Latest project: Sensory boxes

I've been following several preschool activity blogs and trying to glean as much inspiration as possible for things to do with the two girls that doesn't involve TV. Sensory boxes (a box containing several different tactile and color objects for play) have become quite popular. I thought this would be a fun way to occupy some time for the girls and get rid of some old dried beans.

The first box i tried had some lima beans and masoor dal. I threw in a few toys and a toilet paper roll with an orange napkin inserted to sort of look like a fall tree. I eventually added some orange ribbon and other toys but didn't take any pictures.


The second box was black eyed peas and black beans with cows, a cup, cookie cutter and other toys.

The girls loved both boxes. D loved playing with the toys and beans and Beanie loved sitting in the box and spilling beans everywhere. She went really crazy over the orange box. I'd love to say no beans were eaten, but that wasn't the case. I did my best to keep beans out of their mouths but they were sneaky at times.
I'll probably be making more of these in the future, but I'll keep the broom and dustpan handy.

Melted crayon pucks

I've been wanting to try these things since I first saw them floating around the blogosphere about 2 years ago. I'm sure the idea has been around for ages, but it's new to me.

The concept is simple enough. Take crayons that your little artist have broken (or chewed apart in some cases) and put them in a mini-muffin tin or shaped mould if you are in possession of such a cool thing and then melt in a 150F oven until they all melt together.
What I learned: Not all crayons melt at the same temperature. The difference between washable crayons, soy crayons, old crayons and whatever else it is that makes crayons so different will yield very different results in the oven. While some crayons still held their shape, others were starting to separate out their oils.
Next time I will break the crayons into smaller pieces. The fun of these is seeing the colors change as you draw a line.

My little artists were not quite as critical as me. D had fun coloring with these while Bean thought they were much easier to hold and munch on.