Goop it is

Today, I decided it would be a good day to mix up a batch of goop. This
stuff is soooooo cool. I might like it a little more than the kids. LOL.
It is a simple mix of water and corn starch. Start with your corn starch
and add water until you have the right texture. This stuff is sooo cool. If you move your hand fast through the goop it will feel like clay but if you move your hand slowly it will feel like water. I made this mixture with extra water b/c Emily likes to splash. So much fun!!! This activity can get messy. Clean up is not bad. When it drys you can sweep it up the mess and wipe it down with a cloth.

Mud play

Emily is exploring more and more each day. So I thought it would be fun
to play in the mud today. Owen was my helper with the water. Emily
liked the feel of the mud in her hands. And yes she did try to eat it.
That is why I only have a couple of pictures. Owen loves playing with
his cars in the mud making tracks and then cleaning them off with the
hose. Soon both kids were sitting in the mud covered and covered with
mud but having fun.
Have a great weekend.

Rice play

One of my goals is to find activities that allow my kids to explore and
learn about the world around them. I love to sit back and watch them
discover new smells, textures, and sounds. Because of this I am always
on the hunt for something new to do with Owen and Emily. I remember from when I was younger playing with colored pasta and making pictures for my Mom and Dad. So I was on the hunt to find out how to make colored pasta.
I found a couple of blogs with recipes for colored pasta and rice. All you need it hand sanitizer, food coloring, plastic bag, a old cookie sheet, and some thing to color ( rice or pasta). Put the rice or pasta in plastic bag. Add a few drops of Hand sanitizer and food coloring, shake the bag. When the color is evenly distributed over the rice or pasta poor it on a cookie sheet to dry. That's it. You can even have your kids help with shaking the bag. Owen likes the sound the rice makes.
I use a concert mixing container for Owen to play in. You can also use a
old plastic bin. Grab any thing that you think will be fun for a toddler
to play with. The go to for us are: measuring cups, measuring spoon, a
wooden spoon, any kind of container, an empty egg carton. Don't forget the colored rice!
Owen loves this activity. He can plan for an hour with the color rice. Putting the rice in a container, pouring them out, stirring the rice, and making a mess. Now an hour a play for a toddler is great ( and good for mom too)! And the best thing is he does not know that he is learning.
Now this activity can be messy, but that what makes it fun. It also
leaves me the opportunity to have Owen help mommy clean up.

Salt playdough

I found a great recipe for a no cook salt playdough.

What you will need:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the water a little bit at a time. You may not need all of the water. You want the dough to look like cookie dough. But not sticky. Kneed the dough on a floured surface, about 5 minutes. The more you or the kids play with the dough the smoother it will be. After the kids are done playing you can air dry the dough, takes about 48 hours to dry. Or you can store in a plastic bag for about a week or maybe two.

Owen Had fun playing with the salt dough. He liked putting things in the dough and cutting it. Owen is still not sure about the texture. When he plays with the dough some times he holds up his hands and says yucky. So I have to wipe off his hands and then he will go back to playing with it. He is too funny. I sit Owen in his high chair and put on of my slipat mats down and give him a couple of objects for him to use with the dough, a rolling pin, cookie cuter, rice, a key, and a yogurt cup. Next time we are going to do hand prints!

I am always looking for new playdough recipe. Do you have one?

Mirror sensory activity

A great sensory activity that I do with the kids is mirror play. I did this with Owen when he was a baby and Emily loves it just like her big brother. One of Emily's new favorite things to do is smile and talk to her reflection in a mirror. I prop the mirror against the couch or the wall. Now that Emily likes to stand (with our help) she loves to see what a big girl she is. She lets out a giggle when she sees herself standing. Owen likes to make funny faces at us. I also take this time to practice pointing out the features on our face. I also lay the mirror on the ground and let the kids explore their reflection and the reflection of toys. Emily is still not to sure about this one but she likes watching her brother be silly