pom pom drop

This might not be blog worthy, it's so simple, but it entertained them for 30ish minutes, and that's something worth sharing.

Supplies

toilet paper tubes, or paper towel tubes, or make a tube from card stock
tape
pom poms or something that fits through the tub

-tape tube to something
-drop stuff through tube
-repeat

build a bird feeder, toddler/preschool edition

A month or so ago we made these insanely simple bird feeders.  We hung them in a tree outside our dining room window, so we could watch the birds eat their breakfast while we ate ours. 

Supplies

pipe cleaner
cheerios

-put cheerios on pipe cleaner
-make it into a circle
-hang in tree
-observe

our baby bird is doing a little sampling

takes longer when you insist on counting them
over and over and over...

colorful rice

Oliver really likes sensory bins.  He likes to drive his trucks or play with guys and animals in all sorts of different materials.  We used to have a bucket of rice but I made them into rice bags that the kids like warming up and sleeping with in the winter time.  It was time for new rice, and something more exciting than just white. 

Supplies

20lb of rice (or really however much you want) our giant bag was just under $10
ziploc bags, we used 6 gallon size bags
food coloring, we bought the neon colors
vinegar

-separate your rice into the ziploc bags
-add 2-3 tablespoons of vinegar
-add food coloring, I wanted bright colors so I used 15ish drops
-shake
-dump out into whatever container you wish to play with it in

I made the rice at night after the kids were sleeping so it would be good and dry in the morning.  Not really necessary for the rice to dry that long. 10-20 minutes is sufficient drying time.  We've been playing with the rice for awhile now, and I'm thinking of adding a few drops of essential oils. 

Lydia's favorite trick is throwing the rice, so
we typically play with it our front or on the deck.

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