Sensory food activity!

Ever noticed how young children enjoy feeling, touching, squishing, mushing and generally playing with their food? It's just another way they are exploring and discovering with their senses!

How about trying out this sensory food activity to encourage this natural curiosity and developing hand/eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Use a melon baller to make balls of different coloured melons.

Give the children a range of utensils to pick up the fruit with, shown are spoons, skewers and straws. Tongs would also be a great addition or chop sticks.

And then let the children explore!

They may pick them up and eat them, smell them, squish them. If you provide colour coordinated cups they may sort them developing one on one correspondence skills.

This could be a great activity at snack time or to keep kids engaged whilst you prepared lunch!

This idea and more great tried and tested ideas can be found at;

www.platathomemom3.blogspot.ca

Somedays 5 year olds have the best ideas!

Had the delight today to be asked to join in a game at a day home!
The game was being led by a 5 year old and created much enjoyment for the younger children at the day home.

It was an extremely simple idea!

One child lies down on a blanket with their eyes closed.

The other children tip toe around the child saying 'grumpy grizzly, grumpy grizzly sleeping in a cave, never, ever wake her/him up'.

On the word 'up' the child pretending to sleep on the blanket wakes up and tries to catch another child who then becomes the 'grumpy grizzly'!

Needless to say the chgildren get closer and closere as they all want to get caught and have their turn.

What was wonderful to see was the children changing the game! Grumpy grizzly became grumpy robin in a nest, grumpy dog on a bed, grumpy horse in a stable and then elements of freeze tag were included where once caught the child stood still until they were freed by another!

As day home providers it is expected that developmentally appropriate activities are planned for everyday. A great emphasis, however, is placed on learning through play and being flexible to go with children's interests and ideas!

It is fair to say that somedays the children simply have the best ideas! Try a game of 'grumpy grizzly, at your day home!

Indoor sand tray exploration.

So often we wait to use sand outdoors in the summer! Understandably sand plus young children does equal mess!

However, if you have an area in your home where sand play can happen during the colder months, the children will certainly enjoy and gain great development from it!

Sand is great for exploring and discovery as well as providing many opportunities for fine motor skill development!

This great idea has come from the blog www.playathomemom3.blogspot.ca

Use an enclosed tray or shallow bin and add stickers to the bottom. Could be letters, numbers, colours, dinosaurs etc.

Cover with a shallow amount of sand.

Provide the children with various brushes and encourage them to gently brush the sand away to discover the stickers beneath!