Shaving Cream Sensory Bin

HELLO!

Today I will be sharing with you our easiest sensory bins we have on hand. I try to keep a can of this stuff around for when we want to play with the fluffy stuff. That's right! It's the shaving cream sensory bin!

In this post you'll see how easy it can be to get started making sensory bins. You don't need a whole bunch of extra supplies and you might even find you already have the supplies in you pantry!

Since starting sensory bins I've found my children are happy to get to play with common cooking utensils and other items around the house. I will share some of our favorites throughout our sensory bin/craft post's and our blog in general. 

To create this bin you will need

• A bin - a flat container with short sides works well, we've used 9x13 bake-ware today.
  
• Shaving cream - you could also use whipped cream if you little puts things in his/her mouth.
• Food coloring - (liquid is best)
  
• Objects to play with - we are using: a spatula, spoon, a whisk, and a couple cookie cutters.
• A safe place to make a mess!

Once supplies are gathered and you have a easy to clean surface and/or floor (you may even choose the tub). The directions for putting this bin together are pretty simple.

You'll first squirt out the cream into your bin. Feel free to make some hills and valleys to add interest.

Then add some food coloring. I recommend using just one or two colors. We have used red and blue gel food coloring for this one. Note: I have now used both liquid and gel food coloring, I have found that liquid works best! But if you only have gels they will work too ;)

 Now add in your chosen play items.

And give to your child the bin, make sure you supervise, and feel free to join in the playing. It makes it even more fun for the kids when mom or dad plays along!

The cookie cutters didn't last long today, the spoon and the whisk were the favorites in today's play. Oh the joy in simple things!

We hope you enjoy this bin as much as we do! Have a wonderful and Blessed day!

Indoor Activities

Hello!

Today I would like to share with you some indoor activities that are a hit around here, some are great for toddlers, and some are great for both babies and toddlers. Supervision is always recommended and often needed, however most of these are great to entertain the littles while you do something nearby such as folding laundry, catching up on some emails, planing upcoming things (meals, activities, of life events). I will separate this list into sections, clean, messy, calm down, and energy burning. 

Lets start with the messier list, This list would be great if you have nothing better to do and you want some good fun, it is great for exploring new textures and how things work, plus what kid doesn't like to make a mess!

Messy activities for small children:

• Shaving cream sensory bin (can also use whipped cream if you're concerned about it getting in their mouths)
  
• Water sensory play (can be moved to the tub for even more fun)
• Rainbow rice bin (rice tends to get everywhere!)
• Slime bin
• Garden sensory bin
• Painting
• Paper mache

Sometimes you just want to entertain the kids without having a big mess to clean up afterwards, this list should help give you some nice clean activities, of course with small children everything is going to require some small amount of clean up...

Clean activities for small children:

• Drawing/coloring (even better if you draw with them)
• Building a tower with blocks
• Make a fort
• Color sorting
• Read a book
• Tile shapes
• Make music with household objects
• Sensory bin with larger base objects (fake flowers, tulle sheets,
  
• Copy me/Simon says (toddlers don't get the rules but it's a good activity for learning body parts/actions)
  

Everyone with kids knows, THEY HAVE ENERGY! When that energy is overwhelming, put it to work! Here are some great ideas to burn some of that excess energy!

Energy burning activities:

• Lets pretend (pretend to be various animals to get kids moving)
• Dance time, put on some upbeat music and let loose!
• Exercise with me, kids can do or try many body only exercises, try exercising next time your little has more energy then you know what to to with!
• Race to clean up. Bonus, you get a clean house!
• Obstacle course
  
• Hide & Seek (my baby even enjoys crawling around to find where everyone went)
• Catch me if you can!
• Duck, duck, grey duck (if you have multiple toddlers)
  

When tension is rising, the kids are either too hyper and getting into trouble or being too loud and it's getting our your nerves take some time to calm down, set the kids down with something to keep their attention in a quiet way. My favorites for this are sensory jars, or blanket time with some books. A good snuggle and a book will help both mom/dad and the littles calm down. When even that doesn't work, it time to go to each his own room for nap or quiet time! I hope these give you some ideas to help your littles calm down on a busy day!

Calm down activities:

• Sensory jars
• Read a book (I know this in two different lists, but it's such a good activity!)
• listen to calm music
• Straw threading
• Puzzles
• Bubbles
  
• Drawing is another good one to fit this category too
  
• Movie (sometimes you just need to use the screen)
• Memory card game
• A Bubble bath
• Nap time

I hope theses list's are helpful to you when you need something to shake up your day a little. Whether you're looking for for something busy or calm, messy or clean, there should be something for all the moods in your house. Leave a comment to share what you think of these activities and how your child likes them. What are your child's favorite indoor activities?

Greetings!

Hello!

Today I would like to share a bit about me.

I am a stay at home mom of two little boys (2 years) & (9 months), we love crafting, playing outside, and building towers. With two VERY energetic boys it's important to me to keep them busy so messes stay controlled and they can learn a little along the way. I hope to share with you our sensory bins, outdoor adventures, things to do indoors, and some good old home-made fun!

In my personal time (what's that!?) no really, I enjoy sewing, quilting, and crafting in general, and hope to one day have our own homestead. I enjoy dreaming of what our homestead will look like, and all the children we will one day have all around us! I love to make everything at home that we can from food and clothing, to pillows, home decor, and art.

I currently have some health aliments that I'm working to fix with lifestyle changes. I will share my journey through those as the time comes...

Posts you'll find on this blog include:

• A glimpse into our day/week
• How-to projects
• Activities for small children
• Including learning into your everyday life
  
• Getting better organized with me!
• Recipes/ what we're cooking
  

I am often asked how I can have time to create new things while raising two small energetic boys and still keep everything from falling apart. My simple answer is, God! And I would love to have more time! However, We take each day that God gives us to honor Him, I'll take what I can get, and if I have no free time, often I involve the kids into whatever needs to be done. It makes for a great teaching opportunity!

I hope through this blog I can encourage you to enjoy your children and raise them to be God loving, hard working, fun people all while still enjoying the things you also like doing. Remember, things don't always go our way, and it's ok for the plan to change!!!