Chronicles of Summertime: Day 2

Day 2:

Today we played outside in the little swimming pool and sand box. Snugglepuppy liked exchanging the contents of each one, putting sand in the pool and water in the sand box. We made nothing in particular and Snugglepuppy decided shortly after we went out that he was ready to come back in.

We ran some errands and I decided to take Snugglepuppy to a nearby park with a playground. At which, Squeaker promptly decided she was hungry and I realized I didn't have the cover I use to nurse with us, so I went to the car and got the only blanket I could find, a thick, soft, fuzzy one. Even though it was hot, it wasn't long before Snugglepuppy was ready to come home anyway. (Maybe this kid has ADHD, jeez)

Snugglepuppy got a chance to work on his fine motor skills as well with an activity from a blog I recalled seeing long ago. I can't remember exactly which blog. We stacked cheerios on skewers stuck in a lump of playdough.

(Sorry about the quality, it's a photo of a photo.)

Not a very exciting day, but I did end up finishing up my baking projects, cake pops, candy coated pretzels and M&M rice krispie treats. Wow, my house is full of too much sugar!

Oh yeah, we also played with a few new apps we found for the iPad: Team Umizoomi Zoom into Numbers, PBS Kids, Crayon Hello, Balloons, and ABC Magic. Pretty sure Snugglepuppy is going to know how to use this thing better than me!

Hope everyone's summer is starting off great or will be starting soon.

Painting Sticks

We also painting sticks last week. Why, you ask? Because we can! Painting on paper gets kinda boring after a while, so we decided to gather up some sticks outside in the dump truck:

Then we used all these different colors to paint. We talked about the colors as we painted.

 He used fine motor and hand eye coordination to paint the sticks.

It was kinda hard to get the stick to hold still while he was trying to paint it, so he decided to pick it up and dip it in the paint.

The brush we used was a little too long for him to handle. (I have since bought more kid-friendly brushes)

Eventually he gave up the brush altogether and the sticks and went to painting himself.

See, look what I did!

Here are our finished sticks before they dried. I helped him finish up painting them.

 Here is the finished product after they dried. If you have any ideas on what we can do with them now, please comment!

Fine Motor with Water Beads

Here is a great way to work on fine motor skills. Picking up water beads with tongs. They have to squeeze the tongs just hard enough to pick up the bead, but not too hard or the bead will break apart. They really loved the challenge, although I did have some that just wanted to squish the beads. So, you kinda have to know your kids to know if this activity will be a good fit.

I had them transfer the beads from the tray into the small container. For even more of a challenge, you could have them transfer the beads into something with a smaller hole, such as an empty plastic water bottle.

This really took a lot of concentration. Sometimes children want to use both hands, so make sure you let them know if you want them to use only one hand or both.

What do you do to practice fine motor coordination with your kids?

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Shaving Cream Fun

This week, we have been revisiting the 5 senses, specifically our sense of touch. So, we began exploring with shaving cream. 

I just placed some on a tray with a small amount of paint and encouraged the children to mix it up with their hands. Surprisingly, some did not want to get their hands messy and some wouldn't touch it at all.

Then we smoothed it out and tried writing in it with our finger or a popsicle stick. 

Then, the kids got the idea to make their hand prints on paper with the colored shaving cream still on them.

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Spring Flowers Fine Motor Activity

Here is something I made up for L to work on his fine motor skills. I poked holes in a box. It's not pretty, but it works. You can decorate yours more if you wish, at least mine is green like grass.

 Next I made some flowers with pipe cleaners. Very basic, but I did have to change them a little. At first I tried to make leaves on them, but I figured out in order to make them a little more sturdy and easier for L to get them in the holes without them bending, I just bent the pipe cleaner in half and twisted it around itself over and over. 

That's it. Then you just poke the flower stems in the holes.

 Here are some photos of L playing with it.

There are lots of variations with this activity. You can make as many or as little flowers and holes as you want and put them farther apart or closer together. Whatever you think is right for your child. Have fun and happy Spring!

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Straw Transfer with Tongs

I began thinking about this activity when I realized I have a few children who were having trouble holding the pencil for writing. They were holding it too high and when corrected, they often reverted immediately back. I even had one who was holding the pencil with his fist. So, I decided they need to strengthen the muscles in their hands and this would be a good start.

It actually surprised me that the children were this interested in it because I have gotten these tongs out before in the sensory table and they barely touched them. Most of the children had preferred to use their hands to transfer the items. But I guess the trick was putting this activity out on trays instead. They came back to it each day for the whole week! Some of them even reminded me to get them out when I forgot. I always love it when an activity is a success, especially when I had a good objective for it.

The items the children are transferring are almost like pieces of straws only heavier. These provided an extra challenge because the cylindrical shape made them slip easily out from the tongs, but the kids did a great job. They were very focused and persistent. Some of them were racing to see who could clear all of theirs off their tray first.

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Lacing Mittens Fine Motor Activity

Here is another one of our winter weather activities we did to go along with the book The Mitten by Jan Brett.

And here is the finished product! Great for working on fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. Being able to hold on to the mitten while simultaneously lacing the yarn through the holes is a skill that takes a lot of practice. And as we all know, practice makes perfect!

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Bubblegum Scented Water Bead Play

CAUTION! Before I begin, I want to warn you that these water beads are not meant for children to play with. The pack even says keep away from children. I am not sure what they are made of or how harmful they may be if ingested, so please use these at your own risk!

I have been seeing these water beads all over the blogosphere and wanted to try them out. I happened across some the other day at Joann's, so I decided to get some to make a sensory bin for my son.

Here is what I used: Bath Fizzy: $1 in dollar section of Target

Water Beads (about half a pack): 2.99 at Joann's

Medicine Dropper and Scoop: About $1.50 at Walmart

Here are some close-ups: 

As you can see, when I added the bath fizzy, the beads began to absorb it and shrink up. They were floating in the water, so I drained some of the water out. I am not sure how much scent there actually was since the beads were absorbing it!

 He LOVES pouring and the duckies are also faves of his!

He had lots of fun until he began to smack at the beads and make them fly all over the room, so we had to call it a day :)

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