Ramp Play

 One day last week when the sensory tub was full of their loose toys, I decided to build a ramp.

 A simple ramp using a box of diapers and a booster seat.

 We started with using cars since they have wheels they go down easily.

Opa suggested there be something for the cars to land on so we tried a pillow first then changed it for the basket.

 For the older little one this was also an opportunity to share and be the role model.

One of the twins was very curious and tried to participate.

 This was a great moment of the older one offering her younger cousin a car.

 After having lots of success with the cars I encouraged her to try other items from the loose toys.

 Here is a great example of perservance.

"If at first you don't succeed, try try again."

This would be an easy and fun rainy day activity for you to try with your little ones.

What's in the Tub Tuesday?

This week I didn't have a chance to go home and restock materials,

so I used what they have on hand and that is their loose toys.

They played with them the same way they do from the toy box.  And that is taking each out and throwing them on the floor.

A few they would hold and play with it.

Overall they didn't play with it too much.

Oh well!

Punked the Rotting Pumpkin

One of my favourite books to read in the fall and at Hallowe'en is Mousekin's Golden House.  It's an old book and I don't think it is printed any longer.  

(I managed to find this one at a Friends of the Library sale)

It's about a little mouse that makes his winter home in an old jack o'lantern.

Over the winter the mouse stays safe inside but the outside changes.

When Hallowe'en was over the Little One's parents were throwing their jack o'lanterns into the compost.

We rescued one, gave him a name, Punked, and left him in the back yard.

We visited it every few days,

and watched it change.

We noticed that something was nibbling on it.

Maybe it was a mouse!

On our morning walks we would look at other people's jack o'lanterns,

abandoned on the steps or lawn.

How have they changed?

Ours had certainly changed after just a couple of weeks.

We visited the library and borrowed Pumpkin Jack.

About a little boy that didn't want to throw his jack o'lantern away so put it back in the garden.

Eventually it rotted away but a few seeds were left inside and the following spring new plants began to grow.

That would have been a great idea but we didn't think of it at the time of carving.

Poor Punked.

There's not much left of him one month after Hallowe'en.

Fake Snow Play

Last week just before it started to snow we made fake snow.

We followed the recipe from Fun at Home with Kids

using baking soda and shampoo.

Three cups of baking soda to a quarter cup of shampoo

and a little water.

Both ingredients are very soft so the children loved squishing it together.

With a sprinkle or two of water it started to clump together.

We made snowballs

and even a snowman.

A side note:  I thought I had found an unscented shampoo but as the fake snow sat

overnight in the container, with the lid on, it became quite fragrant.

And I was surprised by the heat that came off of it when we opened the container

after sitting all night.

We could only keep it for a couple of days until the fragrance became too strong.

But by then we had real snow.

Art, Science and a bit of Physical Activity

The bushes and trees are in full bloom here

and when the wind blows they cover the ground.

It's very beautiful.

Each year I see this and I wonder what we could do with those petals.

This year I thought we could use them at the art table

with a question.

Will the flowers leave colour on the paper if we

hammer

or roll them?

Some of them did but most of them didn't.

We even tried squishing and smooshing.

This is one of the few art activities that drew more boys then girls to the table.