What’s an inexpensive alternative to craft sand? Craft sand is a beautiful sensory material that always gets my creative juices flowing, but sometimes I just don’t want to spend the money for it. Luckily, there is a super inexpensive alternative that I’ll show you. Colored Salt! What’s cheaper than salt? I bought 3 containers of… Continue reading Use DIY Colored Salt Instead of Craft Sand
Category: Playdough and Sensory
How to Make Homemade Playdough Video
How do I make homemade playdough? Making homemade playdough is honestly pretty easy, but if you’re like me, seeing the directions first might be useful. We absolutely love the playdough recipe that I use in this video. There are tons of playdough recipes and everybody has their favorite and this one is my favorite. Why… Continue reading How to Make Homemade Playdough Video
How to Use Sensory Bins
How can I use sensory bins to teach my child? I’ll be honest, I resisted sensory bins for a long time before I started using them with my kiddos. They just seemed too simple to be as great as everyone said. The truth is, kids need things that are simple. They thrive with simplicity. I… Continue reading How to Use Sensory Bins
Letter Formation Video
How do I teach my child to write letters correctly? I am so excited to share with you the first video of a new series of videos. From now on we will be doing a new video every wednesday. At least that’s the goal. ;) I am sooooo new to making videos so please be… Continue reading Letter Formation Video
January Seasonal Play Dough
What is a homemade play dough recipe that is fun for winter? A few months ago I decided that my kids need to play with playdough more. We do a lot with playdough for school, but it is mostly directed by me. I realized that my kids’ play dough creativity was being stifled because I… Continue reading January Seasonal Play Dough
Homemade Silly Putty and Science Saturday Blog Hop
What is a fun sensory material I can make with my kids that will teach them about solids and liquids? I am so excited to bring you another fun science post for this week’s Science Saturday. This week we made some homemade silly putty and I knew it would be the perfect science activity to… Continue reading Homemade Silly Putty and Science Saturday Blog Hop
Smell Matching Busy Bag
What is a busy bag that will help my toddler develop a strong sense of smell? I’ve wanted to do a smell matching activity with Smiley Man for some time now and I figured turning it into a busy bag would be the perfect way to do that. This busy bag is great for developing… Continue reading Smell Matching Busy Bag
Rock Collection: Fun Summer Activity
Recently, Little Bear has been fascinated with rocks and has started some pretty fun rock collections. After losing a few small collections due to lack of storage, I decided to get serious about this rock collecting thing. I also thought it was high time to include Smiley Man among the rock collectors. I told… Continue reading Rock Collection: Fun Summer Activity
5 Montessori Practical Life Activities for Toddlers
Back when Little Bear was a toddler if somebody told me I should do practical life activities from the Montessori method with my toddler I would have said, “What is practical life in Montessori?” Luckily, I have since learned quite a bit about the Montessori methods, and I really appreciate the practical life activities. Unfortunately,… Continue reading 5 Montessori Practical Life Activities for Toddlers
When to Teach What: A guide for colors, shapes, letters, and more…
A few weeks ago, a reader asked us to do a post about when to teach certain things. Let me start by saying that I could have made this post a LOT longer than it is. I tried to keep it short and sweet and stick to the things that parents most often have questions… Continue reading When to Teach What: A guide for colors, shapes, letters, and more…