Sensory Stocking Stuffers

What to get in the stockings that are small, affordable, yet will serve a good purpose year round? Put down the socks and step aside! I've got a list of great sensory items for you child that they will be able to use all year! These are small, affordable, but make a great splash for your sensory activities.


   Poly Fill Micro Beads, 20 oz $20 via amazon, but you can find smaller bags at your local craft stores.

Why Poly Fill Beads? Make your own FLOAM!! Yes, that stuff is expensive pre made!! But with some of these beads, borax, and coloring you can make your own version! I will be doing a tutorial very soon on it!

                                Learning Resources Fine Motor Tool Set:  $10 via amazon

These are a must have for every toddler with sensory acclivities! So much to do with these, the possibilities are endless. 

Number and Letter Silicone Mold $10 via amazon

This is something I have been meaning to get. From fizzy letters using baking soda, using gelatin, and others this is a great mold. I like that it isn't so thick, I notice if my silicone molds are thick the gelatin gets stuck and doesn't come out well. This was the best bang for you buck as well!

Natures Way B-50 Complex, $7 via amazon

This isn't a multi vitamin! This B-50 blend is *the* ingredient to make your sensory play GLOW! That's right, glow in the dark, safe and natural! Crush and use in the bath or use it in your...

Water Beads!!! $7 via amazon

Water beads are one of the main staples in any sensory bin. These are so much fun in so many different ways! These are small enough and non toxic to ingest (although supervision required, rather not have them swallow it!)  and literally one of the best materials to use. 

Color My Bath Tablets, $10 via amazon

I love these for a variety of reasons. Safley color sensory or bath water with these tablets. They come in primary colors: red, blue, yellow and are in tablet form. The tablet form allows you to also demonstrate color mixing! When getting a sensory water table ready, ask your child, if we want purple water what two tablets do we need? Or let them randomly chose two tablets and see what happens! These won't stain your skin like kool aid or food coloring will either!

Primary Science Lab Gear, $16 via amazon

How adorable is this??? What toddler or older kid wouldn't love to don on their "gear" before a sensory activity? Or a science project? Or heck, double as a costume?? 

Classic Pin Art, $15 via amazon

This is a classic toy that is bound to create years of wonder. As an adult, I am guilty of enjoying this toy as an adult! 

                      Musical Rain stick, $12 via amazon and Liquid Motion Bubbler, $5 via amazon

These classic toys are suitiable for all ages. They are visually stimiulating and work great for play or calming a child down. If you have a older child and you feel the rain stick might be too young, wooden ones are a great replacement and you can also tell the history behind how rain sticks where used by Native Americans.

Wooden Rainstick, $10 via amazon

Are any of these going to make it into your stocking this year?

Myia's Sensory Christmas List-Building materials for open ended play

The past month I've been MULLING over what to get Tegan for Christmas. She will be 15 1/2 months, so not quite "wanting" anything so I wanted to do toys I could "invest" in. I decided to compose a list that I have come across as serious contenders. I feel it is so important to give your children toys that promote open ended play and ignite the senses, rather than toys that are fun to open and tossed to the side!

There is one thing I know I wanted Tegan to have. A safe magnetic blocks. After research, this is what I came up with:

                                        Tegu Magnetic Blocks, 52 pieces for $95. from amazon
I would say these are the "investment" blocks. The price is, well, high but everyone who gets these seems to say they are worth the investment. The natural blocks are cheaper than the colored counterparts. I would also say these are smaller building blocks it seems, so something for older kids. But I could imagine a one year old playing with them, as well as a 8 year old.

Magna Tiles 48 piece set, $75 From amazon 

I am not sure Tegan is an appropriate age for these thinner magnetic construction tiles; but they are a contender. Slightly cheaper, these are brightly colored and I can imagine the fun older ones could have with these.They really have a large range of uses

The winner: Smart Max Basic Set of 42, $80 From Amazon

These are the winners in my book. These magnetic pieces are large enough for the smallest of babies and easy to grip. I see Tegan easily manipulating these, as well as being fun when she is older. The ball joints provide a more diverse range of play. I like they are colored too. This is on my must have list!

I should note all these come in smaller sets for cheaper. I posted these numbers because I feel these sets are adequate for playing from a young age (one year) to older. Tegu makes "on the go" kits of 8 blocks I think would be brilliant for older toddlers. 

Second on my list was maybe another type of building material that again, would be suitable for Tegan now but also she could grow into.

Janod 50 geometrix blocks, $30 from amazon

These are very cool! A slight twist from regular blocks, your child could have fun with the tetris possiblity of these wooden blocks. Janod makes circus and safari sets too that are to die for!

                                             Uncle Goose Building Blocks, $31 from amazon
Ok, seriously. We already own a similar block set so we won't be getting these, but these HAVE TO BE A MUST HAVE!! My personal favorite is the Periodic table; but they don't stop there! They have a large range of blocks including multiple languages! How fun!!!! Even as a decoration they are to die for and the price is also amazing!!

Grimm's Large Rainbow Stacker, $40 from amazon

Is there anything Grimm makes that isn't' adorable? These stackers, along with the other elements the brand offers (Fire, water, earth) are a great wooden addition to open ended play. I love the examples they give to play with these. I also feel these would be appropriate for a large range of ages. Plus, they would look great in any nursery or playroom!! 

But the winner for this family this year is: 

Squigz 24 Starter kit, $25 from amazon

Okay, how adorable are these? Once again, this is a building toy suitable from young to older kids. They suction cup to any smooth surface and themselves. You can buy a larger kit, but 24 seems pretty adequate! Love the joints and the endless uses. I can imagine Tegan playing with these on the tile floors, on the windows, and having fun pulling them apart from each other. Must have!

What are your favorites? Any must haves? Keep checking in, as I will be doing more Christmas list posts, including stocking stuffers!!!

Making Sensory Snow from a Disposable Diaper!

There are a few recipes floating out on Pinterest on snow, but the most common and easy seems to be the one made from a diaper. I know you are thinking two things:

1. Why Snow when there is snow outside
2. A Diaper?!

The "Snow"

Here in Arizona it barley become cool enough for jackets, so snow for us is an experience! Come to think of it, I have only seen snow about three times in my adult life!

Yes, a Diaper! We cloth diaper, but I was able to get my hands on three samples of a national brand via a friend. Some people were vocal about the chemicals in diapers-I would suggest if your little one has sensitive skin to avoid this project. For us I felt it was fine.

It is easy enough; you want to rip out the inner lining of the diaper, the "Fluff." And word to the wise, it is dusty. So dusty I felt that was more  dangerous than handling the fluff with our hands. So I did it away from Tegan and held my breath. I then just added water, and some blue glitter for effects! I then let chill in teh freezer for about 30 minutes.

The Water Table

Tegan skipped her nap, so I decided to amp it up a little bit by added soapy water and cotton balls for a fun "winter" exhibit featuring her little arctic animals. I actually got all her animal from Goodwill, a tip keep your eyes open the next time your there! I scored her collection of about 80 animals for about $6.

Of course, the water ended up being her favorite activity. Our backyard is under construction so when she started wanting to wander off, I brought the table in.

I left it up for awhile, and she ended up tossing the "snow" into the water in which it dissolved, fine by me it was a easier clean up!

Leave a comment if you stop by and tell me what you think! Thank you!

Pumpkin Sensory Fun

So; who doesn't love pumpkin? It is the time of year! When your grabbing pie pumpkins, don't forget to grab your child one too! I got this pumpkin for only $1, and we had an hour worth of fun with it!

                                   

Now, pumpkin play is one of the messier plays! Tegan was reserved at first and it took me getting into it for her to really flourish. So don't be fooled that your baby isn't enjoying it, let them relax and explore it on their own.

Not sure of the slime just yet!

 It was simple enough; I first cut the top off and let Tegan scoop up the seeds. Since we used a pie pumpkin the seeds were small enough I wasn't worried about Tegan chocking on one if she did eat it (which she didn't!)

Putting the top back on-how smart!

Helping scoop out the seeds

The fruit scoop was awesome for this

After awhile I cut the pumpkin in half so she really could go at it. I had to put the camera down because we were getting so messy! But I helped her scrape the skin and we loved playing with the pumpking slimy goop! She also would squeeze the seeds and see them slip out of her grip! 

Sooo slimy in the best way! When she started to get board I brought out some small containers with water and we made pumpkin scoop! It was fun to see the seeds float! She dumped the water on the tablecloth and splashed around, almost making a seed river!

Clean up was simply enough; I used a towel to dry off the water, swept up the seeds, and the best part?

Our pet rabbits loved the pumpkin leftovers!!!

Thank you for reading!

Cranberry Play Dough

I am always looking for easy recipes for play! This one was extremely easy. As you may know, cloud dough (Flour or corn starch with a type of oil) is extremely popular here. Tegan loves this stuff and keeps her busy! This is a fun spin. 

I simply used 1 can of cranberry sauce and a box of cornstarch! Fair warning: I followed a fellow bloggers recipe and I do NOT recommend this proportion! I had a lot of cornstarch left over. You either need another can of cranberries or 1/2 box of starch. 

It was a little more crumbly than cloud dough, but if I had fixed the ratio it would have had great molding properties. 

I also added some cranberries I had left over from the water bin I posted the other day. These have been sitting out; they are not rotten but have "fermented" with lactic acid and now "pop" when squeezed! This was a wonderful added sensory experience as Tegan, who is 14 months, loved popping them! I also added regular cloud dough scented with Peppermint EO! 

There goes the pan!

Squeezing the cranberries

Tegan had outgrown the play pool we were using to "Contain' the mess, so I found this Target brand plastic table cover and I simply put it on the kitchen floor. I then swept up anything that fell out of the sheet. I imagine one of these days Tegan might try to lift up the cover too and flip it over, like she did with the pie pan pictured above! :)

Look at that fine motor!

Play Date and Gelatin Shapes Sensory Play

Today we had our best friend Bryden come over to play! They were born on the same day and I love seeing them interact! I made a simple activity they could do. I prepared the gelatin shapes the day before by simply following the directions. I realized then I only had green food coloring!!

I made the gelatin by preparing it in the directions and adding the food coloring after I added the hot water. I then scooped them into the molds I got secondhand. When I went the next day to take them out, the flamingos and fish didn't make it! It was too hard to take them out of the mold. Only the ducks and circles made it intact. The 4 gelatin packets (one box) filled six molds.

                                              Then we simply added water to the water table!

These were so much fun to grasp and tear apart!

I think it would be fun to get ABC and number molds and do a alphabet and number theme water table! And def get more food coloring for better colors! Thank you for reading!