More painting

We painted again but loved this paint so much last time that I didn't try another recipe. The finger painting turned into face painting with Daddy around. 

Pool Time

Enough said. 

Magnet Matching

I made the girls some magnet puzzles. Alyssa's has a wide variety of shapes and colors. Abby's is simpler - 4 animals. I found the animal pictures online and made the shapes up. I used Adobe InDesign but paint or something else would also work. Then I printed out the page on cardstock and then again on magnet paper. I turned the cardstock version into the magnet pieces by cutting them out, laminating them, and putting a strip of magnet on the back. The magnet paper fits onto a small cookie sheet from the dollar store and is interchangeable. 

Quick thoughts:

• Abby can take the pieces off but she doesn't really get putting them back on in the right places yet. Alyssa loves it but is very particular that they are lined up exactly right. She is so different from her mother - a little perfectionist. 
• I need to find some sort of sealant for the magnet paper. The magnets on the pieces draw on the paper. 

Slime!

We found a wonderful recipe for slime here. For ours we used white glue and a little bit of red glitter so our looks very different. It was pretty easy to make. I'll just point out that it works a lot better if after mixing the starch and glue in the bowl for a few minutes, you take the blob out and continue mixing on a table or another bowl where any excess starch is not present.

Alyssa was very suspicious at first. She would not touch it. Eventually I got her to poke it and pull it by hiding her toy animals in the slime. She would stretch it big and say, "woah" with huge eyes. So funny. She was enthralled, but still didn't like it when small pieces would stick to her hand.

Abby was a little hesitant as well, but not nearly as bad as Alyssa. Abby just would touch it then retract. Touch it then retract. Then she started playing with it. She did try to eat it a couple times (apparently it doesn't taste good cause she made some real gross faces). To keep her mouth occupied and her hands free I gave her a mouth brush to suck on. It mostly worked. 

Quick thoughts:

• Love it. Both girls cried when it was time to put it away. Although we have played with in since and Abby doesn't last very long. 
• It washes out of clothes. It actually doesn't stick to clothes unless it sits there for a few seconds. The slime settles when it is not being moved and stretched. It can be a little sticky after it settles, but it washes out. 
• It keeps in a zip-lock although it seems stickier each time we get it out. Maybe next time I'll mix a little starch with it again. 
• It is a very clean "messy" activity. It doesn't get everywhere, but it does need supervision. 

Music Time: Keyboard

Everybody needs music time! 

Soapy Sponges: Again

Because it is getting warm and we love bubbles!

Matching Animal Cards: Getting Harder

We still love our matching game. Alyssa has really upped her game with this one. She needs a little help focusing and we do it together, but she is really good at her animal identification. Her favorite animals seem to be the bunny, the dog, the elephant, the panda, the flamingo, and the cat. She avoids and ignores the rhino completely. It is the only card set that she will not match up. No idea what is going on there. 

Our Turtle Neighbor

One of the benefits of living on the edge of the neighborhood is there is not a house behind us. Instead it is green and blue and alive. The ducks are constant neighbors, but this week we also found this turtle in our backyard. The girls were very excited about it. Alyssa now can say "turtle" fairly clearly and can identify them. They were fearless about touching the turtle, but it was snapping and seemed a little ferocious for a turtle - I always thought they were very shy... After a few minutes it took off - literally the fastest I have ever seen a turtle move (it was going down a hill though so I think it had some help). We never saw it again, between the girls and the lawn mower I think it wanted to get as far away as possible. But the girls still look outside for it when we talk about turtles. 

Crayon Table (and Stickers)

We covered the table with drawing paper and it was up all week. We added some stickers to the mix, too. It was good practice for Alyssa to get the stickers on the paper and off her fingers. She is pretty good at it now. 

Magnet Animal Board: Try Two

I had tried this back in February with felt backgrounds on the cookie sheets. The magnets didn't stick at all. This time we tried it with paper glued down and covered by contact paper. It definitely was an improvement over the felt, but at the end of the day I ripped the paper off. We did it again the next day with just the plain trays and it was so much better. I think I'll be leaving the sheet alone for a while...

Quick thoughts:

• Alyssa really figured out the concept of the magnets - in that the pieces stuck to the board. I think the bare board helped a lot, since the pieces actually stuck... She liked putting them on better than taking them off, so I cleared the board a few times. 
• Abby is still eating the pieces for the most part. But she would put a couple on and off. 
• This was really fun for a new way to identify and practice the animals and nature words. Alyssa learned "Sun" and "Whale". 
• I think I need to make some new magnets. We are getting pretty good with the animals. Maybe a set of food next?

Old MacDonald had a Farm

Last week we met up with some of the girl's cousins at a "farm". There were lots of farm animals. The pens were arranged in a big circle with picnic tables and playgrounds. Peacocks roamed free. We fed some of the animals, rode horses, and rode the little train. Mostly Alyssa and Abby abandoned their parents in favor of Grandma and Grandpa, but they are leaving soon for 2 years so enjoy while you can, girls.
I think they liked it... But I guess only grandma really knows. They left me in the dust (or sitting at a picnic table talking to their aunts and uncles).

Cornstarch Soap Playdough

Another playdough! We needed some messy time. This was my inspiration here, but her's looked like it worked way better than mine. It was a simple mix of cornstarch and liquid dish soap. 

Quick thoughts:

• Mine never formed a good ball. Maybe I never added enough dish soap - or too much. But it was super sticky. Hard to play with. It did get drippy which was cool. 
• It was harder to wash up than I imagined. Lots of bubbles though. I found a dry towel worked best for wiping it up. 
• Alyssa was a mess. She didn't like it on her hands at first so she wiped it off on my shorts... but she did play eventually. It was just so hard to grab and pick up - or even smear around. 
• Abby ate some again. Not really an edible play dough so we ended stopping before too long. She wouldn't stop trying to eat it. 
• I think if I try this again I will mix it up by myself before hand to get the right consistency and do it after snack time - not before.

Bath Time: Shaving Cream

Abby met with her neurosurgeon yesterday following an MRI. She did great and things looked pretty positive. But I came out reenergized about how important stimulating play is, and determined to make more messes. 

I have been hesitant with our bath time play since the bathroom is carpet. Why, why, why do you carpet around a tub? Seriously, don't. Anyway, I got a plastic tablecloth and taped it to the tub to cover the carpet. It even has little fish on it. It worked. It caught a lot of water...

Before filling the tub, I sprayed the wall with shaving cream. Abby went straight for it, smearing it around with her hands high. Excellent. I have been instructed to get her to play with her hands up to strengthen her arms, shoulders, neck and back. Alyssa was so very unhappy at first. She was frantic that Dad had gotten her hands dirty. Really losing it. So we turned the water on to wash her off - and went ahead and filled the tub. She immediately calmed down and then experimented touching the shaving cream herself, cautiously with her index finger. Dad got her to more fully engage in the shaving cream by putting it on Abby's head. Apparently that was very interesting to Alyssa; she went both hands in. 

Quick Thoughts:

• I was a little concerned about Abby trying to eat the shaving cream - but she didn't. Maybe we are making progress. She still mouths a lot of toys and just about everything else, but this is the second messy activity in a row that she has not tried to eat it. 
• Great activity to encourage "high hands"
• Alyssa is a very independent child sometimes. If she is going to get dirty, apparently she wants to be the one to decide that. But at least she was willing to experiment with the new texture and ended up having a great time - even okay with Dad putting it on her face (but Dad was doing it, too, must be okay)
• It was fun to have a messy time with Dad, even if it was a little past their bedtime. 

Messy Snack Picnic: Jello

Jello is a great sensory texture for exploring. I have seen really cute ideas for putting toys in to be excavated, but I am a little hesitant to do that because it mixes eating with toys. While that really isn't a big problem, I don't want to confuse Abby while I am trying to discourage her from eating the toys. So instead I made a fruit jello. I put mandarin oranges and cut up peaches into the Jello. The normal Jello recipe is too squishy to really hold on to, but the jigglers recipe is too sturdy. So I made my own recipe in the middle. I used 1 cup of boiling water to dissolve one packet (3 oz) of Jello and that was it. I poured it into an 8x8 pan which already had the fruit on the bottom. I gave it about 4 hours to set.

For both cleaning and sensory purposes we had snack time outside. They love being outside. The wind, the sounds, the textures. Outside is a good stimulating place. Plus it was a super pleasant day. We sat directly on the grass (the chair were anyway).

Quick thoughts:

• My girls are so different it makes me laugh. Abby was sitting there all relaxed, feet on the grass, digging into her Jello. Alyssa sat with her legs straight out the whole time so they didn't touch the grass. She carefully picked out the fruit chunks leaving the Jello behind.
• I was pleased with the consistency of the Jello. I think my improvised ratios worked out perfectly.
• I look forward to more picnics. Enjoying the good weather while it is still here and a whole lot less clean up

Edible Finger Paint: Version 1

I am going to try out a variety of edible finger paints that I have found online. Abby needs increased sensory exploration to stimulate her other senses and help stop her oral fixation. - in addition to all the other benefits of messy play. Alyssa needs more messy play to increase her tolerance of textures and hopefully help her be a less picky eater. It is funny how different they are.

The first recipe I wanted to try was very simple to make. It cools slowly, so be aware of that in advance. I mixed mine in my Blendtec until it started to thicken, about 5-6 minutes.

Quick thoughts:

• It didn't really feel or run like paint. The texture was more like jelly. The mixture conceals as it cools. I don't think it would work with brushes. But we weren't using brushes and we loved the texture. It was squishy and slimy. The girls loved smearing it around the table. And since it didn't soak into the paper very well we could scrape it up piles of it to smear around again. In the end the table had a coating of the gel that was fun to write on or just slide your hands along.
• I used food coloring but only put in three drops. The color was not pronounced and very transparent. Maybe if I had used more coloring it would have been more colorful, but I didn't feel like it was a big deal. I'll try using more color next time though. - and there will definitely be a next time with this one.
• Even though the ingredients were edible, Abby didn't try to eat it! Not once. She was so excited and thrilled about sliding it around and squeezing it through her fingers. So I would say this was a success.
• Alyssa was more reserved than Abby was, but she still got into it. It took her awhile, but she finally let her left hand join in sliding along the table. She was very particular about which plate was hers and which was Abby's. When they were both empty, she wouldn't let me put her plate up. She is starting to understand possession.
• I am glad we did this outside, but you could clean up a table inside, too.

Fill the Trays: Mini Version

While Abby was napping, Alyssa and I did another version of filling her ice tray. I got out the smaller heart beads that I definitely don't want out with Abby around. These beads required a lot more pincer grabbing from Alyssa - good fine motor practice.

Quick thoughts:

• Do not do this is your kid puts things in their mouth, and supervise even if they don't.
• I counted how many beads I got out so I would know if we left one out for Abby to find later.
• Alyssa was fascinated by the tiny beads and how they sometimes stuck to her hand. She got a little nesting cup to collect them in.
• The pinching is really good for the fine motor development and finger strength.

Bath Time: Bath Crayons

Abby's therapist wants us to increase her arm movement above her head. One of the activities she suggested was bath crayons. I selected the Crayola twist up crayons because I knew they would end up in her mouth, and I thought the plastic "case" would protect them. The crayons washed off pretty easily with soapy water.

Quick thoughts:

• I was right about the eating. Abby didn't really color at all. She preferred to suck on the crayon. Glad I got the plastic covered ones. They are pretty soft.
• There wasn't very much over the head action. Alyssa mostly drew on the side of the tub while seated. Eventually I tried drawing on the wall and encouraging Abby to rub the drawing. That worked for a few minutes. But they still enjoyed them and I think as they get used to them we will see bigger gestures on the wall and sides of the tub.

Sensory Bags: Hair Gel Style

I was looking for a clean squishy texture and decided to try out some smaller sensory bags. I used quart size zip-lock bags and poured in a cup or so of hair gel and shampoo. I put in some beads and food coloring as well. I double bagged it and taped both tops shut. 

Quick thoughts:

• The shampoo was blue and the hair gel was clear. I added some food coloring to each before I sealed them. It was fun to mix the colors together. 
• It was a good texture - flowed well. 
• Next time use thicker bags - they both ended up leaking even with the double bags. I think the freezer bags would be better. 

Family Album

We live away from most of our extended family so I put together a photo album with all their aunts, uncles and cousins.
The girls point and we go through all the names.

Quick thoughts:

• It also works well with body parts, not just names. Alyssa likes finding her cousin's eyes, ears, and noses.
• I wish I had two- they always fight over it.
• I hope it lasts longer than the last one I made. They literally tore it to shreds.

Animal Cards: Match the Animal

We found another fun game to play with our animal cards. I selected a few cards that matched animal toys (ok, and maybe I made a few more cards). The toy goes on top of the matching card. Simple.

At first I used the big fisher price animals, but the girls are way more interested in the smaller Safari, Ltd ones. Which is fine since they are more realistic anyway. Abby just had fun swiping them all off the table and climbing through them...and eating the animals. But Alyssa figured it out. She defiantly has favorites. #1- the cat. Also special are the panda, the bunny, the elephant, and the dog.

Quick thoughts:

• Way easier when the other animals and cards are set out of sight. Too many is overwhelming and distracting. Start with just a few cards - depending on the level. Alyssa does about 8 at a time but still needs a little help focusing. I think I'll start Abby with one or two.
• Mix in the animals sounds and narrate everything. Celebrate! Alyssa loves it when she does it right- lets out a big "yay" and sometimes claps. It makes her (and me) so happy.

Mixing: Rice and Eucalyptus

We did the rice and beans sensory bin idea again. Mixing up the bin - this time using a large saute pan. Also, since we have been a little sick around the house, I threw in a couple drops of Eucalyptus oil. It smelled great. I filled some Easter eggs with the rice which Alyssa enjoyed opening and spilling everywhere.

Quick thoughts:

• I was a little nervous doing it inside - but it was dreary, rainy and cold outside. The rice did get all over the kitchen (Alyssa was literally throwing handfuls...), but it wasn't very hard to sweep it all up. Don't be afraid of the mess.
• Abby is surprisingly quick at getting handfuls in her mouth! Slow progress (if any) on stopping mouthing. She is filling her diaper with rice now...

Animal Cards: Find the animal

I love having a laminator. It really helps ideas become feasible. Like this one - Super simple animal flash cards. I printed out stock animal photos that I found on google images, cut them to the size I wanted, and laminated them. Done. Can you tell I like easy? I don't think there is a problem printing out the pictures for personal use. A couple of them have very faint watermarks on them - but I don't really notice. I picked ones with faint watermarks. I found searching for "_(animal)__ on white background" was the best search for these pictures. I made about 15 cards with farm and zoo animals.

Alyssa and Abby had a little different style of play when it comes to these cards. Alyssa likes to line them up on the table, or stack them in her hand and carry them around. Abby likes to eat or bend or shake them. Today, I tried to do a more structured approach and focus on animal recognition. I would put a 3-5 in a row on the table and ask Alyssa where a specific animal was. Although I know she knows her animals, she wasn't very interested in playing the game. She would just collect all the animals and do her stacking or sorting. It was a little frustrating but oh well.

Then I decided to do it with Abby. I was curious how her animal recognition was. We do a lot of animal play but I've never expected her to really pick out the right animal. She usually just crawls around up on the table while eating the cards. I guess I was totally underestimating my little girl! We started with two cards on the table, but while she still got the animal right, it was less clear because she was moving around so much. It was better when she was sitting on my lap and I would hold up two cards. She got the cat, the duck, the dog, and the bird right every time! And she was so proud of herself. I was extremely pleased with her, too! I hope she will show Daddy tonight.

Quick thoughts:

• Slow Abby down and challenge her recognition more. She can understand what I am saying and she can recognize the animals. Help her learn more animals. Holding her on my lap and  holding the cards really helped us both focus and provided a simple direction for her to follow. 
• Be patient with Alyssa. She likes to arrange the cards and hold them and that is ok. We can incorporate recognition another time or another way. She is still learning her animals as we talk about the cards she is holding and make their animals sounds. 

Jello Play Dough

I have tried playing with play dough twice before, but it always ended in frustration. Alyssa wouldn't play with it. Abby would want to eat it. The first time it was okay that Abby was eating it - I made totally edible peanut butter play dough. The second time I made Jello Play Dough with the recipe found here. Alyssa still wasn't very keen on it but instead started following Abby's lead and tried eating it. However this dough was very salty....I got some pretty funny faces. But they still kept trying to eat it! And gagging a little and I was worried about the salt content so we put it all away and drank lots of water. Into the fridge the rest of the play dough went.

Okay that was a long time ago. I got up my courage to try play dough again. I got out the remaining play dough while Abby was asleep and had some one-on-one time with Alyssa trying to get her to play with it. It was a much better experience. She was still cautious about it - never really grabbing or squeezing the dough, but she would poke it and pull pieces apart. I made her some balls which she was immediately throwing around happily and storing them safely on the floor. She was very upset if I squashed a ball.

Abby joined us when she woke up. I was expecting a lot of eating attempts, and I got them. I was more prepared this time. I didn't get as frustrated and just sat there with them constantly bringing her hand back down and squeezing her fingers in the dough, poking the dough with her fingers - just trying to force her hands to feel the dough instead of her mouth. It requires a lot of patience and diligence. Alyssa was pretty much on her own at this point - which she was fine with.

Quick thoughts:

• It was much better having some one-on-one to help Alyssa interact with the dough. And then I could turn my full attention to Abby to keep her hands doing the sensing. 
• I don't think I will do the jello play dough again for a long time. Not until Abby stops eating it. I have found some other recipes for edible play dough that I want to try - or do the peanut butter dough again. The jello has good color and smells, but is way to salty for me to be comfortable with her eating it. 
• I think doing this more often would help Alyssa get more adventurous as well. 
• There is a little clean up but it really isn't even that messy. 

Gone Fishing

I was super excited about this one and only used stuff around the house and left over supplies.  I used these light stick necklaces that we were given at a fair for the poles. I tied a bottle cap with a magnet glued on it to the end of the necklace. For the fish, I cut them out of colored paper, laminated them, and glued a bottle cap on. Some of the bottle caps I painted and some were old ones from bottle cap ornament attempts - so one had a picture of Daddy (this became Alyssa's favorite fish). It didn't take too long to put the pieces together - the cutting was the longest part. 

I had to demonstrate quite a few times before Alyssa was really interested in trying to catch the fish. Abby never got there; she just ate the fish. At first Alyssa just wanted to collect the fish and spread them out on the table. So I let her play with the fish how she wanted for a while intermittently "stealing" a fish with the pole. Eventually she wanted to try with the pole - and caught some herself. 

Quick thoughts:

• A little too advanced for Abby, but it challenged Alyssa. I'm trying to make sure that I'm not just challenging Abby so I was really excited to see Alyssa learning new things, too. We are still practicing proper pole form... 
• While it was too challenging for Abby to fish, she was still interested in playing with the fish. This helped keep her occupied and engaged with us, while I was more focused on Alyssa
• The hot glue on the lamination doesn't stick very securely. We lost a bottle cap or two, especially when bending the fish. Maybe superglue would have worked better?

Discovery Bottles

I made these discovery bottles a couple months ago, and they are still a hit. As luck would have it, Mark had a work event that gave out lots of these small juice drinks - which were the perfect size for these bottle. And he happened to bring them home the day I had been looking and thinking about making them... very handy timing. Anyway, I love the size of the bottles.

I have seen a wide variety of things inside the discovery bottles. The general theme is exploring color, sounds, liquids, and weight. Inside mine are (from the left) torn up aluminum foil, yellow water with a little dish soap, green water with canola oil, clear water with red glitter and multi-colored sequins, macaroni, red water with blue beads, pom-poms, blue water with sea shells. I keep my bottles in a wicker basket.

Don't forget to seal the lid! I put hot glue inside the cap before screwing it on tight. I really don't want them opening these up on our white rug.

Quick thoughts:

• Like I said, I love the size. They fit the girls hands perfectly. 
• They love to shake the bottles - especially the macaroni. This lead to "Shake-shake-shake" being one of few Alyssa's phrases. Although it is more of Sh-sh-sh when she says it. Abby gets very happy when I tell her to shake - she totally understands that word. 
• The blue with shells seems to be another favorite. They are both a little more methodical about tipping this one upside down and back up. 
• The soap and the oil aren't really as interesting as I thought they would be. They aren't very obvious.
• If I were doing it again I think I would change up the glitter bottle a little. Use oil instead of water. The glitter and sequins filter to the bottom too quickly. 
• I like to leave the basket out as well. Actually I don't take the bottles out for them anymore. I usually just take one out because they are a tight fit. But then they take them out, put them in, and carry them around in the basket (heavy play when there is more than two or three!). 

Paint Bags

I found this one around on Pinterest, too (here).  I set it up while the girls were sleeping, so it would be ready.  Another super easy set up. Squeeze paint (generously) into a Ziploc bag, squeeze out air, lay white paper down and tape sealed bag onto the table over the paper. Way easy.

Quick thoughts:

• I used craft acrylic paint (because that is what I had). I either didn't put enough in or it was too thick (or both). It was difficult to mix around and feel the paint in the bag. Maybe try copious amounts of the tempera paint next time.
• I made two "stations" but guess what? They just played with one together. 
• They lost interest quickly - mostly because I think it was too hard to feel and move the paint. But they came back every few minutes to try again, so I think if I got the paint right they would really like it. Good thing I picked colors for them to mix that I want to use on a painting project! 

Fill the Trays

Another super easy activity using stuff around the house. While Abby was sleeping, I gave Alyssa an ice tray with a large plastic bead in each space - which would have been too complicated and too small for Abby. When Abby woke up we replaced the ice tray and beads with the cupcake pan and balls that fit. 

Quick thoughts:

• Alyssa looked like she was played mancala. It was super cute. The beads were really good sized for finger control practice. 
• Abby was putting the balls into the cups - just a couple before she wanted to dump, but still she was putting it in and letting go. Go Abby!
• Alyssa liked to experiment how far she could tip and shake before they all came out. She also was carrying the ice tray around. It was the perfect size. 

Alyssa Time: Peg People

Later, it was Alyssa's turn for some one-on-one time when Abby went to bed early. I had introduced these Peg People to Alyssa earlier when both girls were awake, so the activity ended up with Alyssa carrying them away from Abby - not actually the intent of the toy...

I found similar Peg People here. Originally I had purchased the round candle cups from Hobby Lobby along with their peg people. But I found that 1) the pegs didn't fit well and 2) when I was going to exchange for smaller pegs that these goblet-like candle holder fit much better and had a more stable base. It was about $7 for the two wood sets (6 cups and 8 pegs). I already had brown, black, yellow and red paint so I've got my first three painted. As soon as I get some blue paint I'll paint the other three. But meanwhile Alyssa can play with these.

She loved them and she was very good at them. I have been trying to encourage color matching in some of our other activities but she hasn't really gotten it. She always put the right peg in the matching color.

She was a little distracted because she kept hearing Abby crying from upstairs. Each time she would look up and say "Abby". Then when she didn't stop crying, Alyssa went upstairs to get her. She is very aware of her little sister.

Quick thoughts:

• This is a great activity for color matching. I think it worked so much better than my other color attempts because the pegs and the cups were fully colored (as apposed to setting colors next to each other - less direct comparison). 
• Good for fine motor skills and hand/eye coordination. 
• Can't wait to finish my other 3.
• I would also recommend a matte paint. My yellow was a gloss enamel and the peg is a little sticky in the cup (the orange less so). The red doesn't stick at all. It isn't as shiny, but the peg slides in and out better.

Abby Time: Nesting

We've been having a sick week this week. Not so much fun. They have not been sleeping well nor napping well. Mostly Alyssa since she was the sickest. She got so tired, she walked over to the stairs and gave me the "sleep" sign. And she took a nap. I was so happy she finally slept and so proud that she knew she was tired and communicated it with me.

So then I had some great one-on-one time with Abby. We practiced nesting cups. She lost focus a lot so we also played with the discovery bottles and the easter eggs. She was doing awesome. She figured out how to nest two cups. We used a set of nesting barrels. I kept one half of each barrel and gave her the other halves, so I could demonstrate with identical looking cups. Eventually we added in a third cup and she did a little nesting with them too - but only got all three in if I held the bottom red cup in place. She made a lot of progress though and was so happy with herself - we celebrate every time she nested the cups.

She also was a little more thoughtful with the eggs. She still likes to play with the egg carton a lot. She was interested in opening and closing it and even putting some eggs in (and then shaking them out). She figured out that the eggs pull open and had a fun time doing that. Then she put the eggs in and out of the wicker basket. She let go of the toys, put a few eggs in without taking them out, and took them back out.

I was so pleased. Abby was doing a lot of the things that her therapist and I were talking about this week.  - Things she hasn't really done much of. Her focus is still poor, but it was so much better than when Alyssa is playing with us. Abby gets very distracted by whatever her sister is doing. And frankly, I think I get too distracted, too.

Quick Thoughts:

• I love one-on-one time. I need to figure out a way to do this more frequently - not just the rare occasion when only one naps. 
• I think it worked out better that I didn't try to force her focus. She would drift to a new toy for a minute. Then I would reintroduce the eggs or the cups and her attention would come back. 

Bath Painting

I have been wanting to do bath painting for a long time.  I found a good recipe for sensitive and baby friendly paint here, but I was still worried about the carpet in the bathroom. Who puts carpet in a kids bathroom?! So I've been putting off painting. Finally I got a towel out and covered the floor up to the tub. 

Paint recipe: 

1 part baby bubble bath/bath wash

3 parts baby powder

food coloring

How easy is that recipe. I just eye-balled the amounts. It worked out just fine. They seemed to enjoy it. We'll try this again when they aren't sick...

Quick Thoughts:

• Really easy, pretty cheap.
• Abby was eating it still. I may try one of the more edible recipes out there next time. Although I liked this one.
• Abby's therapist wants me to help Abby do activities above her head to strengthen her shoulder muscles. So, I encouraged them to paint high on the walls. Mixed results. 
• Very easy clean up. The towel didn't even get very wet or colored. The rest was just rinsing out the tub after the bath. 

Soapy Sponges!

This was a big hit and super easy. I have been waiting to do this one for a while, and this week we finally had some weather warm enough to do it outside. I partially filled a small bin (their old baby tub) and added some dish soap (I imagine that you could use bath bubble soap or some other sensitive soap instead). I purchased a set of 4 sponges from the dollar store. They were kid sponges so they were a little softer, more colorful, and two were shaped like animals. Bottom line: it was a very cheap activity.

I set the bin down and demonstrated how to squeeze the water and bubbles out. Then they got to work. I refilled the tub once from all the sloshing and squeezing. They even scrubbed the patio a little for me. In the end, Abby dumped the remaining water and suds all over herself.

Quick thoughts:

• So easy. The trickest part is coming back inside, but we just took clothes off inside the door and put them straight into the laundry room. 
• Good finger and wrist work out - the squeezing is great for that. 
• I love that the more they squeeze and play the more bubbles and suds. It makes it way more fun. I think it would also be fun to add food coloring to the bubbles. 

Easter Eggs

Easter is getting closer! I wanted to introduce my girls to the easter eggs, but mostly I just thought they would enjoy them so why keep them hidden away? They did like them. I got a bag of 18 at the dollar store. Perfect. 

I gave them an empty egg carton so they could put the eggs in and out. Alyssa put them in, Abby dumped them out.

Quick Thoughts:

• Next time they really need their own egg carton. After a while, Alyssa would just try to pick up the carton and run away with it each time Abby started heading her way. We got the eggs back out later while Abby was still napping and it was much easier to play. 
• I really like how there are six different colors of eggs. Alyssa doesn't match them up perfectly yet, but it is introducing and reinforcing the matching concept. I filled one row and then she would fill the second row. I didn't push her into matching them, since this was the first time. 
• Abby's favorite part was spilling all the eggs at once and saying "woah!" So we are practicing words here, too. We practiced putting the eggs down, but she doesn't really let go and she likes to shake them. I think it was better for her than the straw activity - less finely tuned motor skills needed. 

Straws

This was a super simple activity. Straws and empty bottles (shorter than the straws) are all you need. Alyssa was totally won over and put the straws in and out over and over, occasionally trying the drink out of one. Abby was always trying to drink out of the straws. In fact, it was all she did. Well, a little shake here and there sending her straws everywhere. But she had fun for a few minutes, then went and found the basketball. Alyssa lasted a lot longer.

Quick thoughts:
- I guess I did a good job teaching them what a straw is. They just wanted to drink at first. I had to show them how to put them back in. It didn't take long for Alyssa to figure it out.
- I think it was a great exercise for fine motor and hand-eye coordination.

We will definitely be doing this again and again.

What a Week

I haven't posted yet this week. We have done a lot this week, but the girls have been a little sick, and I have been so emotionally drained that I haven't really felt like posting. I'll just recap and maybe I'll get around to finding my pictures and doing a through post later. If not, I'll just start from here again.

We went one night downtown, saw family, saw friends, looked at cars, and went to Dad's basketball game. That was a late night.
We went to a viewing, and then they got some good Grandma and Grandpa time today while Mark and I went to the funeral.
The girls played with boxes, blocks, bubbles, babies, baking pans and books. We frolicked with the neighbor's dog until we were thoroughly chilled from the wind. We even gave Abby a haircut. It was a pretty tiring week. Yesterday was the closest to a normal routine day for about a week. I hope the next few days can be more of the same, so that they can remember what their routine is...

Yarn Hide and Seek

I found this idea here (I love Pinterest). I threw some loose yarn into the bin and dumped small toy animals on top. The idea was that they would search for the animals amongst the yarn and free the toys. But since when did the idea ever equal the reality? Instead they just grabbed the yarn, pulled it out of the bin and shook the animals free (most of them anyway). Then they just played with the animals and yarn separately. Eventually I took the yarn away because Abby was just entangling herself in it. Abby was relentlessly putting the animals in her mouth. Alyssa ended up putting all the toys in a bin, dumping it ("Woah") and then repeating.

Quick Thoughts:

• I'll try the yarn again. Still a good exposure I think, even if for just a minute. 
• They had a good time playing with the animals "their" way. They don't need to do it my way. 
• Alyssa didn't like to have to work to get her toys free. She would whine and bring it over to me hoping that I would free it for her. I tried to just help her, I don't want her to rely on me whenever things seem difficult. 

Magnet Animal Boards

The girls love animals, so I made some animal magnets. I printed and cut out pictures of animals I found online, laminated them and stuck an adhesive magnet on the back. I bought the trays at the dollar store. Super easy, although it takes a few minutes to do all the cutting and laminating.

Quick thoughts:

• They didn't really get that the magnets stuck to the tray. Partially I think because the magnets were a little weak (disappointingly...). Also, the trays were laying on the floor or on their laps. They were no stable enough propped up. Teaching magnets might be more affective if I can stick the tray to something. But they loved being able to put the trays in their laps. 
• Originally, I had hot glued felt onto the tray. Green with a blue sky for the land animals and dark blue with a blue sky for the sea animals. But the magnets would not stick through the felt so I ripped it off (hot glue pulls off metal very easily). After they were done I tried gluing colored paper down instead. We will see how it works next time. I wish that I had made the horizon horizontally since that is how they hold the tray/play with the tray. But, I made it vertical. If I have to rip off and start again I will do it horizontally. 

Saddle Up!

Grandpa was in town yesterday! So to celebrate we partied at the HoustonRodeo for our weekly adventure!

Quick Thoughts:

• It was a little late. But the girls were so good. 
• We missed the petting zoo. Next time, I would definitely want to do this.
• I love rodeos. I am already excited about next year!

Cornstarch Goop

I love the feeling of cornstarch. So I was very excited to set up a goop playtime. Since the girls have carpet in their bathroom (grr...why?), we did it in the master bath. Good thing too since after I put them in the tub with their bins, they were NOT happy. So, I got in with them. I don't think we would have all fit in their bathtub.

I have no idea what my ratio of water to cornstarch was. I just added water or cornstarch slowly till it was how I like it. I've heard 60% cornstarch to 40% water, but can't validate that. I would recommend that you thoroughly mix together and let settle for a minute before adding more of either. Sometimes it seems really runny or thick but just hasn't mixed well yet. I added food coloring periodically while we were playing so they could do the mixing.

They were not very excited about it at first. I think they were also a little cold, despite setting a heater in the bathroom. After I got in with them they calmed down a little. Abby was more interested in the toys mixed into the goop. They would stick when she tried to pull them out, and then she would put them in her mouth. (This goop is totally non-toxic). I was finally able to engaged Alyssa by drizzling the goop over her hands. She was first upset that her hands were now dirty, but then she began to play along. I hid the toys for a few minutes to encourage them to play with the goop. They seemed to like it.

When we were all done I turned on a warm bath which they were also pretty happy about. They played with the water spout and were glad to be warm I think.

Quick thoughts:

• I love the idea of doing this in the tub. It makes clean up so much easier. Thanks Growing A Jeweled Rose for the idea. When it gets warmer this could be done outside, too. 
• Next time have the bins mixed and ready to go before getting swimsuits on. (Abby's is a little big...oh well).
• I like the controlled diaper-free - yet not bathtime - time. Supposedly have diaper free time encourages them to think about when they go the bathroom - or at least make sure they feel it when they go. Which supposedly makes it easier to potty train them. So anytime they can be diaper free and I can be relatively mess free, I'm trying to let them run free. 
• Try to heat up the bathroom more next time. It was still cold. Move heater closer to the tub to "preheat" (then move it well out of the way so you keep it dry).
• Only use one bin to begin with. It concentrates the goop so it is easier to play with, plus the space is too small. We can share. 
• They weren't as excited about it as I was, but it was new and cold. I think they will warm up to it. I love goop! I think they will, too. Just keep exposing them to it. 

Mixing: Corn and Beans

After the girls loved the rice activity so much, we did another similar mixing bin. This time I used corn kernels and dried black beans in a shallow dish - a 9x13 casserole dish. I started with only the corn. Abby tried a few times to put it in her mouth, but every time she did I would stir her hands in the corn so she could feel it - not taste it. After a few minutes I added a small cup of beans. Abby really liked mixing them together and sending both flying all over the porch. Alyssa was a little more guarded. She didn't really play in the dish, but would play with a cup full at a time and was busy picking up kernels and beans. They both did a little stirring (and smacking) with the honey dipper. We lasted about 20 minutes then Abby would not stop putting them in her mouth. 

Quick thoughts:

• Compared to the rice, I liked the corn and beans better because the kernels were big enough for Alyssa to pick up individually - go fine motor skills!- and she really liked picking them up, too.
• I think this is helping Abby put less stuff in her mouth. She was pretty good for the first 20 minutes.
• I have seen a lot of other sensory bins that are full of lots of different shapes, toys, sizes. I think we are building up to that. These girls don't have much focus - less than singleton babies - they are always distracting each other! So we are adding a little. But I think I'll do an occasional "fully loaded" bin.
• I love how easy it is to set up and clean up! I think I might go sweep off the porch though. The rice was washed away by the rain, so I'll see if I still need to sweep after the forecasted storms...

Heavy Hide and Seek

Abby had her monthly occupational therapy appointment yesterday. One of the things we had discussed last visit was encouraging her "heavy play" to improve her proprioception. The concept of proprioception is basically awareness of one's self, the awareness of where your body is. By increasing the weight of her toys, we increase the resistance to her muscles and her awareness of her body. The therapist recommended about 2 lbs of weight for Abby's play.

One of the recommendations she gave me last month was to make a "heavy blanket": a blanket with rice sewn into it. It was quite easy to make (instructions at the end of the post). However, Abby refused to play with it. It was a little discouraging. I had made it with soft minky and a fringe I thought she would love.

I brought out the blanket and explained this to the therapist yesterday. She didn't seem surprised. She said Abby didn't like it because it was hard work. So the therapist gave me some ideas to incorporate the blanket into. The most successful was heavy hide and seek.

We placed some of her favorite toys on the table and covered them with the blanket. She would lift up the edge to see her toys and then pull the blanket off. It was just what we wanted her to do!  She got tired after a few rounds, but that is okay. She was getting an arm workout and definitely getting some good heavy play. Alyssa even joined in.

Quick thoughts:

• Very versatile, easy to adapt.
• They tire quickly - it is hard work. A few minutes a day is just great. 

Heavy Blanket Tutorial

Supplies:

• Fabric: I used minky. about 20" by about 60" (my bolt was 59" wide). My blanket was about 20" by 30". I folded my piece in half, but you could also start with 2 pieces 20" x 30".  
• Rice: about 4 cups, more or less depending on your goal weight.
• Trim (optional): about 20" or some ribbon for added interest.

Directions - sorry there are no pictures, if I make another one I'll update:

• Fold the fabric right sides together (forming 20" by 30" rectangle). Sew three sides together.  I sewed the two long sides and one short side. Turn right side out. 
• Sew divisions from the sewn short side to the open short side. I sewed three divisions each about 5 inches apart. This creates 4 long pouches for the rice. 
• Pour 1/4 cup rice into the middle divisions. (I left the 4 corner squares empty but that is optional. It just made my division easier and I thought Abby would like it better.)
• Sew across the blanket about 6 inches from the bottom, sealing the rice in. 
• Pour 1/4 cup rice into all divisions. Sew the rice in, 6 inches up from the last pouch. Repeat for a third and fourth row. 
• On the fifth row, place 1/4 cup in the middle spaces only. 
• Turn the open edges in and pin ribbon, trim, or other optional decorations. Sew the blanket shut. 
• Sew a 1/4 inch seam around the entire blanket. 

Mixing: Rice

The local weather has been pretty perfect and the girls love going outside, so I decided to take this mess maker outside. I put 2-3 cups of rice in a mixing bowl and threw in some whisks, measuring spoons, spatula, etc. How is that for simple.

I didn't get any pictures until after; I was too busy playing with them. With one hand, I was holding the bowl so they wouldn't dump it all out in one go. The other hand was demonstrating scooping and pouring with the measuring spoon and trying to keep Abby from stuffing her mouth full of uncooked rice. I was actually surprised that she wasn't putting it in her mouth more than she was trying to, but she was really enjoying grabbing and releasing handfuls of rice with both hands...and giggling, lots of giggling. Alyssa liked scooping the rice out and then shaking it out onto the patio. She never got too much at one time so by the time the bowl was empty, they were about finished anyway. They didn't really use the whisks at all, just held them or threw them.

In addition to the sensory play with their hands, they got to experience the texture of standing/sitting on the rice they had strewn about... and I didn't have to clean it up!

**added bonus: the rice attracted the stray cat to linger outside the window a little longer than usual. The girls love watching the cat, so they were very excited to see him so close for so long.

My quick thoughts:

• Could be done inside, too, but with more clean up. 
• There are lots of varieties that could be done: add different sizes, shapes, textures. (dried beans, noodles, popcorn kernels, small toys, blocks, etc. There are tons of "sensory bin" ideas out there. I think I'll mix it up a little each time. But I do like occasionally going simple and focusing on using the tools or one texture. Maybe start with rice then add a variety every few minutes. 
• I really loved how easy this was. No prep, no clean up, yet sensory and fun; my kind of activity. 

Box Slots

Who doesn't like playing in a cardboard box? Apparently, Alyssa. But, she loved playing with it. For this super easy activity, we took a big box, cut a slot in the side (about 4 inches by 1.5 inches), and found some of their toys that would easily fit through. Later, we found some that had a tighter fit.

Pretty much, this activity is an easier version of the shape sorting toys. Alyssa is starting to figure out her plastic shape sorter, but Abby is not even close. She is behind on her fine motor control and still eats everything. So this activity was perfect for both of them. We have some small letters  which fit through the hole if you rotate them, but are too wide to fit through when flat. It was simple enough that they could both figure it out, but they still had to think about it.

We had the slot on the top at first, so they could drop the toys into the box. Alyssa would peer down trying to see where it went. Abby liked to crawl inside the box, too. After a while we rotated the box so that the slot was on the side. Abby was in heaven! She sat in the box and peaked through, reached her hand through, passed me letters, and babbled away. She was so happy. We tried putting Alyssa in the box, but she screamed and screamed. Alyssa only wanted to play with the outside of the box. Despite being twins, these girls are complete opposites sometimes.

This was an awesome activity which could easily be adapted to the level of your kid by cutting larger or smaller holes or specifically shaped holes.

I've put the box away for a few days, but I am excited to play this again! 

Jumbo Crayons

This afternoon we went for a pretty basic activity: drawing with crayons.

I have a box of Crayola's Jumbo crayons - mostly so they don't break them and so Abby can't bite off chunks.    I also have a roll of builder's paper from Home Depot ($10).  I cut off a piece of paper about as big as their table and taped it down. Really simple set up. 

Alyssa was really excited about drawing but quickly became more excited about trying to hold all the crayons at the same time and walk around with them. Meanwhile, Abby loved the crayons. They must really taste good. But Abby still puts everything in her mouth. 

A couple thoughts on this basic activity:  

• Drawing or Playing?: Alyssa seemed more interested in drawing when I only gave her 1 or 2 crayons. Once I put down more crayons she became more interested in holding and moving them here and there.   I had to remind myself that playing with the crayons is okay, too. Let her explore.
• Eating the Crayons: I struggled with letting Abby eat the crayons. Crayola makes only non-toxic art materials, but it is still very tempting to keep pulling it out of her mouth. Also, I want to protect the crayons. Anyone else have this problem? I don't like the crayons getting all chewed up, the wrapper soaked in saliva and torn up, etc. Again I had to restrain myself and get over it! 
• Too Much Mom?: I sat at the table and drew with them - trying to show them how to use the crayons, but after a while Alyssa would just hand me crayons. It is fun to draw with them, but next time I would stand back from the table and just let them draw by themselves, at least for part of the time.
• Narration: I struggle with narrating for both of them at the same time. Sometimes I feel like it confusing jumping back and forth. I find it helps to use their names a lot.  "Alyssa, good job drawing with the green crayon. Abby is eating the purple crayon. Now Alyssa is handing me the blue crayon, thank you" I don't know how much they are understanding. But if I'm not jumping back and forth, I feel like I ignore one or the other, so I try to make it as natural as possible. However, I'm a quiet person, so it isn't natural for me at all! 

Overall, they aren't very good at drawing, but they are learning. I think it is important to be exposing them to the idea of coloring and letting them do their own exploration. They like it and get really excited about the crayons. So just because they don't make some pretty scribbles, getting out the crayons can still be a success. 

** and then they had a blast ripping the paper off the table...

Why this blog?

There are so many sites and blogs for baby/toddler activities out there. Plus there is Pinterest - which I love for finding activities. So, you may ask, why start another one? Perhaps selfishly the answer is because this is my story and I'm trying to consolidate what works (and doesn't work) for me and my family. I hope it may be helpful to someone else as well.