activities

Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts

Re,Cycle Me Set from Green Board Games

Crafts are something we don't do often enough with Blake. I think it's because I'm pretty lazy in the sense I really don't want to clean up extra mess and he does that kind of thing at preschool anyway.

However after being sent the Re,Cycle, Me set from Green Board Games last month I decided to get it out and have some craft time at the weekend together.

The craft set is a fun way of turning garbage into art. There are many different Re, Cycle, Me sets from Green Board Games however we got sent this set which has all the bits to make 5 different art projects.

In this set you can make A robot, aeroplane, train, car and rocket. The set contains nearly everything you need to get started all you have to get yourself is the toilet/kitchen roll tubes and glue as the kit contains all the other bits needed.

In the box you will find Paints, paper shapes, stickers and more plus the instructions on how to make each art project.

We decided to try out making the robot as it looked the easiest out of the lot to do and I was glad that it was simple and fun for Blake and I to do together.

All we had to do was get a toilet role tube which Blake had fun painting green. Yes his clothes got messy and he decided to paint his hands but seeing him laughing away and having fun made me realise we need to do this kind of thing together more.

Once the tube had dried we stuck on the robot face stickers and then I selotaped the other bits on ( I couldn't find our glue) and it was all done.

We are looking forward to make some more of the art projects from the sets now over the next few weekends.

The great thing about the set to me is that it encourages children to be more aware of ways they can use rubbish to make something fun. With older children you can also talk about ways on which you can recycle and how it affects our plant and how we can do our bit. So its also a great way to encourage learning about something important.

Festive Sensory Tuff Spot

I'm not sure why but I've not really shared activities that I do with Blake that often on here. We have a tuff tray and my aim is for next year to use it a lot more and share with you some ideas. On December 1st I decided that I wanted to put our tree up but than I came up with an idea of a festive sensory tuff spot first. So I delayed putting the tree up and let him explore some Christmas decorations as we have quite a few with different textures etc.

Here is what I included:

- Tinsel

- Faux mistletoe

- Different tree decorations in shapes and sizes

- Mini Christmas tree

- Bell tree decoration

- Felt Christmas tree pen

Autumn Activities

As I have mentioned many times before autumn/winter is my favorite season.

I have compiled a list of activities that we hope to get up to and if we don't do some than I have the list for next year.

- Go on a autumnal scavenger hunt ( collect things like different colored leaves, acorns, conkers, pine cones etc)

- Go for a woodland walk

- Make nature rubbings (This will better when Blake is a little older)

- Create Autumn leaf art

- Play autumn treasure memory game ( use the items you collected in the scavenger hunt)

- catch autumn leaves

- Make apple jam

- Have a movie afternoon

- Drink hot chocolate

- Toast marshmallows

- Make an apple crumble

- Make stews and casseroles in the slow cooker

- Make homemade soup

- Make an autumn tuff spot tray to explore

- Make a messy tuff spot pinterest has some fun ideas.

- Make mud pies

- Visit a farm

- Have an indoor picnic

Small Poundland Haul

I've not done a haul post for awhile but today I wanted to share with you a few bits I picked up in our local poundland for Blake.

They are all things for activities to do with him and at £1 each I thought they were a bargain as he will get so much use out of them.

Pom Pom balls are ideal for doing a range of activities with. We did a scooping activity yesterday with them but u can also use them for other activities for fine motor skills and for using in crafts.

These skittles are great I picked them up as Blake loves ball games and this would be a fab for him to enjoy and can be used indoors as well as outdoors.

This egg and spoon toy set is great for role play. We can pretend to make cakes, use the spoons for stirring, scooping etc.

Playdough is something I wanted to get Blake into and both the 4 mini dough pots and dough bucket are a great way to start. We are yet to try them but I think its a great starter set as I don't want to spend a lot on the playdough brand when he may not be that interested in it yet.

What do you think of my little haul? Have you picked up any bargains in your local poundland?

Things to do in summer

As the sun has finally arrived and the summer holidays are fast approaching you may need some ideas of what to get up to. The local classes we usually go to have stopped for 6/7 weeks so we will be finding other fun things to do. Some ideas are also great for when the weather isn't so great.

Here is a list to help you out when your a bit stuck with what to do:

- Go to some local parks
- Go for a walk
- Go to the beach
- Make some crafts
- Go swimming
- Visit the Zoo
- Play in the garden (if your lucky enough to have one)
- Read books
- Play in the paddling pool
- Bake a cake
- Spend the day watching films
- Do a nature trail
- Go for a walk in the woods
- Go for a walk around a lake
- Go strawberry picking
- Make a den
- Visit a farm
- Have a BBQ
- Visit the library
- Have a picnic
- Visit a museum
- Go camping
- Feed the ducks
- Go to an aquarium
- Go to the fair
- Go to the cinema
- Go to a local soft play center
- Feed the ducks
- Go bowling
- Go for a bike ride
- Visit a water park
- Go to a National Trust site
-Blow bubbles
- Messy Play

I hope this post has been helpful to you and have given you some ideas for the summer holidays. I'm going to try and do as many of these as possible to make most of the summer.

Play The Forest School Way

The forest school movement is gaining in popularity over the last few years. Forest School is a way to help your child to connect with nature and learn new skills by being adventurous and having fun. This is done with woodland crafts, games and other activities.

I love the whole idea of forest school and children getting out and learning outdoors. I recently found out that once a month a playgroup will be running on a Saturday morning at a local woods which is suitable for all ages and am tempted to see what the next session in July is like.

I was recently sent a copy of Play The Forest School Way which will be released on the 16th June RRP £12.99. It's packed full of ideas for children from the ages of 3 up 11 years old. Some of the ideas in the book are:

- Nature Jewelry

- constructing a bow and arrow

- building shelter

and

- Foraging for food.

The book follows the forest school philosophy of encouraging self-esteem, confidence, risk management and social skills within an outdoor environment. The book is to aid parent's to follow aspects of forest school in the way they handle play sessions. Each of the activities in the book are targeted for different age ranges, for playing in groups and for with just one or two children. The book is written for parents and carers however the instructions are written simply so children can read them too. I love that the book is made robust so that it can withstand outdoor handling.

Even though Blake is too young for the activities mentioned in this book at the moment I definitely feel it will come in handy for using when he is older but also gives me more knowledge and understanding on the whole forest school concept.

Have you ever gone to forest school? if not is it something you would be interested in doing?

Having fun in your garden this summer

The weather has recently started to brighten up and I'm trying to get out and about with Blake and enjoy the sunshine more. One thing I wish we had was a garden as there are so many fab things you can do in the summer from the comfort of your own back garden.

Here are a few ideas of what you can get up to:

With Kids

- Get the swimming pool out

- Water and sand play

- Have fun using chalk to draw on the pavements

- Get the bubbles out

- Grab yours and the kids lunch and have a picnic outside

- Messy Play, we do messy play in our flat but its easier to clean up outside

Other

- Get the BBQ out and enjoy dining al fresco

- Sit in the sun and sun bathe, read a book or watch the clouds

- When the kids are asleep why not head outside and star gaze

- Ball games for both children and adults

- Why not buy an inflatable hot tub from http://www.inflatabletubs.org.uk/ to relax in

These are just a few great things you can get up to in your garden this summer.

What are your favorite things to do in the garden during the warmer months?

What Did The Caterpillar Eat? Sensory Bag

One of our favorite books to read to Blake is The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Its a book that I think most children have had read to them, and one that i can vaguely remember being read to when I was little. Its one of Blake's first books that we purchased for him and he loves it.

So when I was looking through the fab resources for newborn- two years from Twinkl and came across some The Very Hungry Caterpillar activities, one of them I knew I had to do was the What did the Caterpillar eat? Sensory bag.

Its so easy to make and Blake has had lots of fun with it too.

You can find the resources and how to make this activity here.

Blake still is at an age where he can still have fun with activities like this but as he gets older he will start to understand and engage more so this activity will really help with is learning.

I am going to also do this activity again with him when he is a little older as at the moment its all about the sensory aspect rather than learning about food names etc.

As a parent, sometimes messy activities can be a pain to do. This activity is non messy and and because its easy to make and do its not time consuming either. The only thing is that you will need a laminater which in my opinion is an investment to have if you love doing loads of activities at home. Because the items are laminated you can clean them and resuse them so that you wont have to print them off again. Once you have finished the activity all you have to do is remove the laminated bits and pop the ziplock bag straight in the bin.

What do you think of this sensory bag activity do you think your little one would love to do this?

Amazon Haul

It's time for another haul post, I recently did a spot of shopping on Amazon and

wanted to share with you what I ordered.

Splash About Baby Wrap Neoprene Wetsuit

As Blake has swimming classes every Saturday afternoon we use a wrap to keep him

warm in the pool and this is the second Splash about wrap we have purchased.

The only fault I find with it is the sizing isn't the best he is 14 months and we are having to put him

in a size 18-30 months wrap as his 6- 18 month one is too small now.

Other than that we love it, Blake also has the swim nappy and the nappy wrap too.

Playful Parenting (Book)

I chose this book as I thought it would be a great parenting guide.

It seems to have good reviews and is about helping your child to develop

and learn through play.

The Unmumsy Mum (Book)

The Unmumsy Mum writes candidly about motherhood like it really is: the messy, maddening, hilarious reality, how there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and how it is sometimes absolutely fine to not know what you are doing.

I'm really looking forward to reading this it looks like an easy to dip into book for when you have a bit of time to unwind.