Colored Spaghetti Sensory Play

I was making dinner the other night {spaghetti & meat sauce} and though how fun it would be to play with the spaghetti! I knew coloring it would make it even more fun so I did some browsing and found this video on how to color spaghetti. It's really easy...just take a look.

I didn't have any watercolos so I used food coloring. It worked just fine but didn't distribute the color evenly.

If you don't have a sensory table {I don't} then you can use a bowl, tupperware, one of those disposable lasagna pans {which we used}...pretty much anything your little heart desires. There are also tons of sensory table DIYs around the internet if you are handy enough to make one yourself. We also have a water table that we like to use.

Bug had so much fun playing in the spaghetti. In fact, it was all day project! Here are all the things we did with it:

 First we played with it using our hands.

 Then I broke out the toddler scissors.

 She had some trouble with them so I showed her to lay it over a cup and use 2 hands to cut.

 Then I held it and she used 2 hands to cut.

 Bug served me some scoop-fulls!

 I even dared to let her take it out by the carpet to cook in her kitchen.

She stepped in the tub and wiggled her toes. {I think she liked this best - be careful though, it's slippery}

 We took the spaghetti to the floor and made some shapes with them too!

It was so much fun! How will you play with spaghetti?

Linking up to these child centered link parties.

Puffy Paint Letter Cards

Bug is starting to learn her letters. She knows a good amount already and she can write an H {the first letter of her name}. I love having some hands on ways to learn so I came up with this for letter learning. Bug seems to like them and we have been working on one letter at a time each week. I have all the letters she knows in one pile and the ones to learn in another so she can play games with the letters she learned. I am thinking about gluing a photo of the letter sign on the back to help her with signing her letters when I'm not there to show her the sign.

What you will need:

-microwave puffy paint recipe {found here}

-microwave

-writing utensil {I used a Sharpie}

-cardboard {we used an old box}

-food coloring

-scissors/razor blade

-a squeese bottle or a spoon

-patience

What to do:

-cut 26 small-ish squares out of your cardboard {big enough to write a letter on}

-draw in marker a letter on each square

-make the microwave puffy paint {I doubled the recipe and had a little more than enough}

-using your squeese bottle {I used a spoon} trace the letter with your puffy paint

-micrawave according to instructions below the recipe {I think we did it for about 25 seconds}

Here are some things you can use these for:

• Have your children trace along the letters with their fingers.
• Do crayon rubbings with the letters. {not sure how well these would work...but it would be worth a shot}
• Make words with the letter squares.
• Spread them all out, mix 'em up and have a letter search.
• Glue a photo of something that begins with that letter or a photo of the ASL sign for that letter.

See where I link up here.

DIY Children's Binoculars using TP Rolls

We recently went to a library class about the 5 senses. They had great activities using all 5 senses. I will share the sight activity they had out today. There was a table full of binoculars and photos of things around the room for the kids to find with them. 

Here's how to make them:

You will need:

-2 toilet paper tubes

-yarn

-tacky glue (I tried hot glue, my fave, but it didn't work well at all)

-2 clothespins (optional) 

Here's what you do:

Punch one hole near the top of each TP roll {this is where you will be tying the yarn}

Glue the 2 tubes together making sure each hole is facing outward on the same side.

I used clothespins to hold them together while drying.

Once dry, tie on the yarn long enough to fit loosly around your childs neck and voila!

A pair of binoulars to play I Spy with. 

You can certainly decorate the tubes before you start but Bug just wanted her binoculars...STAT!

Linking up here.