Slime Pie ~ Invitation to Play

Slime, who doesn't like slime?? Little Bit LOVES slime! The slime I made will last for several months so we will use it in lots of ways but for now we are using it to bake. Using the slime for pretend baking was Little Bits idea. She started making pies so I ran with it and quickly pulled together a few play cooking items. She has not tired of slime pies yet.

 I made a batch using the recipe found on Growing a Jeweled Rose. The recipe is very simple but I do want to add a disclaimer: when I made the slime it DID NOT look right, it looked like a hot mess. I made it for a play date that we were having at my house. I let the kids play with the not so great slime because kids do not care it looks right or not they just like to play with yucky stuff ;) After about 5 minutes of play it was perfect! Do not give up on the slime if it does not mix together at first, just play with it to get it to the right consistently.

 Little Bit loved making the slime into eggs. Slime does not hold its form the way play-dough does but that doesn't matter to Little Bit. The slime is easy to move, cut and pull apart which is why I think she loves it so much. After making eggs she used the eggs to make pies and cookies.

We used several different baking accessories: 

• egg carton
• fork, knife, spatula
• play pie pans
• play cookie sheet
• real microwave (Little Bit pretends this is her oven)
• cookie cutters

Slime baking has been a hit at our house. When I am cooking she loves to play with her slime and bake. I love that the slime is easy to clean up and doesn't easily dry out. Do you play with slime? What are your favorite slime activities?

T is for Train

 

 

Little Bit is in a train phase. After lunch and before quiet time she watches one show and everyday she picks Thomas. So, instead of T is for Turtles like I planned we did T is for Trains. My little girl has been a tomboy since she was born, no princesses or dresses for her, it is Cars, dirt and blocks. I can't blame her though I would rather wear a t-shirt and flip-flops than high heels and lipstick. Like mother, like daughter. :) 

 

As we learned about trains we read lots of train books. Check out our list of train books, 14 Book About Trains.

I created a box train from a few boxes we had from our move. The idea for a big train came from {kidlist} activities for little kids. The train that she made is incredible! I did not make a train as large or colorful as hers but it was perfect for Little Bit.

 

My husband cut windows and a door out of the front box, I added a small box to the front, and a chimmey with white smoke. For the cars in the back I used two small boxes that we connected with a small strip of cardboard between get section. Black wheels and a yellow light was added to finish the train off. The train moves easily when pushed. Little Bit pushes it all over the house saying, "chugga-chugga, choo-choo!"

Now, how can you have a train with no track??? Well, a roll of masking tape created a perfect track. The track runs through our living room, dining room and playroom to create a complete circle. Little Bit LOVES the track! She rides her small scooter, pushes her train and with Daddy races the track on foot.

You can also added railroad signs to your track area. Check out these signs found online you can use.   Free Printable Railroad Crossing Signs -  Sign 1  Sign 2

Little Bit wanted to decorate her train right away. She added a face and then used markers and paint to color on it. This was her favorite activity this week, she loved making her train pretty. Please excuse the PJ's, they are Little Bits favorite and she decided to wear her PJ's on this day.

I found a fun idea for a train book at 1+1+1=1. The book she created was set up a bit differently. I decided to make ours like a real book and added a few extra pages that I found at TeacherPayTeachers as park of a train packet. Little Bit put the book together and was excited to play with each page.

Page 1 - Thomas and Friends book 
Page 2 - Thomas Shape Match Up. I drew the shapes on the page so that Little Bit could 
               match the shapes. 
Page 3 - Color Train coloring book. 
Page 4 - Thomas Number Book. 
Page 5 - Thomas Number Puzzle. 
Page 6 - Practice page for tracing. 

The following blogs have great train ideas. 

Play Trains! - This is an entire blog for just trains.

Simple Living Mama - Train Themed Preschool Unit

Lets Play Music - Down At the Station: Train Songs

Tippytoe Crafts - Name Train

We enjoyed talking about and playing with trains. What are your favorite train activities?

Pretend Laundry Play

 

Pretend play has become a big part of Little Bit's world. Her imagination has opened up and she is always pretending. I came across a fun pretend laundry idea on the blog Sand and Water Tables.  First, I tied string to our back deck to create a clothesline, pulled out some clothes that Little Bit has out grown and setup the water table with soapy water.  

Once I explained what we were doing she quickly got to work, I mean play :) Little Bit is a BIG helper around the house and loved pretending to do laundry. The clothespins were a bit tricky but after a little practice she got it. This was a simple, easy and everyday play idea that we will use again soon. Now if Little Bit was tall enough to do the real laundry that would be awesome ;)

Our First Invitation to Play

 

 
My friend and fellow blogger from Fantastic Fun and Learning told me about Invitations to Play a few months back. However, with school ending I did not actually set one up until today.
 
WOW!
 
I loved it! And I was not the one playing! :)  

After looking around online, mainly on Pinterest, I decided to just set up a dinner play area. While Little Bit napped I set up the living room with a few things for severing dinner. I have been told and read that Invitations to Play are about setting up toys in a new or different way. With that in mind I added a few real kitchen items to make it special. This is what I used:

• table and chairs
• Mickey Mouse, duck, and baby
• table cloth
• 3 cake plates (real)
• napkins (real)
• forks (real)
• cups
• pitcher
• play food 

Little Bit loved it! She immediately set out the plates and began asking what they wanted to eat. It was fun to watch her play and listen to her talk to her "guest" the way we talk at dinner. I saw a big difference in how she played when it was presented in a different way and all out for her to run with.

I will post any more Invitations to play as we use them. What is your favorite Invitation to Play?