Week 2 - Sensory bins and a trip to the Zoo

This week I wanted to do a couple of sensory bins to see how Emma liked them. 

 

Rainbow Rice

We spent Sunday afternoon making our rice.  Super easy! 

 

Put about 4-5 cups of rice, a bunch of food coloring, and a few tablespoons of rubbing alcohol in a gallon size bag. 

 

Close it good. 

 

Then give to your child to squeeze it all around to mix it up. 

 

And let it dry on cookie sheets. 

 

Do this for each color.

 

 I let it dry over night to make sure all the moisture was gone.  I also stirred it around a few times to help it along.

 

She LOVED it!  And she was such a good helper afterwards.  Even swept up the mess she made on the floor.

 

Free Samples

While at Home Depot, I checked out what free samples they had in the flooring and carpet areas.

I figured the wood samples could be used as a gradient in color exercise and the other flooring samples are textured so I was going to use those for another sensory project.  And with Brooklyn getting strong enough to hold onto things, I thought she might like the feel of the different types of carpet samples!

 

And these were all free for the taking at Home Depot!  YAY!!!

 

Piano Lessons 

We have started our musical journey!

I found a great video about teaching toddlers how to play the piano and used their suggestion of having them start off by identifying and playing the different types of keys:  

all the 2 black key sets

all the 3 black key sets

all the white keys

 

Hey Mom, does the photo on the left look a little familiar?  I'll have to look in my photo album, but I'm almost positive I have a picture of me at the piano and you standing behind me showing me how to play something. ♥

She did great her first week!  Our lessons only last as long as she's interested.  As soon as I sense her starting to drift away, we stop and I give her stickers to put in her record book.

 

 

LA Zoo

So we finally made it to the zoo! 

Emma has been working really hard on her lapbooks.   I think I'm going to rename them "Fact Folders"  It seems like a better description to me.  Anyway, she was so eager to go to the zoo that the morning we were going, she spent most of it showing Brooklyn everything in her Fact Folders.  She would hold up the tiger and say, "Brooklyn this is a mommy tiger.  It's called a tigress.  And a baby tiger is called a cub.  Brooklyn you are a cub."   Seriously, the cutest thing ever.  So sweet!

I've been to the zoo a lot in my life, but I don't think I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing it with a 3 year old.  Watching her take pictures and ask questions to the zoo tour guides and just marveling at the awesomeness of these animals was an experience I'll treasure always.  It was so neat to see the zoo through her eyes.

And exhausting!  Have you ever pushed a double stroller with about 50 lbs worth of children and another 15 lbs worth of stuff???? My body was aching the next day!

Brooklyn was a trooper till about noon, then every time I'd look at her, she'd give me this look.  bawhahhahahha - but she never cried or complained.  She just kept giving me *the look*.

 

 

Fluffy Stuff

I saw this on Pinterest from this blog:  Play Create Explore

This stuff is really fun to play with!  It's made from cornstarch and shaving cream.  Put the two ingredients together and let your child start mixing it up.  Eventually it becomes mold-able and you can make whatever you want.  Then just mash it down and crumble it up again.

She even experimented with different toys, objects, and body parts to see what would happen.

She sat here for at least an hour.  Completely absorbed in this activity.  I absolutely love sitting back and watching her explore new things or ideas.

 

 

Art Lesson

And one more activity for the week.  We learned about Primary and Secondary colors!

I wish I could have taken a picture of her expression when she put the connection together that:

 

 red + yellow = orange

 

It was just priceless.

 

It's been a busy week this week, but lots of fun!

Thanks for stopping by!!!