Frog Sensory Ponds

 

During our F is for Frog week we had Friend and Little Friend with us everyday to play. We played everyday with our frog pond. I decided to switch things up and present the pond in a different way each day. 

Day 1 - We played with the frog pond in a tub with water, rocks, foam lily pads and frogs. Friend said he was having fun several times. Since the bin was on the floor Little friend was able to play too.

Day 2 - The next day frog pond was in our water table. The rocks, lily pads and frogs were each in separate containers so that Little Bit and Friend could arrange them like they wanted. I only put water in to one section of the table. Little Bit and Friend used the dry area as land for the frogs to sit on.

Day 3 - On day three we talked about how frogs sometimes live in the mud. I set out a tub with dirt and water table with water. Friend and Little Bit quickly started adding the water to the dirt and making mud. Little Bit was the first one to touch the mud and not long after they were hiding the frogs in the mud then digging around trying to find them. The one word they used to describe the mud over, and over again was GROSS!! If they could of jumped in like the frogs they would have. :) The dirt came from our yard so it had leaves and sticks in it which added extra fun to the digging around.

I do believe this was their favorite frog pond :)

Day 4 - On the last day we played with our frogs in green goo (Obleck). Little Bit had never played with green goo so she enjoyed dipping, scooping and burying the frogs. We did not use the rocks for this bin, just the frogs and lily pads.

We had fun playing with the frogs in different ways. Very little changed with each of the bins but Little Bit and Friend enjoyed playing and exploring the different ponds.

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 ;)

Sidewalk Chalk Squirt Paint

We recently moved to a house that is in the country and has LOTS of yard and driveway space. Our last house did not have a yard that we could spend time in and overnight we have become an outside family. YAY! I spent so much time outside as a kid, it has been so relaxing and fun to watch Little Bit play in the yard during the day. After dinner she follows my husband outside to dig for worms, go on a treasure hunt or just play. I love that we are raising a child that loves to be outside. 

With a better yard we are trying out new outside play activities. This past week we tried sidewalk chalk paint in squirt bottles. We had painted with sidewalk chalk paint in the past and loved it! The idea came from Growing a Jeweled Rose for using squirt bottles.  

Little Bit loved squirting the paint, making shapes and spraying her feet. Once the paint dries it becomes chalk powder. Little Bit discovered that she could scratch it with a stick and make tiny chalk beads. She had just as much fun with the dry paint as when it was wet. Creating the sidewalk chalk paint was easy. 

Chalk Paint 

Ingredients - food color, water and cornstarch

Directions - mix equal parts water and cornstarch, then add food coloring. 

Check out the blogs listed below and the collection of chalk activities they have.

Other Chalk Activities

Learn with Play at Home

Inner Child Learning

Zoo Scavenger Hunt

Today, we went on a scavenger hunt at the zoo! We have been talking about animals, making animals for our animal wall and going to zoo classes all month. This scavenger hunt was a great way to look for animals and talk about them. Little Bit loves 'I Spy' and the scavenger hunt book was perfect! As we walked around the zoo and saw a different animal she would say, "Do I have that animal?" then look through her book.

 

 

 

When we found one of the animals that was in the book Little Bit pulled out her stamp and stamped the box. She loved this, to my surprise, I was expecting her to enjoy it but possibly loose interest after a few animals. Little Bit played all the way through the zoo and was upset when we had to leave and could not continue looking for animals.

I originally found the idea at We Wilsons and created a book based on the animals our zoo has. The Zoo Scavenger Hunt Book was printed, double sided on paper then cut and stapled together. It was easy to make.



 

We ended our scavenger hunt feeding the goats and alpaca, which of course were in our book. :)

Footprint Art

 

 

We spent the morning painting with our feet. This was an easy activity that Little Bit LOVED! My husband cut a box so that it would lay flat on the ground. I added a little paint to a few bowls and Little Bit had at it.

After painting with her feet for a while, Little Bit decided to use her bat, knee and fingers. The best part was watching her run around with paint on her feet.

I modified this activity from an activity found on The Imagination Tree blog.

Sidewalk Paint

We spent the morning painting our driveway, it was so much fun. Little Bit loved painting and brightening up the driveway. To make the paint I mixed cornstarch, water and food coloring. Our drive is rougher than the average so the paint did not fully show up until it dried, which doesn't take long here in Florida.

I found the idea for sidewalk paint at All Things Simple. The idea for using sponge brushes and a cupcake pan also came from blog.

 

Recipe for Sidewalk Chalk

 

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup water

food coloring