5 Days of... Preschooling with Pinterest: Day 5

***Note to self:  Do not schedule your post, then forget to check that it actually showed up on your blog - for two whole days.  That will be the time that you apparently hit "save", rather than "publish".

Here we are, at Day 5 already!  Today I have decided to share with you some Preschool ideas that I really like, but didn't feel fit in a category together - aside from this "miscellaneous" category, that is.  I hope you all have enjoyed this series, and that you have also checked out some of the other great themes being explored on the other participating blogs!  If not, just click the "5 Days of Blogging with the Homeschool Crew" button in the side column, and have fun!

• First up are the science/discovery bottles at Laguna Parent Participation Preschool.  They are made of reused Gatorade bottles, and are filled with all kinds of interesting things to explore!
• Along the same line, have you seen the jelly fish in a bottle?!?  It's at Bhoomplay's Blog, and it looks amazing!  It's hard to believe it's just a bit of plastic grocery sack in there! 
• Oops, here's one more bottle activity!  Pink Pistachio shows how to make sensory bottles.  I just love the Aquapod bottles she used, and already have some of those sparkly pom-poms.
• If your little ones love sidewalk chalk as much as my kids, you may want to check out how to make your own at Minieco.co.uk.
• I think this physical activity cube looks useful - see the details at Little Family Fun.  [Clicking through the link on the pin gets you an error message from Pinterest - but you can still go through the pin, and I promise that it does NOT go to spam or something inappropriate, as of 05/18/2012!]
• Have you introduced your little one to paper dolls?  Polly White's Picasa album has several sets of vintage paper dolls, including a Goldilocks set.
• Need more ideas?  Check out Quirky Mama.  Activities there are sorted by age from baby up to middle school!

That's all I have to share with you right now, but be sure to check out my preschool ideas board on Pinterest.  There are more ideas there, and I will continue to add to it!

5 Days of... Preschooling with Pinterest: Day 4

Let's talk about the busy-ness of it all.  If you have a preschooler, then you know there are times when you want to keep them a little... independently busy, shall I say?  Maybe you need to help an older child with their school work, finish making dinner, or just have a few minutes of quiet.  What's that?  You don't want to necessarily plop them down in front of the tv?  Well, fortunately for you, I have some "busy" activities on my Preschool Pinterest board!

• The Princess and the Tot does up what looks like a different tray for her little guy for each day of the week.  If you have a little one like mine, who wants to be on the couch as much as the "big" people are, then a tray would be great because it gives them a surface to work on, and helps contain any small items that might be part of the activity.
• Have you heard of busy bags?  Second Story Window has loads of ideas to help you fill bags for your little one.  They also host an exchange!  Busy bags are great because they are portable, meaning that you can take them with you if you know you will have to wait somewhere that will challenge your preschooler's ability to behave - like a doctor's office or a government office.  The Princess and the Tot also has some ideas, as well as an alternative idea to the typical zip-lock bag as container.  Money Saving Mom has some ideas on her blog, as well.
• Does your little one like to do worksheets?  You can find lots of preschool printable packs at 2 Teaching Mommies.  You can find more at Over The Big Moon.  
• Maybe you just want some coloring pages?  I love the animal pictures from Louise Elliott Design.  Each animal features regional folk art patterns!  There are some cute religious coloring pages at Karla Dornacher's site.

Make sure to come back tomorrow for Day 5 - anything goes!

5 Days of ... Preschooling with Pinterest: Day 3

Ok, I promised you a post on dough and other squishy things today.  Play-doh is something else that little kids (as well as big kids) seem to like.  However, it can be annoying to shell out money for it, then have it dry up quickly.  Also, watching your child eat it, then not wondering what exactly is in it is nearly impossible.  That is why I have greatly enjoyed making my own dough for my kids to play with!  Let's look at my pinboard of Preschool ideas, shall we?

• First of all, I love, love, love the recipe for play dough from adelynSTONE.  I followed her instructions exactly, aside from using sunflower oil (instead of vegetable) and adding a little bit of lemon essential oil.  I was just trying to add a pleasant aroma with the lemon oil.  Unfortunately, it didn't seem to really add a lemon scent to it.  However, I just pulled out all of the containers I had, and discovered something interesting:  the one that my older two made, without lemon oil, was moldy!  The other two that I made - back in December! - are completely mold-free, and still as pliable as the day I made them!  The moldy one was made in February or March.  I did use regular food coloring for mine, and also added some matching glitter I happened to have.  Aside from the glitter, this recipe is entirely edible!  I just took this picture of the doughs I made almost 6 months ago - they're much more sparkly in person!

Galaxy dough on the left, regular dough on the right

•  The second dough I made was galaxy dough.  This is just a fancy name for black, sparkly play dough.  I came across this pin, then read through the post on Fairy Dust Teaching about how to make it.  I took her suggestion to add a whole bottle of black food coloring and a bunch of glitter, and applied it to the basic recipe I used above from adelynSTONE.  I am still impressed with the deep shade of black, and love the glitter - though I wish I'd had some moon & star shaped glitter to add to it.  I had to settle for black, purple, silver, and Prisma.
• Now that you've got a good basic dough recipe, there is no end to the varieties you can make!  There is "cloud dough", which is basically dough made with white flour and no coloring.  You can make "snow dough", like this one from Ten Kids and a Dog.  You can also make scented ones like the gingerbread dough from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.  There is no end to the themed doughs you can create!
• How about moon sand?  Did you know you can make your own version of that, as well?  Just check out the recipe from Irresistible Ideas!  Obviously, this one is NOT edible.  Also, corn flour = corn starch.
• Lastly, for a bit of a twist on "squishy", check out the matching game from Tutus and Turtles. 

***A note about using baby oil in play dough - I don't suggest it, though some recipes out there call for it.  If your child eats the dough, a food-grade oil is much safer for them.  My opinion is if you wouldn't put it in their food, don't let them put it in their mouths.

Come back tomorrow to learn about busy-ness and how to create it!

5 Days of ... Preschooling with Pinterest - Day 2

Most little kids love to paint.  Unfortunately, paints can be pricy, especially if they're specialty ones, and the ingredients oh-so-mysterious.  Remember how funny tempera paint smells?  Today I am talking about paints - the kind you make yourself.  I have several ideas on my Pinterest board of preschool stuff, just begging for you to try them!

• Bath tub paints.  When I decided to try this idea, I actually combined a post (which I've lost) about tub crayons and the post from Meet the Dubiens about tub paint.  I got a set of small, plastic containers that have screw-on lids, and decided to use Wilton frosting colors rather than food coloring.  And, WOW, did the colors come out vibrant!  Also, I used some old tear-free shampoo we had sitting around, rather than bubble bath.  It was translucent pink to begin with, but you couldn't tell when I was done!  I did notice that my paints separated a little between uses, but all I did was stir them up when we were ready to use them again, and all was fine.  Don't be concerned about how bright the colors are - it washes off (and out!) with no trace.  Maybe because the dye is mixed into the soap first?  The one thing I don't like about the recipe is that there tends to be some corn starch left in the tub once it has drained.  It just needs a bit of rinsing again afterward, if it bothers you.  Little Miss loves her bathtub paints, and I'm due to make some more as our little bowls are almost empty!

 

• If you are looking for regular finger paints, check out the recipe from Easie Peasie.  There is also this one from The Imagination Tree, which looks a bit thicker and maybe better for toddlers.
• A great one to try this summer would be sidewalk paint from Hammer & Thread.  I think it's so cute how she painted the recipe on the concrete, then took a picture of it!
• Make a dimensional paint with the recipe from Delaware County Moms.
• Also paint-related:  Don't like letting your little one have lots of paint?  Try cutting small pieces of sponge, then soaking them in paint, the way they did on Baballa [it's in Spanish, though, so I can't tell you any more than that!].  Or, you can re-use a frappe cup to minimize spills.

One thing I love, love, love about all of these recipes is that with the exception of the bubble bath, all the ingredients are food!  If your little guy decides to taste-test a gob of finger paint, no worries!!!  Plus, all of these things are items that most people have on hand!  So, what are you waiting for?  Go make some paint!

Oh, and come back tomorrow for a discussion about dough!

5 Days of... TOS Blog Hop - Preschooling with Pinterest Day 1

This week TOS Homeschool Crew is having a "5 Days of..." Blog Hop! There are over 65 different blogs participating, each with their own theme.  I chose "Preschooling with Pinterest," as it was already on my "to-blog" list.  I have a bunch of preschool ideas pinned in Pinterest, and I've been working through them.  Today, for Day 1, I'm going to look at a few sand/water table ideas.

Sand/water tables are always a very popular feature at preschools and day care centers.  You may be blessed to find a used institutional model for sale somewhere, or you may choose to purchase a sand/water table either new or used, such as this Step2 Naturally Playful Sand Table**.  I don't have one, so I've been using a clear bin that I found in my garage.  It is about 6" deep, and about 18" x 24".  It fits really well on top of our child-sized card table, so I've been making-do for now.  However, with two kiddos aged 2 and under, I think I might make an investment in the Step2 table!  Anyhow, the fun thing about sand/water tables is that you don't have to use them solely with sand or water!  The following are a couple of ideas I've tried:    

The first thing I found on a Pinterest rabbit trail.  You know, when you see a picture on a pin, but it's not what the pin actually leads to?  Then you have to hunt around to find what you wanted to see?  The pin led me to an awesome site, Play At Home Mom LLC.  The header picture is of two little kid hands sinking into these glowing little orange balls.  I had to know what those glowing balls were!  I finally discovered that those little balls are water beads.  They glow in the picture because they are on a light table (one of many other ideas on Play At Home Mom).  After reading through the original water bead post, I put them on my list of things to look for at Walmart.  I found them in the craft section, in the aisle with the artificial flowers.  They were easy to use - they come in a little packet, and you soak them in water for several hours.  I made three colors - pink, teal, and purple.  I accidentally soaked the teal ones too long, and they got kinda mushy.  If you squeeze a water bead, it will fall apart, especially if it was soaked too long.  I poured all the water beads into my bin, and threw some toys in it that Little Miss could scoop them with.  She was enthralled!!!  She loves water beads, loves pouring them, loves feeling them slip around...

The second idea I tried was colored rice. Following that pin led me to Share & Remember.  I followed her instructions, except I just spread it out on the table on some foil, and it was dry within minutes.  I used regular food coloring, and my rice came out in vibrant primary colors.  I think the next time I would try about 1/2 the amount of food coloring because it has a tendency to come off on Little Miss' hands and clothes.  It washes off fine, but I didn't like having to clean her up after playing in it.  I would say that of all the things I've tried so far, the rice was the biggest hit with LM.  I plan to condense it in the table-top bin, but right now it lives in an under-the-bed bin with a lid.  It gives her plenty of room to play in the rice with the sand toys I also put in the bin.  She actually loves to climb into the bin and sit in the rice while she plays.  The most important thing I learned about the rice, though, is to spread an old sheet or something under the bin while she plays - it cuts down on how much rice ends up on the floor, and any rice that falls on the sheet can be dumped back into the bin.

Other things you can put in a sand/water table for your children to play with are noodles, cotton balls, leaves or acorns, pebbles or small river rocks, pom poms (if you can get enough!), bird seed, corn meal, beans, beads, cereal, feathers, Easter grass or shredded paper, and candy (like jelly beans).  Of course, some of these things would depend on the age of your child and how much you need to watch them with things like this.  I usually leave one thing out for a week or so, until it seems like Little Miss is getting tired of that particular item.  If you want a quiet activity for your little one, a sand/water table might be just what you're looking for!

Come back tomorrow for Day 2 - Paints!

**Note:  Affiliate link