps25d8fbc3

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Oct
2014

Preschool Fun: Have a Costume Dance Party with Curious George

categories: kids, play, preschool, Uncategorized
halloween read and play pretend costume dance party
As a diehard bookworm, reading is a part of daily life. My kids share my love for books and we are always trying to find new ways to incorporate our favorite stories in to our play time. We recently found a fun book called “Curious George Goes to a Costume Party” at the library and have read it daily for the past few weeks. We decided to create our own costume party like George, and had a blast doing it. Read on to find out what we did and get lots of fun Halloween Read + Play ideas from other mamas in the Kid Blogger Network.

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Sep
2014

Preschool Pumpkin Fun ~ 20 Easy Ideas for Your Toddlers & Preschool Kids

categories: crafts, kids, parenting, play

20 Easy Ideas for Toddler and Preschool Pumpkin Fun

Pumpkins are one of my favorite things about fall. I love to have them around the house, eat them in everything, and create pumpkin fun for my kids. Today I’m sharing 20 easy ideas for pumpkin fun for preschool and toddler age kids. Pour yourself a DIY pumpkin spice latte and pin these ideas to do with your favorite little ones. Did I mention I’m partnering with some other fabulous bloggers to give away $2000 at the end of this post? {It’s true!}

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Sep
2014

Create a DIY Outdoor Play Table for Kids from Reclaimed Wood

categories: diy, kids, play

create a diy outdoor play table for kids

We took back our yard last spring, fighting for control of the space against a formidible foe of Asian jasmine and ivy. Once we had established our dominance and set up an enjoyable outdoor room, it was time to bring in a table for the kids and some play structures. I’ve shared with you our DIY water table already, and today I’m showing our DIY wood table, stools, and play structure. We created them all from wood found in the neighborhood after a storm, for free, and will share how you can make them for your own family.

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Aug
2014

Make a DIY Water Table for Less than $15

categories: diy, kids, play

diywatertable

One of our sweet toddler friends received a water table at his birthday party this past spring, and every kid from 10 months to 6 years old was instantly obsessed. The Bear talked about it endlessly after we left, so we looked into buying one. The plastic ones we found online ran anywhere from $30-50, and sturdier wooden ones were much more expensive. Jed knew he could build one, so we headed out to pick out materials. Below you’ll find a tutorial for our simple and sturdy DIY water table, perfect for water play and sensory play. You can make it at home for less than $15, and is sturdy enough to put up with the abuse preschoolers can dish out. We still plan to paint it with outdoor paint, but haven’t gotten around to it yet because the kids use it almost every day.

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