Construction Work in Oatmeal

Continuing to play with our construction toys but added a sensory component.  Oatmeal!

She was excited to see the tray set out on the kitchen floor and quickly sat down to explore.

I think she was a little taken a back by the feel of the oatmeal on her hands, at first.

 Part of the fun of playing with a sensory material, like oatmeal, is to see how they interact with it and their responses when it does something they don't expect, like sprinkling on the floor.

 A bridge was added as a new concept for her to experience.

Drive the big machine over, from one side to the other.

She spent some time playing with the dump truck.

Was she figuring out how it works, or how it can move the oatmeal?

Or how it moves and what it sounds like?

 And what about the other machines?

How can they move around in the oatmeal ?

My favourite part of this play time was watching her enjoy the feel of the oatmeal.

Clean up time is always fun and not always helpful.

April's Treasure Basket - Construction

The little one has been interested in vehicles lately,

especially the sounds.

So for her April Treasure basket I decided to make it 'construction' oriented.

The basket had blocks, road signs and construction vehicles.

When she got the basket she and her dad set up a road and played on the bed.

The next day I converted her sensory table by adding a piece of cardboard

and cut two holes in to it to sink pot holes.

I painted a quick background,

then set up some of the pieces from the basket.

All ready for her to see after her nap.

She took a bit of time exploring the different pieces

but what she liked most was discovering that the pot holes could pop out!

After Dad got home from work she showed him the set up.

A plastic bin was put underneath to hold more blocks

and she enjoyed pulling it out and adding more to the table.

We started to take more time to stop and watch big machines wherever we could.

She soon learned the sign for digger.

Back at the play table she started hauling some of her little animals in the truck.

She loves making the sounds of the truck.

Dad reads a great book that is all about the sounds that big machines make.

Ready for tomorrow's work.

Book Play - The Napping House

The Napping House by Audrey Wood is one of my grand daughter's favourite books at the moment.

I love the sequence of the story and how it adds on as you read.

It inspired me to make these building blocks, each with a character on them.

She was excited to see the blocks all set in a tower.

But her favourite is the 'flea'.

We knocked down the blocks and then started reading the story,

adding the matching block for each page,

till we got to the top.

The back side of the blocks have the reverse picture,

when they are awoken by that 'wakeful flea'.

 

Down comes the tower again as we finish the book.

Only to be built again, this time without the book.

Watercolour Painting

Here we are painting for the first time using a little water colour palette that you can find at Dollarama, in their birthday loot bag section.

They come with a little brush, the perfect size for little hands 

(I used these often at StrongStart)

All you need to add is water.

Part of the fun is adding the water to the palette to make the paints come to life.

She did this for awhile before putting any marks on the paper.

I think it may have confused her by sitting at the table where, till now, she has only eaten.

She finally got the hang of it.

Dip in water, dip in paint, dab on paper and repeat.

Or try dipping your finger in the paint. 

Instead of wasting it by wiping it off, I showed her how to make

her finger print.

When it was done we gave it to her mom as a birthday card.

Another Cardboard Box

Last month I noticed that my grand daughter was beginning to enjoy pretend play.

When reading a book about food I would pretend to eat it and she thought that was funny.

I thought it would be fun to see what she would do with her own play food so decided to make a kitchen.

I used a diaper box and turned it inside out.

For the sink I found a food container from their kitchen, traced the bottom

and cut out the hole for it to fit in.

Next I added some dishes and she was off,

stirring her imaginary drink.

For the stove top I simply drew circles.

Mom made some tea to share.

The little one is watching and taking it all in.

An oven was made by cutting a door in the front.

One thing her parents commented on was that she was trying to turn the knobs on their gas stove in the kitchen so I found some little knobs and her dad screwed them on to the front.

Now when she touches with the real stove her parents direct her to her own stove.

I brought some little pots and pans, as well as some felt food to add to the play.

And finally I printed a picture of cookies baking and taped it on the inside of the oven door.

Her mom had made a comment that it is often difficult to make dinner because the little one wants to be with her (and usually hangs on to her legs).

So I suggested moving the card board kitchen into their kitchen so she could stay busy.

It worked great.

 

Especially when mom joined in the fun.

 Happy cooking!