Polar Expedition

 

Well, winter in Edmonton means a lot of cold, and a lot of snow.  We tried to take advantage of that and be optimistic by exploring the sensory and gross motor aspects of this cold, white season.  This included a lot of opportunities to explore outside, and a science/sensory experience.

 

We decided to turn our water table into a polar expedition.  First the children helped me pick out cartons of various sizes from the recycling, then we filled them with water, and set them outside.  The next day, we threw them in the water table, along with our collection of smurf toys (at the children's request). 

One of the children suggested we added ice cubes for variation.  This was a fantastic idea, as it showed the children the difference in melting times for various sizes of ice.  At first, the kids stacked the ice, and took turns pushing it around the table with their figurines.  As it began to melt, a curious thing happened - the water melted from the inside out, so that soon, the children were left with large hollow ice cylinders.  It didn't take long to figure out that they could break holes through these boxes and use them in play, as boats or homes, or a variety of different imaginary items.

They also had a first hand experience with temperature, as they would often remark, "My fingers feel so cold!" before pulling them up into their sleeves for a break.  We will definitely be repeating this experience again, for as long as the temperature outside is favorable to giant homemade ice cubes (my freezer just isn't big enough, sadly!).

Messy Art

I was going back through some pictures and realized I had missed some of the great messy art activities we had done over the past few months.  I think it is really important that children have the chance to get messy/dirty/sticky sometimes when creating art.  It can be something as simple as painting their hands for a guided activity (like the spider and turkey above) or fine motor development by adding glue sticks and sequins to a Christmas stocking (I've removed the names the children printed).

 

But sometimes, the best part of getting messy is the chance to extend that experience into another sensory realm - from the sense of touch to the sense of taste.  These were the birthday cupcakes we made together and then decorated individually to celebrate the birthday of one of the children in care.

Pudding Art

We recently tried out this pudding activity - painting with vanilla pudding.  Unfortunately, the mess was so soggy that the pictures didn't last past the end of the session.  But the kids had funny getting messy in the mean time!

 

Sensory Mats

I'm really excited about my latest sensory center edition - and the kids are too, which is what really matters!  I saw the idea on my favorite blog - preschool play, and had to make it for myself.

I took twenty dollars to the dollar store to gather supplies, though I only spent $10, so you can say it was a bargain center with big pay off.  A few days after I took these pictures, I found some faux fur at Walmart, and added an extra mat, but still came in under budget.

When the Christmas decor comes out in August (because it usually does), I'm thinking of getting some tinsel and adding that mat to the collection.

The idea behind the mats is to allow the children a sensory experience that involves their feet, instead of just their hands.

The other part I love about the experience is the opportunity it gives them to practice their skills with removing and replacing their socks.  Even the littlest ones are gung-ho to rip the socks off and get their feet into the experience.

Most of the mats were made with those 12x12 floor tiles with sticky backs.  I added the fur to one, some corrugated cardboard/feathers/felt to another for a mosaic of texture, artificial grass, thick foam (like in pool noodles), and I hot glued makeup sponges to another.  The last of the mats are actually placemats that had some cool textures to explore.

The big kids were all over this activity, though the littlest ones were hesitant at first.

It didn't take long to see the others having fun and jump in with both feet.

Pun intended!

Sensory Bottles

So I was on the preschool play blog (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite resources) and saw the cutest idea for a sensory activity. I've been really digging to find some good sensory resources, since I'm trying to increase the number of activities and materials I have available for the children. When I saw her discovery bottles, I had to make my own.

This bottle is little wooden beads with a brown plastic leopard hidden inside. Not only is it fun to shake, but we get to talk about, and play with, the concept of camouflage.


I had the kids get involved in helping me make the bottles, which the really enjoyed. You can see our feather bottle there - with a duck hidden inside. This is a type of puzzle bottle, because the children have to figure out how to get the duck (which is heavy) out from under the feathers (which are light). It's trickier than it looks.

One of the boys is holding our 'smell' bottle (which was made from a Gatorade bottle - the lids don't properly seal because of a small central hole, so I put fake flowers inside which had been sprayed with fragrance. The kids can squeeze it and smell a waft of flowery scent coming through the hole).


This is our glitter & water sensory bottle, which is fun to shake and fascinating to watch. I wouldn't mind finding a slightly more viscous material (some sort of soap?) to fill with glitter so the kids have something to compare this one to.


This is colored sand from the dollar store, with a hidden plastic stegosaurus.

And also, there are a couple of magnet bottles. This is cut up pipe cleaners, and there is one filled with water and paper clips. These are the big hits, allowing the children to play with the concept of magnetism.

All of the bottles are sealed with hot glue, and I do a quick safety inspection before I pull them out. I found the flat bottom bottles (like for Vitamin water) the easiest to clean and the most durable. The pop bottles were miserable to get the labels off of, and are already getting dented and looking slightly worse for wear. I'll keep that in mind as I keep adding to this center.

One things for sure - it is definitely a hit!

Fine Motor Colander

Need a new sensory fine motor activity? It's a simple as pulling out items on hand - the children played with this activity for about two hours this morning. They would weave and create, and go find other materials to extend their play.

Some of them inverted the colander to weave or build from the other side. Some set the pipe cleaner sticking straight out and wore it on their heads like a hat!

There is nothing like creative inspiration from materials we adults see as everyday or ordinary!