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.

Exploring the Playground

Every morning we take the girls for a long walk.  Most days we pass by this big, beautiful playground.

The older one always wants to stop and play.

Opa and I weren't quite ready to try it with the twins till this past week.

For a couple of reasons we held back.  

One they are not walking yet so how would they like being on the ground but mainly because with three they would go in all directions.

The first visit we let them explore a little then had a break by putting them together in this swing.

 On the second visit they were more adventurous.

When we needed a little break we gathered them together on this merry go round.

It will be exciting to watch as they grow and become more confident each time we visit.

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!

Book Play - Brown Rabbit's Shape Book

 It is so much fun exploring books with this little one.

She loves books and I love bringing them to life, a perfect match.

 There have been lots of birthdays lately so I thought this would be a fun book as it has a present to open.

The present is a square box with a container in it.  The container has a circle lid and it is full of balloons.

 A big red round balloon, like a circle.

I had fun letting the balloons fly around, she didn't like it so much.

There is a purple pear shaped balloon, an orange oval balloon, a long rectangle shaped balloon and a multicoloured balloon that we thought looked like a caterpillar.

But she did like trying to blow up the balloons.

 After playing with them for a while, and letting the air escape, we finally left them expanded and tied them closed.

What is your favourite book to share with little ones?

What's in the Tub Tuesday?

Dry instant mashed potatoes was in the tub this week.

The oldest grand daughter got to play with it first.

She watched as I poured it into the tub.

It looked like snow falling.

The the twins woke up and joined in the exploration.

Of course one or two of them had to taste it.

There was lots of pinching, grabbing and releasing.

Making it snow all over!

But having it fall on the floor gave them another experience, how does it feel on their feet?

Also gave them more exercise of getting up and down.

If they started to crawl and away I was busy sweeping up after them.

Overall it was a fun experience to do and watch.

Book Play - The Mitten

Last year my grand daughter's favourite book was The Mitten.

I pulled it out again to see if the interest was still there.

To make it inviting I sewed some felt together to make this winter scene.

A soft, white mitten was sewn to the felt too.

I hid all the animals in the mitt.

The bear came out and said 'gr, gr'.

The fox was hard to take out because of his long tail.

The raccoon tried to climb into a tree then he went to the river to find a fish.

  

The animals explored the winter scene, walking on the snow, climbing in the trees, splashing in the water and hiding under a snow tunnel.

My grand daughter had fun playing but the interest isn't the same as last year and that's ok.

What's in the Tub Tuesday?

 I brought a sensory table to use at the twins' house.

 Today I filled it with pom poms.  Big, medium and small as well as foam snowflakes and little snowmen. 

 The older little one had a chance to play with it while the twins were napping.

 When the twins woke up the play changed.

 

While the older one was busy picking one at a time and transferring it to a container

the little ones was focused on emptying the tub.

And putting them in their mouths.

 I realized I had to change it up to make it safer.

That afternoon we read the book by Lois Ehlert called Snowballs

and the tub now held only big and medium pom poms. 

The little ones still pulled each pom pom out of the tub and often tasting them but I didn't have to worry about choking.

I was amazed to watch her lift the tub out of the table and then dump the pom poms onto her own head.

She eventually figured out how to stand up inside of the table and push it around like a homemade walker.