Living Sensory Box

This was our sensory box for the last few weeks and it was alive! Baby Daddy brought home a 'sheet' of this special type of plant used to cover green roofs. It was impossible not to want to play with this as it looked as though it had mini trees everywhere. We added a fence and some plastic farm animals that normally go with our Melissa and Doug Farm House and there you go a fun sensory box. 

At preschool we have grown our own grass int he sensory box to create such an affect and that in itself is a lot of fun. Spraying the grass with a water bottle to water it and then using scissors to cut the grass (sneaky skill building and fun to use scissors for something else then paper!) 

It's been awhile so here is an update

Wow last post was in July! The summer got away with us and we were busy then big news we got pregnant so I was very tired and blogging was the last of the list but I have missed it so here is my attempt at getting back. 

So with some time away and having missed blogging my priority will be to try and share the set ups/ provocation / activities I put out for Big T. I have made a real effort in sharing what we do on instagram so highly recommend following us over there under ' odekat '. I am going to do my best at a weekly post were I put those activities in more detail on here.... anyone who can recommend an easy photo dump from Instragram to Blogger I will love you forever!   

I would really like to share more about my parenting reflections, confections and passions here. They often link so deeply to what I try to explore with Big T that it seems strange not to try and share them. I personally also love following others and their parenting journeys on blogs... this is not to say I feel what I do is best for everyone far, far from it what I share here is what works for me and my family. Take from it what you will or skip it all together that is up to you. 

So here it goes my attempt to revisit the blogging world... hope your still here to join me! 

Sharing games for Toddlers

Sharing, the elusive toddler sharing - it seems that this is the holy grail of toddler developmental milestones, one that will with all hope stop the grabbing, hitting, bitting, crying and screaming. Sadly there is no miracle solution that I know of (please comment if you have one  I and a million other parents and teachers would LOVE to know) but there are some fun ways to explore the concept of sharing and make it fun. 


In our house we often use the tea set or a ball to explore the concept of sharing. I do this regularly with little t (no longer a baby so little t it is) and we also practice this with friends when they are over playing especially when sharing seems to be a struggle on that day. 

So here is the idea behind it. We set up the tea set and then take turns (share) the tea pot, sugar bowl and little milk jug. I may start with the tea pot and 'model' for a little while. I take a turn and then ask 'would you  like a turn?' Once that child has poured her tea or examined the tea pot for a short period of time I ask '___ would you like a turn with the tea pot?' then if the child says 'yes' I suggest to the child holding the tea pot 'Could you pass the tea pot to ____?' After the pot has been shared I find it is important to say 'thank you for sharing the tea pot ____!'.  We repeat this over and over and over. In the end I feel like I might have said the above statements and questions a million times but sometimes that is what it takes - repetition with a side of positive reinforcement on their sharing. eventually I sit back and they do it on their own. 

With a ball we sit in a circle and roll the ball between people. Pretty simple and self explanatory and again I may have to suggest to a child 'could you pass the ball to ____?' Once passed I reinforce with a 'Thanks for sharing the ball!' 






A few things I try to do in these activities 

• Keep it positive
• I always say please and thank you but don't prompt the kids to do it as they pick it up and will do it eventually on their own (This does not take long. Yahoo not only is it a sharing game but also one in manners!) 
• If someone does not want to share NEVER grab it from them (that will just teach them to grab if they want something) instead observe and sports cast what you see i.e 'I see that you have had ___ a long time and I bet ___ would like a turn. Could you please give ___ a turn when you are done?' 
• Positive renforcement, positive reinforcement, positive renforcement! 'Thank you for sharing with  ____!' 'Awesome, you said your welcome/please/thank you!', 'I love the way you are all sharing the tea set/ball' 'you all are doing a great job at sharing/taking turns!'
• Practice, practice, practice, this is not  a one shot deal it helps to practice sharing regularly 

I was doing this activity a few times last week and Baby Daddy suggested I share as he seemed well impressed with the game! 

Water Table Fun!

With the weather being a little warmer we are able to set up the water table outside - finally! I love the water table for me it is one of the easiest set ups to do and there are so many possibilities and it provides hours of fun. Who does not need a little time to sit back and watch their child submerge themselves in play whilst you can daydream! 


Here are some of the set ups we have done so far. 

I like letting Baby T be the one to mix the colour into the water it looks so beautiful the way it creates a cloud of colour! We use water colour opposed to food colouring, I find it washes out nicely and does not stain hands like food colouring does. The blue that Baby T is pouring is diluted with water yet is still very bright. I also have a piece of plexiglass that acts as a shelf to put the frogs, jewels, cups & containers on. 

 I put out different sized containers, some jewels and some animal figures. The option is open to decide to use the set up for a dramatic play with the frogs or could involve themselves in more of a scientific play by pouring and mixing or even dropping items into the water. Baby T usually goes for pouring still.... occasionally pouring on the balcony or on mommy.... on a hot day I don't mind!

We have also done it with two colours to make a new colour like yellow + Blue to make green... MAGIC! 

Isn't it beautiful the way the colours cloud and then mix together! I love watching it and it takes all my effort to sometimes sit back and let Baby T enjoy figuring it out on her own with out my interruption or intervention. Lucky for me she asks me to come play pretty quick and I can not resist playing with her and the water table. Yes sometimes I reluctantly leave my daydreaming....

We are so lucky that we have this great water table - thanks to baby daddy for making it! It may look basic and plain to many unlike the bright flashy ones you find in the store but plain has it's advantages. For one the table itself is not the focus of the play it is the background and therefore what we put in can be varied and attract the interest not the table itself. If the table took all the attention with it's flashy colours and neat gismos I think the 'table' could fall out of favour with a child's interest far sooner rather then the activity it holds (be is sand, popcorn, water). Not to mention a flashy table takes away from what is happening and the beauty that can be created!  I wish there were plain tables available to buy that were not stupidly expensive. 


More water table fun to come - I just need to take more pictures!! 

A Little Bit Of Everything

So I never get to write on the blog as much as I want to. I would love to document all the projects we do but there is never enough time. So I though it best to put a bunch of what we have done on one post then perhaps I can revisit some in detail. 


Well lets get to it! 


Stamping is huge in this house at the moment and Baby T will stop most anything if I suggest we do some stamping. We have a few stamps and we also use the ends of pencils. I have seen this  idea on how to make your own stamps which I hope to do if I find nice foam bits. Stamping is great for fine motor development and spacial awareness. 

Having tea has been a daily activity in our house as of late too. We played with a tea set at a local play group but I could not remember if Baby T had ever seen anyone have tea and how to use the tea pot etc. That night I decided we should have a tea party with my 'real' tea set. I filled the tea pot with water and we had a blast. She loved it so much I bought a tea set of her own the next day. She has great fun pretending to have tea with her friends real and imaginary. Since the tea play I have noticed a huge increase in her imaginative play. Before she would often act out and dramatize her animal figurines but now she includes herself in  the play become an animal etc. 

The eggs have been played with since easter in fact they are still used daily so I don't foresee them being packed away anytime soon! Children actually make more sense out of holiday decoration and associated play after the holiday itself. If you think about it it makes complete sense. There is a big built up to the event with all these 'things' and then the event finally happens and it must be like an 'ah ha' moment were children go 'oh thats is what that is for' and then most of the time things get packed right back up directly after the event and children never get the chance to play out what they experienced. Well in this house the eggs do get occationally stuffed with things but more often the not they are rolled down our clear tub, opened and closed, colours are matched (with tops and bottoms) and they get placed in and out of the egg carton. Very rarely but sometimes they get taken to the play kitchen. 

Sensory fun, of course the sensory table is always in the centre of activity too. With our occasional good weather we have been able to set up some water! I hope to share some of our set ups soon! 

So there you go some of the things that have been that have been going on in our house play-wise. I hope to get a few more posts done whilst Taya is sleeping!