Coral Reef Bath Play

Wugs' coral reef bath marks my first attempt at doing something creative for Wugs' bath time.  Just 4 days later I gave birth to Dooey, so I'm glad I managed to sneak one fun activity in before the demands of a newborn baby took over.

I made the beach and coral reef scenery by drawing the images on foam sheets, cutting them out and dipping them in water which made them stick to the window.  The coral reef scenery was made from some glittery foam sheets, which added a nice effect. I dyed the bath water blue and added a couple of interactive elements: A bucket of "sand" which was made from shaving cream, yellow food colouring and a little sea salt (Wugs had great fun painting the tiles with this) and a tub of "ice cream" which was actually a bath bomb with a turtle inside.  I haven't introduced Wugs to bath bombs yet, so he was a bit wary of all the fizzing, but was thrilled to see the little turtle popping out.    


A successful first attempt at creative bath time play which I measured according to the speed in which Wugs fell asleep that night!

What we used:
Foam sheets
Glittery foam sheets
Blue food colouring
Shaving cream
Yellow food colouring
Sea salt
Bath bomb - I followed this recipe.
Bath toy (small enough to fit inside the bath bomb mould)
Spades

Shaving Cream Art

Today we experimented with mixing shaving cream and food colouring after watching this amazing craft from Teaching with TLC  It's at times like this that I'm grateful I do not have a son who likes to explore everything orally.

I lined a baking tin with foil and I sprayed the shaving cream over the baking tin, spreading it around to form a thin, even layer.  Then I added a few drops of blue food colouring to the shaving cream randomly and encouraged Wugs to mix the two together.  At various stages during the mixing process I pressed down an A4 sheet on top of the mix lightly, making sure the underside of the sheet was fully covered.  After 30 seconds, I took the sheet away and removed the shaving cream by using the side of a squeegee and gently scraping off the cream.  The combination of the shaving cream and the food colouring left an amazing mark on the paper.  Part of the way through the process we added green food colouring, which together with the blue, made it look like an underwater scene.  We also experimented with orange and purple food colouring.

What we used:
Baking tray
Foil
Gillette shaving cream
Blue, green, orange, purple food colouring
A4 white card
Spoon
Squeegee (a window wiper would also work)

We used some of the shaving cream art as a beautiful underwater backdrop to my nephew's birthday card:

Butterfly Coffee Filter Art

I have noticed the fascination that Wugs has for blending and mixing colours at the moment so I thought we would experiment with this very inexpensive craft.

What we used:

Coffee filter paper (I found filter paper for 4-6 cups is an ideal size especially if they are to feature on A5 cards)

Washable felt tip pens/markers

Squirty bottle of water or a dropper

Coloured popsicle sticks

Glue

I gave Wugs the felt tip pens and let him colour in one side of the filter paper.  Once he had finished, we took a squirty bottle (we used an empty Ecover bottle, washed it out thoroughly and filled it with water) and I let him squirt once or twice on to the filter paper.  The colours of the felt tip pens blended into one another as the water seeped into the paper to create this beautiful effect.  We left them to dry on a tray for a couple of hours.

Once the filter paper had dried, I cut the two sides and trimmed the edges and then pulled out the filter paper completely.  Up until this point I didn’t know how we would use the art, but the mirror effect of the colours on both sides of the filter paper reminded me of a butterfly.  I glued the coloured popsicle sticks down the centre of the coffee filter paper and then used double-sided tape to glue them to my kitchen window.  The kitchen in our apartment doesn’t get much natural light, so the butterflies were a uplifting, colourful addition to a dark room.

Here are some gift cards we made from our coffee filter butterflies:

Suncatcher

I have been longing to set up this suncatcher craft for a while, but I was afraid Wugs would pull the contact paper off the table or glue himself to it and get frustrated.  This activity was a testament to trying new things even if I expect them to end in disaster.  Happily it didn’t.

What you need:

Contact Paper

Coloured Transparent Paper or Coloured Tissue Paper (or both)

Black Masking Tape

I cut up the paper into large squares and put it into a tub.  Then I cut out a large sheet of contact paper and gradually peeled back the first 2 inches and glued them to the table (this can also be done on a patio/balcony door).  I pulled the rest of the backing off and glued the last two inches to the table.  Then I assembled the pots of paper around the contact paper.

It was during this activity that I discovered the importance of stepping back and giving my son freedom to discover colours and textures in his own way (even if that meant some mess in the process).  He enjoyed burying his fingers in the pot of paper and immediately showered the floor with them as if they were confetti.  Once he had finished, I put the paper back in the pot and showed him how to stick it to the contact paper.  He lifted the paper up to his face and peered through it viewing the room through the yellow colour, then the red and finally he began sticking.  

Once he had finished sticking, I used black masking tape to frame the contact paper and stuck it to our balcony doors.  It felt like a mini stained glass window on our balcony doors and a nice colourful addition to our living room.

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