The Arctic

Let me preface this by saying that I am aware that penguins and polar bears do not live together.  LOL  My son has been talking about polar bears a lot lately, so I asked him if he would like to create a polar bear habitat.  HE brought the penguin into the play.  Initially, I was going to set it up as a surprise invitation with a few polar bears, but he wanted to help so he did everything from filling up the containers for the "icebergs" to setting up the invitation and choosing the animals.  I actually really like it when he is part of the process.  Its a great time for dialogue and connection.  

With incredibly hot temperatures, ice play is always well received.  

WATER (with blue food coloring)

ICE

FAKE SNOW

 

Here are the containers I used to freeze the ice overnight. 

The penguin diving into the water.

So cool!!

ROAR!!!

- AK (MESE, MECD)

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Bubble Girl (A walk in bubble adventure)

***ONLY DO WHAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH***

This is a spin on the BUBBLE BOY Post.  My girls love all things glow in the dark.  They have been asking to do GLOW AND SEEK  for a while now.  They can never make it up until dark... so I thought I would bring the dark to them.  AK and her son came over for the fun as well.  :-)

Materials used:

Black Tarp.  

(I used THIS, and folded it in half)

Duct Tape.  

Fan 

(I used THIS... but next time will use something with more power... it didn't inflate as much as I wanted it to)

Black light (optional)

After you have the tarp folded in half, stretch out a piece of duct tape the length of the tarp.  Place the duct tape on the ground and then put the tarp down over top... leaving enough room to fold the tape over and seal it.  AK and I did this together which made it much easier.  Next, seal the opposite side.  This leaves it open on one end.  It will look like a giant garbage bag.  Lastly, take a piece of duct tape and seal just the middle of the open end... leaving two holes.  One hole to walk in, and one hole for the fan.  After you have the fan in the hole, duct tape the tarp to the back of it to seal it.  Try not to cover the fan completely to allow for air movement.  

I know this may sound complicated but it's really simple and a lot of fun!  

Our bubble in my living room.  

Yes, they all had a lot of fun just playing on the tarp itself!  

My 7 Month old inside the bubble. 

Checking things out.  

Lumiloons.  

"Moons and stars"  

AKA

Color coding labels under a black light.  

Inside the bubble. 

This was AWESOME!!  

Inside the bubble.  

We used:

Glow sticks

Disco Ball

Lumiloons (Party section of Walmart)

Finger lights

Light up spinning tops

Color coding labels

If you have a black light you could also paint with neon paint.  If this was outside I totally would have done that.  I just didn't want paint all over my living room!  

RL  

You have read this article Adventures in the Dark / Rainy Day Play with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2012/06/bubble-girl-walk-in-bubble-adventure.html. Thanks!

"Floating" Tunnels and Tracks (marble run)

After a failed attempt at an indoor playground because - "Mommy, Im ready to go home.  This place is too crowded", and about 20 minutes of dripping sweat at a nearby outdoor park, we decided to spend the afternoon (mostly) indoors.  In an attempt to follow my son's interest, I took advantage of this indoor play time to set up a suspended tunnel and track with my son.  He played an active role in cutting the fishing line, cutting slits in the noodle, and placing the tunnel and track into position.

This was a HUGE hit.  He kept telling me, "I cant wait to show Daddy this tomorrow.  It's so cool."  :)

Here is what we used:

• A pool noodle
• A cardboard corner piece that came in a package - but you can also use a rain gutter or cut a noodle in half for a track
• Fishing line
• Wall Hooks
• Marbles

We cut shallow slits in the noodle to slide the fishing line into - it holds better this way.  You just have to play with the length of the fishing line until its something that works for you and your track.  I just doubled the line over and hung the tunnel and track inside the loops.  We put the hooks on the ceiling to hang it.

These are the hooks we used.
(Home Depot, Walmart, Target, etc)

The marble runs through the noodle and pops out....landing on the tack and running down into the container.

- AK (MESE, MECD)

You have read this article Rainy Day Play with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2012/06/tunnels-and-tracks-marble-run.html. Thanks!

Letter/Number Templates

These sheets work great with:

Color Coding Labels ($1.00 a pack at Walmart)

Use neon to make them glow in the dark under a black light.

Bingo Chips

Bingo Dabbers

You can click on the link below to see how we used them

http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/2012/06/letters-in-different-light.html

Also, wonderful for long road trips.  Hole punch them and pop them in a binder.  It's compact and stickers fit in the side pocket.  

Here is another recent activity we have done... 

Sticky Letter Collages

Place a piece of clear contact paper over the template.  Use small tissue paper squares to crinkle up and place in each circle.  

Acorn Tops

The packet is 65 pages long and includes:

Uppercase Letters

A block for patterns

Numbers 1-9

Counting sheets with numbers 1-10

Lowercase Letters

Shapes

Total Cost is $5.00

This is a PDF file.  It will be emailed to you instantly.  

You have read this article Documents / Letters/Numbers with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2012/06/letternumber-templates.html. Thanks!

Letters in a different "light"

This invitation combined my oldest's three favorite things right now... letters, stickers, and glow in the dark.  

The invitation

Letter/Number Templates-  Can be seen HERE

Neon Color Coding Labels (see below)

Black Light.  

I did laminate the sheets so I can use them over again.  The stickers peel off easily.  My 28 month old loves that "job".  

You do not need a black light for this but what fun is that?  :-P  

Labels purchased at Walmart for $1.00

My 28 month old usually HATES letters and loved loved loved this.  :-)  

Placing letters on.

Peeling stickers off.

My oldest (3.5) joining in.  

There are so many different ways to use these.  

I printed the letters out on TRANSLUCENT PAPER

Here the sheets are projected onto our magnetic white board.

We used homemade magnets to "fill in" the circles.  

You can also put them on your light panel with translucent bingo chips.  

Pop them in a binder for long road trips.  

RL 

You have read this article Adventures in the Dark / Letters/Numbers / Playing with Light / Rainy Day Play with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2012/06/letters-in-different.html. Thanks!

Funnel Rack

I hadn't planned on blogging about this, but I've had a few requests to.  So....here it is......

When I asked my husband to explain to me how he made this so I could share it with all of you, he said - "I eyeballed it, cut it, and screwed it all together".  So, I hope that helps if you are interested in making one. ;)  I also have no pictures of the process because he made it while my son and I were at the playground.  I guess this post just kinda stinks as far as being a DIY Funnel Rack post.  (Sorry)

I can tell  you that he used scrap wood from Home Depot, cut it/built it to fit inside our sensory table, and used a Hole Saw to drill the holes in the top.  The funnels fit snugly into the clear tubing (all purchased at Home Depot) and simply rest on top of the rack.

Funnel rack (yes, I need one more funnel/tubing)

Great for water play!

Dropping water beads into the tubing.  The water beads didn't fit through the funnels, so we just used taped to secure the tubing.

- AK (MESE, MECD)

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Infant Play Dough Play

**** Only do what you are comfortable with ****

Below is an invitation I set up for my 7 Month old.  She loves any sort of sensory play and I wanted to bring in another medium.  I had no idea how she was going to react to this and boy was I in for a surprise.  I always say this, and I will say it again... NEVER underestimate your children.  

This invitation was set up for her right after breakfast with a full belly of yummy food and milk.  

Play dough and mirrors.  

Mirrors can be seen HERE 

The play dough is store bought.  If you are more comfortable with something homemade see HERE

Checking it out.  

Yes, you may put that in your mouth.  

Yeah... that didn't taste so good.    

Back to exploring

Hmmmm.... maybe the pink one tastes different.... 

No, not so much.  

She LOVED the little tiny pieces that had broken off.  

Pretty good pincer grasp if I don't say so myself.  :-P  

"You are holding the green play dough.  You are squeezing it!  That must feel squishy in your hands.  Uh oh, it's stuck on your finger.  That is so silly!  There it goes.  The dough fell out of your hand.  Where did it go?  There it is... you found it!"  

I ended up rolling some smaller pieces into balls since she really enjoyed the smaller pieces.  

Squeezing

The dough would often get stuck on her hands.  So fun to watch her problem solve to get it off.  

<3 

She probably could have played with this all day.  

Below is a short 4 minute video of her play in action.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l61BjwLBTQU&feature=plcp

RL  

You have read this article Rainy Day Play / Sensory Activities / Things to do with infants with the title June 2012. You can bookmark this page URL http://happychild2210.blogspot.com/2012/06/infant-play-dough-play.html. Thanks!