Spring Play Dough: An Invitation to Play

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Play dough is a staple amongst ECE educators.  It's a great tool for imaginary play, exploration, and helps to build-up the fine motor skills needed for writing.  It's also cheap to make.  I often use this no cook recipe from The Imagination Tree. It's what I used in the picture below.  I added yellow food coloring and green glitter  to make it "springy."

 

The dollar store is a handy resource for cheap exploratory supplies.  If you are like me, and don't go often, Amazon is fantastic too (not to mention it'll be delivered right to your doorstep).  When I go to the dollar store, it takes me forever because I'm hunting for anything I can use for art and sensory activities.  It's amazing what you can find, especially amongst the seasonal items.  And the containers!  So many cute ways to present invitations to play/explore as well as for storing said objects.

For this particular invite, I set out the homemade play dough, sparkly Mini Styrofoam Eggs, silk flowers, and plastic butterflies.  The other play dough tools are all on a low shelf for easy access.

This particular spring themed invitation allows a child to explore concepts of spring: plants/gardening, new life, insects (life cycle), and Easter (if one chooses).  This activity allows for independent play and free exploration of materials.

You may be asking, "what is an invitation to play?" and that would be a great question.  For an awesome tutorial, check out Creating the Invitation to Play on Teach Preschool and Creating Invitations to Play! on The Imagination Tree.  

If you wish to expand this activity through reading, you might try:

 

Color Dripping: Spring Flowers

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Recently I purchased some Pipettes because my 4 year old likes to play in water.  I figured, amongst many other things, she could use them for water transfer and creating "potions" outside.  I also know they are great for various art projects and color blending.  While browsing Facebook I came across a beautiful spring art experiment from Fun-a-Day that inspired me to decorate for spring.  So I set to work, which included creating some liquid watercolors.  

While I prefer how vibrant purchased Liquid Watercolors  can be, I didn't have any on hand.  But I did have a bag full of dried markers I'd been collecting.  You can repurpose these old markers by placing their tips in water and allowing them to soak for several hours, or overnight.  Then you can store the created watercolors in small plastic containers.

After creating the watercolors, I cut some coffee filters into flower shapes.  The nice thing about coffee filters is they are thin, so you can cut a number of them at once.  When all was ready, I set out the flowers, watercolors, and pipettes (one for each color) for my preschooler to play with.  I used a plastic box lid to contain the mess as best as possible.  A tray or cookie sheet could also work.  Some kids like to really soak their art work, so keeping it from running all over the place is important for your own sanity.

Pipettes are a great tool for developing fine motor skills.  Toddlers may find squeezing and transferring the liquid difficult.  If this is the case, give them a paint brush.  It'll still create a lovely work of art.

There are several ways you can take this activity.  If you want to teach simple color blending, try using only two colors at a time:

• yellow+red= orange
• blue+yellow=green
• red+blue= purple

If you want to move beyond the basics, try multiple colors.  Some truly beautiful flowers can be created this way.  I explained to my daughter that it's best to mix the colors on the paper, rather then in the containers because otherwise you'll end up with all brown.  Of course, if your child is like mine, they will still test this theory.  I found if you use an ice tray for your colors, rather then giving them the storage containers, you'll waste less, and it can be easily dumped and replenished.  

As much as possible, stand back and allow your child to explore the activity.  It's OK to ask them questions about the colors they are blending but otherwise let them create.  Some may chose to not blend the colors.  That's OK too.  Sometimes the process is more important then the product.  

With Easter around the corner, we also painted some coffee filter Easter eggs.  Once all the flowers and eggs were dry, we hung them in the windows to catch the light and enjoy. 

Here's a list of what you'll need:

• pipettes or droppers (paint brush for toddlers)
• coffee filters
• liquid water colors
• Scissors (for cutting flower/egg shapes)

Have you used pipettes for color blending before?  Let me know how you did and what you think of this activity.  

Snail Painting

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Let me begin by saying no snails were harmed in the making of this art.  Also if you are easily grossed out by slimy creatures then I'm sorry, because this post is full of them crawling around, getting kids slimy and stuff, trails of colored goo left behind.  Look away...or don't...preferably don't.

Snails are fascinating!  I've loved them since I was a little kid.  They are slimy but have the cutest faces!  I mean have you ever taken the time to really look at it?  Adorable!  They are also good artists.  To help your snails create art, you'll need a few items:

• Food coloring or Liquid Watercolors
• Several small, shallow containers (one for each color you plan to use)
• Paper (a large sheet of butcher paper works best)
• Snails
• Magnifying Glass (optional)

This activity is easy peasy.  Simply fill you containers with water and add food coloring to desired shade.  Gently dip a snail into the color and place it on the paper.  Let the snails go nuts.

Look at how much fun they are having!  OK, I don't know if snails even have the concept of fun, but it sure looks that way.

The more snails you have the more colorful your art will be, but you don't want too many, unless multiple kids are involved, because they can be difficult to herd. 

• Make sure you talk to your kids about being gentle with creatures great and small.  It's fun to explore but we don't want any casualties.  
• If you have one, encourage children to use a magnifying glass to view the snails and study them.  
• Yes, sometimes snails poop on their art and on little hands.  No biggie, simply wipe it up and wash your hands.  Wash after releasing the snails too!  
• Please release your snails...or feed them to a box turtle; they love them!     

Chalk Art on It's Playtime

Today I'm off to play with my kids in the mountains.  It's all about exploring nature with hiking, waterfalls and maybe some wild animals.  So in an effort to keep things short and sweet here is my fabulous feature for this weeks It's Playtime!  It's all about the mess....

Creative Playhouse shared their Crushed Chalk Art.  Simple, open-ended, and messy; just the way I like it!  Your kids will enjoy crushing the chalk as much as creating a colorful piece of art.

If you were featured this week, don't forget to grab your special "featured button."

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEYKQj4S7oHoLKfsA3PoeXgaNMJ5dxkdUxIphbmwXOlbFg78Gwl73-rT8AdMTgmqYmIJZrkJRYOqOEItkCbR_exui4YhZqLlwZaBHXhC5slGyqPScnxvq-zrQezw9-MdIUiecgW3fxKg/s1600/featured-messykids.jpg" width="150/" /></a>

These activities plus more can be found over on the It's Playtime Pinterest Board.  Happy Pinning! 

Now, on to this weeks play date! 
It's Playtime is a community and Thursday link-up hosted by:

* Rachele : Messy Kids (That's me!)
* Rachel & Holly : Quirky Momma
* Jillian: A Mom With a Lesson Plan

How to Play :

* Link up a post about a playful learning experience enjoyed by kids.

* Give us love and pop a button into your post/blog. Invite your readers to the weekly play date!

<a href="http://messypreschoolers.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VWLA7lm_Fqc/TaNHGpGSuVI/AAAAAAAAEX0/DGSvqIT7fyU/s320/RED-itplaytime.jpg" width="150" /></a>

* Stop by one of our blogs every Thursday and add your link about play. Your link will show up on each of the blogs in the It's Playtime community.

* Each week the playtime hosts will choose favorite posts to feature. (By linking you are giving us permission to use an image and link to you, if featured.)

* Be sure to visit some of the links that catch your eye. Commenting on posts that you find interesting or inspiring is a wonderful way to develop your own playful community.

By linking up you give us permission to grab a picture and feature you here, on a site we write for, on FB or Pinterest.   If we share your link, we will always credit you, send people to your original post and use only ONE photo.

BabbaBox Review: Fun & Learning Delivered to Your Door

Occasionally I have the privilege of reviewing products.  I reviewed a great scrapbooking software back in February and I'll have another product review in the the next month or so.  It's a blogging perk that I enjoy.  I LOVE trying new products and sharing how I feel about them.  The BabbaBox by BabbaCo is no exception.  I was so excited to review this product I could hardly contain myself!  It fit fantastically with my blog plus I've developed and taught curriculum in the past, so I felt comfortable reviewing this product.  I wasn't disappointed!

We were so excited to get our BabbaBox in the mail.  It was like Christmas!  The theme for the month was "Sprouting Seeds".  The box included everything we needed to sprout and explore our own seeds, make flower pens, read and learn about seeds, plus a treat of yummy caramel chocolate (which being pregnant, I ate right away), and some coupons for babysitting sources and such.  It was quite the treasure trove.        

Amongst the crafts and science fun, was a Curious George book, actually two books in one.  My son, not being crafty, immediately grabbed the book to read.  He loves books!  After looking at it on his own, he asked me to sit and read the stories to him.  Both the stories related to seeds and planting, corresponding with the BabbaBox's theme.      

Once we sat down to play with our BabbaBox, my son became very interested.  We used one of the charts to do a quick review on parts of a plant.

After our plant review, we pulled out the "explore" pack.  It included a guide and a sturdy magnifying glass.  Michael loved looking at everything with the magnifier before checking out our seeds.  

 One of the "create" packs included a packet of herb seeds needed for both that project and the "explore" project.  I placed some of the seeds on a towel for my son and my daughter to examine.

The "explore" guide had a lovely picture of the different seeds in the packet along with the corresponding herb plant.  The kids sorted the seeds they wanted to grow in their own pots.

After sorting, they each got a small bowl to soak their seeds in before planting.

Both "create" projects came with enough supplies for two children.  For our planting project there were two pots, 4 dirt pellets, and a box of chalk.  The kids used the chalk to decorate their pots.

Once the seeds were ready, my daughter added two dirt pellets to each pot.  Then we added the water...

The kids loved watching the dirt "grow" until it filled the pot.  My son may have added a bit too much water...

Time to plant the seeds and place them in a sunny spot.  

The other "create" project in the BabbaBox were Flower Pens.  We pulled out that packet and the included scissors to get started.  The project included a guide, two silk flowers, two pens, two leaves, a vase, and green floral tape.  

 I had to start wrapping the tape for both the kids, but then they took over...

creating two unique flower pens.  My daughter has decided this is what she wants to make for Christmas gifts.

 

So now, what do I think?  I think the BabbaBox is a well thought-out product.  It has parents in mind who want to provide fun and educational activities to their children at home without all the work of downloading and "pinning" ideas, plus shopping for supplies.  This box can be spread out throughout the month or completed in a couple of days where a parent can add their own corresponding theme ideas.  I love that everything you need is included: the instructions, the supplies, reading material, and even a parental treat!  I didn't have to use anything of my own!

You can sign-up and join BabbaCo at anytime.  There are 3 great membership options to choose from; you can also give the box as a gift!  If you use the following code, you'll receive 20% off your first box: MK20OFF      

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I hope you enjoy your BabbaBox as much as we did!