Fun at Home with Kids TESTING: budget

Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Dinosaurs and Frozen Sensory Snow

I saw this awesome recipe for Shivery Snow Dough from Learn with Play at Home a few months back and thought it was totally brilliant! A freezing cold snow dough in the hot summer sounded just perfect. I decided to make a different snow dough, but followed her add glitter and freeze steps. :)

I wanted to use something that crunched like snow, and I remembered the texture of slightly wet baking soda - the precursor to making our baking soda shells in our Hidden Fizzing Ocean World (and also our Fizzing Treasure Rocks in Day 2 of our Leprechaun Treasure Hunt).

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So I took two boxes of baking soda and added just enough water that it looked like crumbly snow (I mixed by hand). Then I added some glitter (of course) and popped it in the freezer. S loved how cold it was, but it was pretty darn frozen. We decided to add some water with our squeezy condiment bottlesto see if we could melt some of the "snow".

Adding the water started the melting process and you could break off little tiny melty snowballs. It was then deemed ready for some dinosaurs! Now these particular dinosaurs lead pretty adventurous lives. If you are a regular reader, you'll recall they've been fossilized, caught in sticky mud, and frozen in gelatin. Today was their first adventure in snow, though. :)

Since the snow was made of baking soda, S wanted to try adding some vinegar (I know some of my readers have children who don't like the smell of vinegar - this play works perfectly well with water! Vinegar is totally optional.) We had fun watching the brief glittery burst of bubbles as the vinegar and baking soda reacted.

Then it was back to playing. The vinegar/water made glittery lakes on either side of a frozen path. The dinosaurs were taking many trips back and forth along the frozen path and sometimes falling into a lake on either side and needing S's assistance (apparently dinosaurs are not good swimmers)!

As the baking soda snow melted, it was so soft. I was surprised to see how long the whole mixture stayed cold. It was really quite cold even at two hours out (S REALLY liked this world and kept playing and playing and...you get the idea)!

The slurry that the melted baking soda made was reminiscent of cornstarch and water. It was nice and goopy and drippy, which is extra fun for dramatic play.

As it melted, the frozen crumbles turned into more of a snowy sludge (it was still SO COLD!) and S could make patterns with her fingers and the dinosaurs could leave footprints (they quickly disappeared, but it was pretty cool).

So much fun - and baking soda is only 59 cents a box at the Dollar Tree! What's not to love? :)

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play. Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

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Saturday, May 18, 2013

Sensory Starter Kit for under $20 from the Dollar Tree

This is a post in our Play on a Budget series. Other posts include:

Play on a Budget: Tips and Tricks

Our Favorite Free Sensory Materials

A Sensory Starter Kit for under $20 from Target

I thought I'd write a post on how to set up a starter kit of commonly used sensory/play materials for those of you who are just getting started. Every person has their own preferences, of course, but here's a list of what I'd buy (and why!) if I had a budget of $20 and could only shop at one store - the Dollar Tree. I picked the Dollar Tree because it seems to be everywhere in the US, and ought to be pretty easily accessible for most of you. If you don't have one near you, but do have a Target - I've put together a Target sensory kit here.

I was able to come in under budget again because a few of the things on my list were actually less than a dollar (baking soda and salt!). I have noticed a lot of variation in what is available at each Dollar Tree, so this is based off of the selection at mine - you may have more or less available at yours (hopefully more!).

First off, I had to include baking soda and vinegar because we SO love them. Just plain baking soda and vinegar is so much fun. We've also used them to make Fizzing Gelatin and our Fizzing Hidden Ocean World, and in Encouraging Little Scientists, to name a few.

Funnels, a big scooping spoon, and a set of measuring cups are things we use all the time for simple sensory play. Because they have such a wide application, I knew I wanted them in my kit.

Next from the food section, I grabbed oats because they are such a fun material to play with. You could set up our Oatmeal Textures Sensory Bin with these. I chose salt because it's a great material for dumping and scooping. We like to color ours, and you can see us playing with it in our Funnels and Tubes post. I bought flax seed because it would be a great substitution for birdseed - it's still a seed and would behave similarly - so you could do something like our Birdseed Sensory Play with the flax seeds. I bought cooking oil for use in making baby safe Cloud Dough.

I added Penne pasta for art, making necklaces, or doing a Dry Pasta sensory play; I added Linguine for making our Dirt and Worms sensory bin, or our Rainbow Spaghetti. I included beans because they are fun to plant and grow and can also be used as a fill material in small worlds or as a standalone sensory material. And finally I included rice because we love to play with rice by itself, as we did in our Rice Play and we also love to color it and add it to small worlds/sensory bins. You can read how we make rainbow rice in our How To Color Rice post.

I grabbed shaving cream, which we've used in a Shaving Cream Search and in our Dragon World small world. I also grabbed four sponges for use in a Washing Station. And I've included a bag of cotton balls for the Wet Cotton Ball sensory play and/or for making Baked Cotton Balls.

Our Dollar Tree didn't have a great selection of miniatures when I was there, but these guys were pretty cute, so I added them as "guys" for small world play.

Play foam is fun for Window Art (we also used it to make our Recycled Car City) and we use pom poms frequently (though I don't have any posts up currently involving them, so you'll just have to trust me on that).

Here is the complete sensory kit I would put together for someone starting out if I had just $20:

Now, there are a few other fantastic things that I'd like to point out at the Dollar Tree:

These are FABULOUS art/craft supplies. All of the above items are frequently utilized in our Art Room, so I figured I would point those out, since at $1 a piece, they are a great deal. I joke not, the Dollar Tree is the BEST place to buy googly eyes! They have the assorted sizes and the huge eyes are hilarious.

Recognize these from my small worlds? Love all three of these. We have several packs of the mixed gems.

And check these out! These are officially "sound tubes" but they'd work great for our Funnels and Tubes. Basically all you'd need to complete the set-up we had in that post is some suction cups, since the Dollar Tree also carries funnels and salt!

Our Dollar Tree had a lot of what I wanted, but there were a few items that I would still want to add to a kit if there was room in the budget/they were available in the store. I'd love to add flour to complete the recipe for Cloud Dough. I was also SO saddened by the lack of cornstarch since it's my personal favorite (you can see how we've played with it with Cornstarch and Water, to make Chilly Ice Cream Goo, and in my Dinosaurs and Sticky Mud world). Finally, I would want to add some sort of coloring - be it food coloring, or our favorite - liquid watercolors. Liquid watercolors last longer, are more vibrant, come in a wider variety of colors, and are completely washable (at least in our experience). We buy our liquid watercolors from Discount School Supply.

To make things as easy as possible, I've also typed up a free printable shopping list, which you can access here: Printable Dollar Tree Shopping List.

For further reading in the vein of Play on a Budget, check out:

100 Things You can Purchase from the Dollar Tree and Use in Play by Growing a Jeweled Rose

Sensory Materials that Last by Train Up a Child

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play. Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

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Friday, May 10, 2013

Sensory Starter Kit for under $20 from Target

This is a post in our Play on a Budget series. Other posts include:

Play on a Budget: Tips and Tricks
Our Favorite Free Sensory Materials

A Sensory Starter Kit for under $20 from The Dollar Tree

I thought I'd write a post on how to set up a starter kit of commonly used sensory/play materials for those of you who are just getting started. Every person has their own preferences, of course, but here's a list of what I'd buy (and why!) if I had a budget of $20 and could only shop at one store - Target. I picked Target because it seems to be everywhere in the US, and ought to be pretty easily accessible for most of you. I'll be back in a few days with the Dollar Tree Sensory Starter Kit.

I was able to put together a pretty great kit and even came in under budget - $19.78! :)

Now for the details - here's what I chose and why:

I found these two for one mesh sponges in the Dollar Section - since one of our favorite activities is setting up a Washing Station, I wanted to be sure to include these. Next I grabbed shaving cream. Shaving cream is such a fun sensory experience and we love it! We've used it in a Shaving Cream Search and in our Dragon World small world. We will be sharing even more ways that we use it as time goes on and I write up more of our activities. It's a definite must-have. Next I included salt. Salt is so fun just by itself as a sensory item - you can draw in it, write in it, pour it, scoop it, etc. We most notably use it with our Funnels and Tubes, but you will see more of it in future posts as well.

Baking soda and vinegar are another favorite item around here. Just by themselves they are loads of fun. We've also used them to make Fizzing Gelatin and our Fizzing Hidden Ocean World, and in Encouraging Little Scientists, to name a few. Cornstarch is my favorite sensory item, so I for sure had to include it! You could use it plain, or add water for a super fun sensory exploration, or even make it into Chilly Ice Cream Goo. It's also great in small world play, as in my Dinosaurs and Sticky Mud world.

Pasta and rice! These are fun plain, or you can color them following either of the two methods I outline in this post on Coloring Rice (follow the same steps for pasta as you would rice). You could use the fettuccine noodles to make my Dirt and Worms sensory bin, or you could use them to make Rainbow Spaghetti. You could do a Dry Pasta sensory bin with the penne pasta, or you could string them and make a pasta necklace or bracelet. You could use rice for Rice Play or for a Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin.

If you have a baby or toddler, you might want to substitute cooking oil for baby oil - because I'm including this with the flour to be able to make Cloud Dough. And the gel colors were the only type of food coloring Target had - but they are included to be able to add color to your sensory bins (not necessary, of course, but for added fun).

With cotton balls, you could do the Wet Cotton Ball sensory play or you could make Baked Cotton Balls, either of which are so much fun. And if you have some of the previously listed items, I included black beans and pinto beans (or dried oats - not pictured) as possible substitutions - they make a great sensory material as well as fill for small world play.

The whole kit together in all its glory:

Though I was able to find much of what I wanted to include, I was disappointed to find that there were no miniature plastic figurines, foam sheets, or glass decorative gems. I use those three items all the time in our sensory and small world play and I would have liked to include them. All three of those things can be purchased at Michaels or another craft store (or the Dollar Store) - if you're willing to make an extra stop.

And lastly, if you have the budget and a child who is no longer tasting/putting things in their mouth - I would strongly recommend purchasing liquid watercolors over food coloring. Liquid watercolors last longer, are more vibrant, come in a wider variety of colors, and are completely washable (at least in our experience). We buy our liquid watercolors from Discount School Supply.

To make things as easy as possible, I've also typed up a free printable shopping list, which you can access here: Printable Target Shopping List

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Please always supervise your infant/child at play. Please stay within arms reach and never leave infants/children unattended.

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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Nine FREE Materials for Play and Sensory Activities

And Ways to Use them!!!!

This is a post in our Play on a Budget series. Other posts include:

Play on a Budget: Tips and Tricks

A Sensory Starter Kit for under $20 from Target

A Sensory Starter Kit for under $20 from The Dollar Tree

1. Dried Used Coffee Grounds

We use these all the time as a sensory material - not only are they technically edible (you still don't want your child eating them, though, so please discourage that), but they are an interesting texture that even smells good! If you don't drink coffee yourselves, no problem! Gardeners frequently use coffee grounds to alter the pH of soil - so much so that coffee shops are accustomed to saving and dispensing used grounds. Our local Starbucks even has a bucket full of huge bags of used grounds ready to go. Even a local coffee shop should be used to doling out the used grinds. If you get a large bag all at once, I strongly recommend spreading them on a baking sheet in your oven on low to dry them out and discourage mold growth.

Ways to play with Coffee Grounds!

(pictured: Dirt and Worms from Fun at Home with Kids)

From left to right:

Insect World from Fun at Home with Kids

Preschool at Home: Ground Coffee Sensory from Pink and Green Mama

Insect Sensory Bin from Train up a Child

Dinosaur Fossil Dig Sensory Bin from Play Create Explore

2. Flowers

Though seasonal, flowers are a fun addition to sensory or open-ended play. They are brilliantly colored, have different textures to them, and most are even scented!

Ways to play with Flowers!

(pictured: Fun I had with S pre-blog by pelting her with rose petals)

From left to right:

Kids Painting Activity with Flowers from Fantastic Fun and Learning

Exploring Flowers with The Golden Gleam

Gardening Sensory Play and Flower Shop by Growing a Jeweled Rose

Dandelion Mud Pies by The Pleasantest Thing

3. Rocks

Rocks are such a fun thing to play with. They can easily make noise, and they have different shapes, textures, and colors. You can also find them just about anywhere which is a great bonus!

Ways to play with Rocks!

(pictured: Insect World from Fun at Home with Kids)

From left to right:

Make Your Own "Rock" Band by Fantastic Fun and Learning

Rock Shapes and Other Rock Games from Mamas Like Me

Activities for Toddlers {Rock Sensory Bin} from Train Up a Child

4. Recycled Containers/Plasticware

Save those old milk jugs, yogurt cups, etc and even that plasticware from your to-go order! All of these things can be repurposed for any sort of sensory play. Children love to scoop, dig, and pour sensory materials. This makes it much easier.

(Pictured: Upcycled Milk Jugs from Plain Vanilla Mom)

5. Dirt

Good old dirt! It's really a two-fold material, since all you have to do is add water and suddenly you have squishy, goopy, lovely MUD!

Ways to play with Dirt/Mud!

(Pictured: S and friend playing in the dirt)

From left to right:

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud from Housing a Forest

Mud Party for Kids from Growing a Jeweled Rose

Mobile Mud Patch by Happy Hooligans

6. Water or Ice

Even just a small dish of water is enough to excite a small child! And two ways to play with water - freeze it for ice play and add a whole other slippery and cold option for play!

Ways to play with Water or Ice!