When I gave them the Valentine's day inspired box for this month, Batman gave me a hug, and told me, "boys love pretty stuff too! Thanks mom!"
Yohoo, score one for Mom.
The box kept the two boys busy for more than an hour, on multiple days, without any fighting, which is ah-ma-zing!! So, score two!
Now back to the box. It is pretty and pink, mostly. I have tiny red and white pompoms, along with some big pink ones, some white beads to thread on a pipe cleaner, tiny jewel crystals (with no sharp edges), pink and white flowers liberated from their stem, tiny purple and pink flowers (that we made patterns with), heart shaped paper-mache boxes for those treasures, heart shaped pendants which acted as our treasure, pink sensory balls, heart shaped ramekins, scoops, tongs, pretty paper cupcake liners, empty cards along with their envelopes (sliding in the cards inside the envelope ever so carefully is a great motor activity for those little hands), and a purple mailbox for those valentine card deliveries! Have some sight words, or words that go with the theme? How about love or rose for silent "e", or red and pink for colors, and words like spoon, box, tong, gem, and compound words like cup-cake for the 5-6 year old crowd? Well, write them out in those pretty cards, and post it. I bet the kiddo reads it!
Batman and Spiderman made pretty sparkly cupcakes with tiny flowers as the icing, tonged the pompoms and the sensory balls, played catch with those balls, scooped the jewels, threaded the beads on the pipe cleaners, counted them, took some off, counted them again, sorted different things, and made patters, quite a few of which they came up on their own!
Other ideas would be pink Koolaid scented rice as a filler! Along with chocolate playdoh to complement it!
And best of all, when they are done, you can either keep them in the big box, or package it in something smaller, store it, and forget about it till next year when you can amaze the kiddos again. 
Why sensory play? You mean apart from the oh so pretty and fun and no fighting thing, and so many ideas it can be extended apart from free play?
Hmmmm...
Check out this link.
Why Sensory Play is Important for Preschoolers
Speaking of love, how about this for a fun girlfriend gift, or even a teacher gift?
These were all scored from World Market. Tiny wine goblet for the tiny (or not so tiny) chocolate liquor bottles, supplemented with divine smelling rose petal soaps, some chocolate hearts, and some tea-light candles! All the right ingredients for the day - wine, flowers, chocolate and candle-light!!Batman decided to put some of the rose petal soaps in the sensory box, because they smelled so good!
For more on sensory play, stay tuned for further updates, and take a peek at my Pinterest boards!
I love this box! Do you do a themed sensory bin for each month, or just holidays? So, far I've been doing a new one for each season with my almost-2 year old son. I can tell that's not changing them enough cause he is bored after a few uses, so I'm trying to find that happy medium of how often to make them.
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole!
ReplyDeleteI loved "Anatomy of a Tantrum!"
Coming back to the box, I think I love it as much as the boys! Not every month, but more seasonal and holidays. Sometimes it just happens spontaneously, depending on what their current interests are. I have a pond, a farm, and a transportation one, that are my staples, currently in storage, but comes out every 4-6 months.
I will be making an Easter/spring/garden one soon.
I make it as often as my schedule and sanity permits, and when I think the boys will get enough play with it...