Play and Learn Every Day

Exploring Textures with Play Dough Rollers

08:30

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Game

08:30

One of my favourite books when I was little was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr Seuss, so I'm really excited that Ethan and Ivy enjoy listening to me read it to them now. And we've made it even more fun by coming up with our own fishing game to go with the book!

What you'll need:

blue felt
tray
assorted colours of foam sheets
permanent markers
scissors
paper clips
magnet
stick / wooden spoon
string

I set up the game for the kids using a tray and a piece of blue felt to look like the water. Then I cut out some fish shapes from the foam sheets. I did one for each of the title fish and a few others in the book. I used a permanent marker to draw an eye on each fish (and a smile or frown for the glad and sad fish) and a number on the 'one fish' and 'two fish'. Then I attached a paper clip to each of the fish (I have these cute fish ones, but any one will do). For the fishing rods I used wooden spoons and tied a magnet to each one with a piece of string.

Then after reading the story to Ethan and Ivy I let them play the game. Ivy just fished for any of the fish in the water, happily catching them and putting them to the side. To extend her learning I asked her which colours the fish were, as she is learning her colours.

For Ethan I asked him to identify which fish they were from the story, to identify the numbers on them as well as the emotions of the fish with a smile or frown.

This is such a simple game to set up for the kids but one that can keep them busy for ages. They were happily making up their own little games to go along with the fish and we could easily extend the game by making more fish or putting them in real water!

This post is part of the Book Inspired Crafts and Activities series hosted by Raising Little Superheroes. There are so many fantastic book ideas to try out!

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Easter Sensory Bottles

14:00

I have been seeing a lot of slow falling sensory bottles and calm down jars lately and they are quite different from the oil and water sensory bottles that I have made in the past. So I decided to give it a try with an Easter theme as a fun discovery and exploration activity.

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What you'll need:

plastic bottles with lids
glass measuring cup
warm water
clear hand soap
glitter
Easter confetti
glue

I read a lot of different posts on how to make these slow moving sensory bottles and there are a lot of different ways to make them. Some of the ingredients needed are not available in the UK (like corn syrup) or are just difficult to find or work with. The easiest idea that I saw was to use clear hand soap, and as I happened to half some in the house that was definitely the ideal choice for us!

To make the mixture I used a large glass measuring cup and first measured how much the small water bottles would hold (by filling one with water and pouring it into the measuring cup). I then discarded that water and began by pouring half of the amount of warm water into the jug. I then added the other half of clear hand soap. I mixed these together with a small whisk and added some glitter, then used a funnel to pour it into the bottle when I added some Easter confetti. This bottle moves slower than other sensory bottles that I have made, but I wanted it to be more so I tried another one.

With this second bottle I filled it only 1/4 with warm water and 3/4 clear hand soap. Then I added glittler as well as a bit of glitter glue (a tiny squirt, I doubt that this made much difference) and then poured it into the second bottle and added some Easter confetti. This bottle moves very slowly and it really is calming to watch all of the confetti move from one side to another.

I glued the lids on to keep them securely in place, especially as Ivy was very keen to try to get inside the bottles! The kids are really enjoying playing with them, they can't take their eyes off of them!

And I can't wait to try making them again in larger bottles and with different things inside to really experiment with this method of making sensory bottles.

This post is part of the Kindergarten Blog Hop with this months unit study being Easter. Each blog has a post from a different area of learning to make up a full unit, there are loads of great ideas to try with your Kindergarteners!