Archive for the ‘Best Of’ Category
Best of 2009 #1
Pretend Play
Take two pills and call me in the morning.
The best part of having a blog is that I am the boss. Although only a few of you wrote into say these were your favorite posts , I am making them number 1 for a reason. For every craft and art project we do in my house we do 3 times as many pretend play activities, usually started and directed by my son but sometimes I am the one to make the props and get things started. Toddlers and preschoolers should be doing a lot of pretend play, and self directed exploration. I know in this day and age it’s hard not to feel like we need to keep up with the Jones who are sitting their kids down with flash cards and teaching them how to “read” at 10 months. Don’t do it, let them play it’s how they learn and if they need some help starting here are some super fun pretend play we did this year. Click on each picture to see the full post !
Check out all ourPretend play
Play Grocery Store!
Don't forget your list!
Play Airplane!
Turn your foyer into an airplane!
Play Coffee Shop !
Double soy latte please !
Play Mail Carrier
Rain or shine your mail will arrive on time!
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Best of 2009 #2
DIY Puffy Paint Projects !
All three puffy paint projects we did this year were huge hits. The combination of a sensory experience making the paint and a creative one by transforming it into a moon, cookie or ghost! Many of you wrote in that it took your child some coaxing to get their hands dirty, this is so normal many young kids need reassurance with something new. Another tip, use whatever scent of shaving cream you like the most because your house will smell like it for hours. Click on the pictures for the full how to!
Puffy Moon
Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookie
Puffy Ghost
Best of 2009 #4
The countdown is getting closer to #1 , I had no clue this post was so popular until I tweeted that I was looking for reader submitted favorites. Many of you said how much your kids loved making this monster craft. Another popular one was our toilet roll Frankenstein, so I added it too !
I could not have asked for an activity to go better! He loved making this fun and easy monster and has played with it a bunch already. For craft like this that are going to be played with I try to make them before nap so that the drying time is less painful for the ever so patient two year old.
- Gather your materials . You will need a paper lunch bag, some paint, some scrap construction paper, 2 large googly eyes, glue,tape,scissors and newspaper.
- Start by handing your child the paper bag, with the flap side down ( that will be the back) and have them paint it.
- While they do that, cut out a fun mouth, some big eyes and some silly hair. Older kids can do this themselves!
- Glue the eyes on
- Glue the googly eyes on top
- Glue the mouth and hair on!
- Set the bag aside , rip the newspaper into strips and hand them to your child to crumple.
- When the bag is dry enough stuff the crumpled paper in!
- Fold and tape the bottom. I like to use tape because it’s flexible .
- Read your Monster !
Don’t Miss out on our very popular Frankenstien Craft either !
Best of 2009 #5
The countdown continues and #5 is perfect for our youngest readers. Many readers said their favorites were the sensory tubs , here are a few of the more popular ones! I love sensory tubs and so do kids, they are easy, cheap to make and encourage development of mathematical concepts among other things!
I have used a lot of things in sensory tables and tubs before but I had never used coffee grinds until today. To say it was a big hit is a big understatement. At first he did the standard scooping but soon our patio turned a coffee shop , and sensory play turned into dramatic play! Also the grinds are great for your garden so don’t forget to add them to your dirt after you are done.
- Gather your materials. I saved up 3 days worth of used coffee grinds from my trusty and much used coffee maker. You will also need a tub, some coffee scoops ( any thing will do) and some mugs. I believe the cups were the trick to connect the coffee grinds to the dramatic play that came about 10 minutes into the exploration. I am so glad I grabbed them.
- Explore! There is no wrong way to do this. My son did a lot of filling and dumping to start with.
- Explore how the grinds feel , my son exclaimed ” cold and softy Mama!”
- Next we played coffee shop, this was completely directed by my son, and here he is handing me my “banana coffee” not my usual soy cappuccino, but I happily took it!
- After our exploration we fed our garden with the coffee grinds.
Pretend play is a great way to teach and learn about all sorts of things. This started out as an activity to keep him busy while I answered emails and needed a few minutes , water always keeps him busy and happy. I was so pleased when he started asking questions about what the animals ate. I got a few emails answered but I ended up googling all the specifics about what each of the animals ate and on the floor playing in no time. It was more fun than answering emails anyway!
- Gather your materials. You will need a large shallow plastic container, some sea animals, some decorative pebbles, a few towels for your floor, a pitcher and some water.
- Start by laying out our towels and putting your container on top.
- Put some water in your pitcher and pour it in.
- Add some pebbles, you can use sand too but if you want easy clean up stick to glass pebbles.
- Add your animals.
- Let the learning happen! Have some scoops on hand if they just want to scoop and pour the water.
We Dig Halloween!
I bought these black beans and orange lentils for another Halloween craft but when we made it the real hit was scooping and pouring… and spilling! So we ran out to the dollar store got some fun plastic creatures to add to it to complete this easy DIY sensory tub that is small enough for even the tiniest apartment.
- Gather your materials. You will need a plastic container, some dried black beans, some dried orange lentils, we added macaroni for bones, a spoon/scoop, some plastic spiders, snakes and other spooky creatures!
- Have your child help pour the beans and lentils into the tub.
- Grab the creatures and hide them under the beans.
- Explore!
Let’s Talk Holidays!
I had the great pleasure of being interviewed for Raising Playful Tots a podcast and my whole interview was posted today ! We were chatting about keeping kids busy while we are so busy during the holidays. Check it out!
Also like in 2008 this year we are going to feature the top 7 posts of 2009 in our Best of 2009 series that will go live December 26th- January 1st! So if you have a fave you can leave a comment here or on our Facebook Fan Page ! Get your vote in !
