Cloud Dough

As I had anticipated it would be, the rainbow rice was a huge hit! Seriously, my boys played with it for a full hour, and I actually had to put it away in the art closet so that they would eat their breakfast (we introduced them to the sensory bin when they woke up waaaay too early on a Saturday morning). Since the rice was such a huge hit, I decided to whip up some "cloud dough" the other day to continue with the sensory bin fun! Another awesome success---my kids loved it so much! Cloud dough is ridiculously simple to make since it contains a grand total of TWO (non-toxic) ingredients! The end result is a heavenly-soft, crumbly, and slightly-moldable material that is super fun to sink bare hands into! Recipe below:

Find a container suitable for a sensory bin (this isn't a cat litter box pictured, but something along those lines....CLEAN, of course....would work just fine)...

The two ingredients needed are flour and vegetable oil, things you may already have in your kitchen!

Measure and pour 8 cups of flour into the empty bin...

Add 1 cup of vegetable oil...

Mix the flour and oil together thoroughly!

I used a masher, but a spoon or whisk works too...

Keep mixing until you have a fluffy, crumbly substance...

The cloud dough is all ready for play! Provide your child(ren) with cups/spoons/funnels for measuring/pouring/etc., or provide any other small toys/objects that you can thing of to encourage creative play. Use your imagination!

This wonderful sensory material will keep for a long time if properly stored...

Give it a try, and let me know what you think! I can tell that cloud dough is a sensory bin that my boys will be playing with again and again!

Rainbow Rice

With two toddlers in the house as well as a six year old, I thought it would be a great time to introduce the children to the wonderful world of sensory bins! In case you are wondering, sensory bins are containers filled with various tactile experiences. They can include sand, water, dried beans, pebbles, dirt, etc. The sky is the limit! They are valuable ways of letting children practice skills such as scooping, measuring, sifting, mixing, and pouring, and they provide children with opportunities to experience and gain a better understanding of their bodies' senses including touch, smell, sight, sound, etc.

So, with all of that great stuff in mind, I set to work creating a filler for our very first sensory bin! RAINBOW RICE! The entire process was ridiculously simple, and the finished product will keep for years when properly stored...

1.) First, I measured out one cup of uncooked rice (I used brown rice since it is what we have, but white would have worked just as well) and poured it into a large jar (think spaghetti sauce-sized).

2.) Next, I added 1 teaspoon of vinegar to the jar (to set the color) followed by several drops of food coloring (the more drops you add, the more vibrant the color).

3.) Then, I tightened the lid onto the jar and shook it all up, nice and good! 

4.) When I could see that the rice was evenly colored to my satisfaction, I poured it all out into a large, foil baking pan. Any baking sheet or tray would have worked, but we have about eleventy-billion of the foil pans from Costco. 

5.) I repeated steps one through four until I had a variety of colored rice. After an hour or two, when the rice was dry, I poured all of the colors together and gave it a good mix. VOILA! RAINBOW RICE! 

Easy-peezy to make, and I anticipate my boys are going to have a blast with it. Go ahead....give it a try! 

Farmers Market Love

There are simple things in life that give me great pleasure---one of these things is our family trips to the farmers market.

There is something so refreshing about strolling through a space, hand-in-hand with those I love, surrounded by heaping rainbows of the freshest fruits, vegetables, flowers, and plants. It's a symphony for the senses---beautiful sights, tastes, and smells, all intertwined amidst the lively chatter of people. 

Handing my money directly to a farmer feels so much more fulfilling than it being shoved into the cold cash register at a grocery store. Being able to know when the corn I'm placing into my bag was picked. Seeing photos of the chickens who laid the eggs in my carton. Sampling more varieties of watermelons and tomatoes than I knew exist. These experiences make each visit to the farmers market so deeply satisfying.

Regular trips to the farmers market also serve to strengthen an awareness of the Earth and the uniqueness of each season. As the types of fruits and vegetables piled on the tables change, my family and I grow to understand when each different plant grows...what types of conditions they thrive in. This might seem trivial, but I see each opportunity to connect with nature as extremely meaningful as the world we live in becomes increasingly industrialized and commercial. 

My children love going to the farmers market. They appreciate the experience just as much as I, although I am sure the chocolate cupcakes from the German  baker have something to do with that. ;) I am hoping our visits to the farmers market are something they look back upon with great fondness when they are grown.  

Baking Soda and Vinegar Play!

My oldest son is recovering from an illness, so he had to stay home from school today. At one point he seemed quite bored of reading books and napping, so I decided to set him up with a little baking soda/vinegar activity. I know when we think of those two things, elaborate volcano creations instantly come to mind,  but what I set up for my son possessed the same amount of wonder without all of the work.

I started by mixing a few drops of food coloring to four small bowls of white vinegar...

Next, into a baking dish, I poured a layer of baking soda...

I washed a dropper from an old medicine bottle for my son to use...

That's it! (I told you there was minimal work involved!) 

My boy set to work sucking up colored vinegar with the dropper and squeezing it on top of the baking soda. That's when the magic happened! He was quite excited when the materials reacted with a great FIZZZZ!  

We chatted a bit about bases, acids, bicarbonate, acetic acid, and carbon dioxide, but mostly we just "ooohed" and "aaahed" as each dropper-full of vinegar met the baking soda. Colors were mixed, "experiments" were performed...

Lots of fun was definitely had. We will be revisiting this activity for sure! I can't wait for my middle son to try it out too. I can just imagine how impressed he will be by the fizzzzzz!

Mud Kitchen: Part 2

The finishing touches were put on the mud kitchen weeks ago...

...but the days have been so full that the boys were only able to enjoy it for the first time yesterday afternoon.  At first, they stuck to neatly transferring water from pot to pot with a baster and other such "tidy" activities...

...so I decided to introduce the children to the dirt by making a muddy pancake. That really seemed to get the fun, creative juices flowing!

Ahhhhhhhh, squishy mud!

The kitchen didn't stay neat for long!

Mmmmm....chocolate soup!

Busy, focused, little chefs...

So many treats were created during the first day of play...

A few quick blasts from the hose, and our mud kitchen is ready for the next time the boys feel like whipping up some deliciousness...