Colored Sensory Rice and Noodles

I am sure you have seen it before; a classic sensory material. These colors did not stay separate for long. Will dug right in...but first he had to run a few cars through of course.

This was incredibly easy to make and so much fun!...well anything with color is SO MUCH FUN!...obviously. :) We then also tried it with noodles. I liked the way the color blended with the rice a little better. It had a much better consistency and Will enjoyed playing with the rice more too, but still fun.

Here is the recipe...

2 lbs. white rice (split evenly into separate bowls)
4 tsp. rubbing alcohol, one per bowl
food coloring

* I added the alcohol to each bowl of rice first and then added 6-8 drops of food coloring per bowl and stirred until combined. You can add more or less drops depending on how deep of a color you want. Then I spread the rice out on wax paper on the kitchen counter to dry for an hour or so. That's it! I then poured it into a tub and prayed that it would all stay in there once touched by my pre-schooler.

Once again, everything is so much more fun when color is added! :)

Remember GAK!?

Ok, so if you grew up in the 90's then you should totally remember this stuff. GAK! Remember the funny smell it had? Or the weird sound it would make when you squished it into the 5 bumps in it's plastic case? HA! We loved this stuff growing up. Thanks to the Internet, I found several recipes to make it at home! Wahoo!

First, gather your materials...

1 teaspoon Borax
4 oz. Elmer's glue
1 1/2 cups of water
food coloring

Start by adding the borax to the water and stir until dissolved.

Then pour the glue into a separate bowl.

Add food coloring. Will chose blue, so we added maybe 8 drops. I can't remember for sure. Just add some and stir and add more if you want it darker. Stir until it is combined.

Then carefully add the water/borax mixture to the glue and stir. 

Stir for a minute and watch the solids start to form.

At this point we just decided to go ahead and finish combining with our hands. Oh my it was sooo slimy! :)

We eventually transferred to a dry dish and continued play for like...humm..I think he stayed occupied with this stuff for a whole hour at LEAST. Wow! This is the one fun homemade activity that we have done where it has lasted longer than 5-10 minutes! Yay for GAK! The pigs even got in the goo.

We stored it in a plastic zip-lock bag and it has not changed it's consistency in one week so far. I have no idea how long it should last. I'll let you know.  :)

Smile Rocks and the Great Outdoors

Will and I had a lot of fun painting rocks the other day with the intention of leaving them in random places around town to make someone smile when they found them.

We went to Jester Park for the morning...Will's very favorite place to go to in the summertime around Des Moines. He gets to explore and be out in nature hiking, walking in water, digging, finding rocks, climbing, and looking for bugs. We thought this would be the perfect place to spread some smiling rock  love. Along paths and walkways, ledges, and benches, we left colorful rocks with the hopes that it may brighten someones day. I know it would brighten mine. :)

Look at those cuties.

This is the Jester Park Natural Playscape. It is so cool! It is low key, low traffic, quiet, and perfect for the tiny ones. 

Look! Now we have more rocks to paint!

Go Outside!

{Make time for Creative adventures.}

The Mud Tub

Yes, another sensory tub. :) He keeps asking me for more! But hey, it's free, it's easy, and we usually have everything we need on hand..and lately he has been coming up with the ideas.  So here it is...Dirt we found outside, water, tools and toys. This was of course before he really dug into it. :)

Mouldable "Sand"

Also known as Cloud Dough, it is mouldable, soft, silky, fragrant, fluffy...it is really quite interesting. No it is not really sand, but you can play with it like sand. It moulds together, but falls apart easily. Humm...not really sure how else to describe it.  You might just have to try it for yourself. It's only 2 ingredients! 2 1/2 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of baby oil.  I have also seen people add glitter to it. The baby oil is the best part. It makes it super soft, smells so good, and leaves your hands feeling all silky. 

This kept Will busy for a while. I think a couple dinosaurs and other toys made it in the tub at one point as well.  I love that simple things like this with ingredients I have on hand create so much entertainment for these littles...oh wait, and for me. I was totally having fun squishing it between my fingers! Who wouldn't?!

Kinda fun! :)

More Sensory Tubs!

The Construction Sensory Tub has been Will's favorite by far! It is his little indoor sandbox. We put this together maybe a month ago, but since the nice weather came we have been out in the big outdoor one. We will save this one for rainy days. :)

*included with the construction sensory tub: playing sand, two plastic construction equipment tractor things(i have no idea what the names are), wooden blocks, two plastic orange cones, popsicle sticks, two scoops, and several sand molds.

He also liked racing his micro cars through the sand as well.

...and then of course putting them into their appropriate ice cube garage stalls when done. :)

I have not shared with you several other sensory tub themes that we have done. Here are a couple that I took pictures of...

Rainbow Sensory tub (an I-Spy themed tub)- I gave him a list of things and how many of each object he needed to find.

*included inside: magnifying glass for searching, one scoop, pipe cleaners, plastic beads (different colors, shapes, and some animals), string to put beads on, stickies, variety of pom pons, foam blocks, plastic colorful shapes, and the plastic magnet letters that spell out "rainbow."

Ocean Sensory Tub

*included: water, variety of sea animals (fish, sharks, dolphins, whales, etc.), marbles, glass beads, one scoop, sea shells, and a couple of cups.

He loves his sensory tubs, but by far he has loved his indoor sandbox the best. He could play in it for hours...and of course making me dig into it too. :)

Indoor Activities

row row row your boat...

a spin on the old alphabet puzzle; searching for letters in the sensory tub of beans

...and hammering in the foam letters.

This just might be the most colorful Mater EVER! It now lives in Will's room where he has made a bed with stars on the ceiling and has taken naps. :) His little "tent."

And while having a family art night coloring Mater Will turned to me and said "Look I am Rudolph the blue nose reindeer!" I love that kid! :)

For the Love of Playdough

Will would sit all day and play with playdough...that is of course if I am sculpting everything he demands me to. :)...

Our family of snowmen. (Dad is the green one because we ran out of white playdough)

My attempt at Buzz Lightyear. :)

Our cupcake creations. Mine is white cake with strawberry frosting and sprinkles. Will said his was a green monster cupcake with lots of blueberries. :)

...My cutie...