Goop

Following on from our Milo Dino Fizzy small world play, I put together this simple sensory tub for Dooey. He is approaching an age where he expects to have everything that Wugs has, so I put together a mixture that looks and smells like the concoction in the small world play, but is safe for him to eat.  I used this recipe as a rough guide: Goop Recipe

What we used:
3 cups corn flour/starch
1 cup water
1 tbsp brown food colouring
1/3 cup of Milo chocolate drink powder

I mixed the ingredients in a saucepan over a very low heat and then emptied it into a tub in the bath.  I stripped down Dooey (remembering to put a swimming nappy on him this time - after the little peeing incident during our flour bath play!).  It wasn't long before his big brother discovered us and joined in the fun

Goop can also be an interesting science experiment.  It acts like a liquid when it is poured, but acts like a solid when force is exerted on it.  Here is a site that explains the science behind Goop (or Oobleck - as it is also known).

Flour Play

This was a very simple flour sensory tub I put together for Dooey today from half a packet of flour. I thought I'd let him have some sensory play time in the bath.  Of course, big brother was there in a flash, but it was nice to see the two boys playing well when the focus wasn't on cars or some of the other toys that Wugs is having to learn to share.

What we used:
Flour, containers and scoops

Note: Put a swimming nappy on the little one next time.  The flour play was shortened by Dooey peeing in the tub!

Pasta Sensory Play

I have been eager to try out some sensory activities on Dooey now that he has reached 8 months.  As he is still exploring everything with his mouth, some things are too dangerous for him unless they are safe to eat.  Unlike Wugs, Dooey doesn’t seem put off by certain textures so I wondered how he would respond to something like Tagiatelle or spaghetti.   I had some Tagliatelle in the cupboard that I had planned to use in meals, but it had somehow got pushed to the back of the cupboard and as I hadn’t used it in the last six months, I suppose I'm unlikely to do so in the next six months.  Rather than see it go to waste, I cooked it up and let it cool before letting the little one go wild. He played happily in that bath for an hour and a half and (surprisingly), even his elder brother joined in the fun.

What we used:

A baby bath (putting this in the actual bath with both children would have also worked well)

Tagliatelle pasta (perhaps add a little cooking oil to avoid clumping)

Advent Calendar 2013 Activity - Day 21: An "I Spy" and Discovery Bottles

Admittedly not the most challenging of "I spy" bottles, but a bottle with Christmas-themed objects partially hidden among the rice nonetheless.  I had planned to make the "I spy" bottle bigger, but the bottle I had set aside for the task left a sticky mess when I removed the label, whereas the small bottle's label could be removed easily.  "I spy" bottles can be a good way to expand a child's vocabulary.  If I had chosen a bigger bottle, I would have taken a picture of all the items I had hidden in it and then set Wugs the challenge of finding them all.


The bottle on the right is a Christmas discovery bottle for Dooey.

What we used:
Christmas tinselled pom poms
Christmas figurines
Strips of tinselled pipe cleaners
Money

Ocean Squishy Bag

We have been following an ocean theme at the moment with our coral reef small world play and bath play.  To extend the theme a little further and to take advantage of all that light pouring through our balcony doors, I wanted to see how Wugs would respond to an ocean squishy bag.

I emptied a tube of hair gel into a clear file pocket and added blue food colouring, squishing it about until the blue colouring had evenly dyed the hair gel. Then I added some coral reef/underwater figurines, sealed the top of the file and fixed it to the balcony doors with strong tape.  It looked like a mini aquarium on our balcony doors and Wugs enjoyed prodding and poking it and pointing out the fish.

What we used:
Coral reef and underwater figurines
Hair gel
Blue food colouring
Clear file pocket

(Note: I washed out the file pocket before I made my squishy bag to see if the file pocket leaked.  In retrospect, this was a bad idea as the pocket appeared to retain some of the water which broke up the hair gel at the top and corner of the file.  It probably would have been better to use a Ziploc bag inside a Ziploc bag (for double protection) rather than a clear file pocket).

Silver Sensory Tub

If there is one cupboard in the kitchen that gets emptied at least once a day, it is the cupboard containing all my tins and metal jugs. Whether it’s the shiny, reflective surface that attracts the toddler’s eye or the loud clatter they make when they land on the kitchen tiles, that cupboard appeals to my little one’s senses and has saved me on many occasions when dinner is late and a distraction has been needed.  I decided to expand on this and hunt around the house for similar silvery items of slightly different textures and shapes.

This tub has been so successful that recently I put one together for Dooey.

Cloud Dough

I'm tentatively branching out into other areas of sensory play, bearing in mind that it could all end in disaster as Wugs can be a bit funny about textures and can be easily put off.  A friend who had been looking at the activities I was doing with Wugs on Facebook recommended I tried cloud dough and provided me with the following recipe.  The wonderful thing about cloud dough is the way it clumps together when held tightly in the hand and then falls apart again.  Wugs was quite taken with it and played quietly for about 30 minutes.

What we used:
1 cup coconut oil (vegetable oil would also work)
8 cups flour

Jelly Play

I decided to introduce Wugs to the texture of jelly and popped in a few slimy toys for fun.  I have to admit he was pretty disgusted with it and wasn't putting any of that green stuff in his mouth!  It also confirmed my fear that Wugs is unlikely to chase off the geckos (small house lizards) that seem to come out in the evening over here and which I'm terrified of!

What we used:
Green jelly mix
Toy lizards

Painting With Edible Paints

This activity marks the beginning of my interest in children's activities.  It was during a search for edible paints that I discovered an inspirational crafting site called the Imagination Tree.  Wugs created his first painting using this recipe from that site.  We found the ingredients blended together better if we put them in a saucepan on a low heat.