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Saturday, December 28, 2019

Fireworks Salt Painting Craft

I remember when we were young each year we'd travel all the way into the city and spend hours setting up a picnic to secure the perfect spot to watch the fireworks at Southbank. We looked forward to it all year. We loved all the different colours, shapes, sizes and the fact that they appear out of nowhere. They're just so magical, especially for little kids. 

Unfortunately fireworks are also quite loud, so unless you want to invest in a pair of headphones, sometimes it's best to watch them on the TV not up close, particularly for children with sensory issues. My girls don't like crowds and aren't fans of loud noises so we haven't ventured out for live fireworks yet, but we have found another way to join in with fireworks celebrations. We create fireworks salt painting process art at home.

red and blue fireworks salt painting

Fireworks salt painting is a great process art activity for preschoolers, and a great classroom activity too. It's also a great stem activity, combining art process and science concepts like absorption. It can get a little bit messy though, so if you're doing it inside you'll probably want to use a tray and a splash mat or plastic table cloth. Art smocks might be a good idea too if the kids get a little too excited by glue and painting. Alternatively set it up outside and just let the kids wear old clothes you don't mind getting dirty.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Fine Motor Fun with Lalaboom Beads

For the last few years we have been a somewhat Montessori family, especially when it comes to toys and learning. In our house our toys are all presented on open kallax shelving so that the girls can choose which toys they want to play with. We also rotate the toys regularly based on their interests and provide toys that help them develop specific developmental skills.

We believe that so much learning happens during play so we've invested in some great toys and resources in the past few years. The majority of the time this means I purchase wooden toys, however my main desire in any toy we bring into the home is that it's open ended. For this reason I'm quite selective with the items we have for the girls. I love toys that can be used in multiple ways and to teach multiple skills and our latest addition has been Lalaboom beads. I've put together a detailed review of Lalaboom sensory balls and beads so you can learn everything you need to know about them and decide whether they'll be a good addition to your home too.

Lalaboom snap together beads in a basket

Monday, October 21, 2019

28 Free Printable Halloween Crafts, Colouring Pages & Activities for Kids

Halloween has been huge in America for years and is becoming more and more popular here in Australia. My kids have been wanting to celebrate it more each year, however as a parent I often struggle with the stranger danger and horror elements of the holiday. We don't do trick or treating or turn our house into a house of horrors, but we do love doing halloween play activities and decorating the inside of the house.

How do you celebrate Halloween? 

I've scoured the internet to find the cutest free Halloween colouring sheets, craft and activity printables perfect for toddlers, preschoolers and school kids. These printables are great for decorating the house, classroom activities, creating cute costumes and sugar free Halloween fun... and the best part is they're all free and can be downloaded in seconds. All you need for most of them is access to a printer and some paper, scissors and pens or crayons to decorate.

halloween craft printables

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

5 minute Toilet Paper Roll Houses

Most people automatically put their empty toilet paper rolls in the bin {recycling bin hopefully}, however if you have small children you should stop this straight away. Toilet paper rolls are one of, if not the greatest, recyclable craft item ever... and the best thing is every home has an abundant supply of them. Another big bonus of toilet paper rolls is they're free and they can be used for so many different craft projects. Our latest creation has been toilet paper houses for our peg dolls.



* This post contains some affiliate links *


HOW TO MAKE TOILET PAPER HOUSES IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES



** Please note this craft activity is intended to be done by children over 5yrs old who have developed scissor and writing skills {under adult supervision} or by adults themselves **


WHAT YOU WILL NEED


- Toilet Rolls 
- Egg carton
- Scissors
- Pen

The beauty of this craft activity is that all items needed can be found around the house for free. It also probably takes longer to gather all the supplies than it does to actually make the toilet paper roll houses. Fast, free and easy... yes please!


HOW TO CREATE TOILET PAPER ROLL HOUSES


1. Cut the egg carton base into individual pieces
2. Trim the edges to create little cap roofs
3. Measure the door on the toilet roll
4. Draw the door frame
5. Carefully cut out the door frame
6. Draw on window frames
7. Put egg carton lid roofs on top of toilet paper rolls
8. Decorate your houses {optional}

The first step you need to do is to cut out each of the egg holders in the egg carton into individual pieces by cutting in between each row and down the centre of the carton base. Once they're separated they'll have a square edge, trim the edges off so they have rounded edges and look like little round caps. 

Next take your peg doll, fairy, elf, gnome {whatever figurine you will be using with your houses} and hold it up against the toilet paper roll to measure the height and width needed for the door frame to allow them to fit inside. Draw a frame on with pen and then carefully cut it out with scissors. This can be a bit fiddly so is easier to do using small scissors. Once it's cut out your figurine should fit easily inside the door frame.



You can add character to your houses by drawing on different window designs {maybe take a bit more care than we did}. You could also cut these out, but that will require a stanley knife as it's too tricky with scissors. To finish off your toilet paper houses add the egg carton roof on top. The roof should fit on nice and snug, but still be easy to remove. 


As you can see from our photos I kept our designs really simple and haven't properly decorated them yet. I'm planning on painting each roof a colour of our peg dolls so that we can use the houses for colour sorting as well as imaginary play. I might also make some more and decorate them as toad stools or tree stump houses with paints and pen details. For now the girls are having lots of fun using the houses with our different felt play mats and if they get a little rough and accidentally destroy them, it'll be super easy to make some more.



Do you have fun using toilet paper rolls for craft?


Toni x



Disclosure - This post contains some affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, should you make a purchase. Our peg dolls and play mat are from My Big World Playscapes on Etsy.
Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Learn abc's, 123's and colours through music with Mixmaster Scout

Do you know music has so many benefits for children? 

It's especially beneficial when they're exposed to it during early development, while they're still fine tuning their muscle strength and vocabulary. Music is not only fun and calming for children, it also helps to develop sounds and words whilst listening to songs. Bopping along to a beat and dancing also works gross motor skills. Music is a great sensory and developmental experience on it's own, but now LeapFrog have combined the power of music, cognitive and physical development with literacy and numeracy skills in the new LeapFrog Learn & Groove Mixmaster Scout toy.

LEAPFROG LEARN & GROOVE MIXMASTER SCOUT


The LeapFrog Learn & Groove Mixmaster Scout creates a fun, engaging way for toddlers to learn abcs, numbers and colours through music. Mixmaster Scout has 4 different coloured and numbered buttons which light up and say the respective colours, numbers, instrument names and sounds, and a variety of other special effects when pressed. The Mixmaster has 3 different modes - abc, 123 and colours which each have 10 different background beats. The fidget spinner and turntable toggle overlay different effects on top of the background beats when turned. Using the fidget spinner, toggle and control switches children are able to use the 30 base songs and a variety of sound effects and phrases to create up to 180 different musical combinations.

leapfrog mixmaster scout






LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES


- Cause and effect
- Fine motor skills & pincer grip
- Visual, auditory & tactile stimulation
- Interactive, independent play
- Instrument names & sounds
- Numbers & Counting
- Music & Rhythm
- Alphabet
- Colours


"Engaging musical play stimulates infant’s sensory skills. With the large array of interactivity on the Learn & Groove® Mixmaster Scout™, Scout invites your child to press, dial, flip, and slide various manipulatives to exercise their developing fine motor skills, all the while discovering fun cause and effect relationships and exploring a wide variety of musical sounds." Clement Chau, PhD, LeapFrog® Learning Expert



My 2 year old is very much into learning colours at the moment so her favourite thing to do with Mixmaster Scout is point to the colour buttons at the top and quiz me on what colours they are. Mum what colour is it? She takes every opportunity she can to practice her colours and let me know what they are, even when spinning the turntable toggle she points out the background colours behind the little pictures of Scout. She also loves that the fidget spinner lights up green, blue and red when she spins it.



Leanr abcs, numbers, colours and sounds with LeapFrogs Mixmaster Scout
If you have a little one who loves to bop along to music the Learn & Groove Mixmaster will be sure to keep them entertained and it'll grow with them as they move onto learning colours, numbers and letters. It's also a great interactive toy for independent educational play.

Learn & Groove Mixmaster Scout is suitable for babies and toddlers from 9-36 months and is available online and in store from Toy Universe, Mr Toys Toyworld, Big W and other toy stores and online retailers. More information and a full stockist list is available at LeapFrog.

Toni x



Disclosure - I was kindly gifted a Learn & Groove Mixmaster Scout from LeapFrog for the purpose of review. I did not receive payment for this review however this post does contain some affiliate links. Stock product images have been used with permission.

You can read more LeapFrog toy reviews here.
Friday, July 19, 2019

How to create a clean and healthy sleep environment for your family


Did you know most people spend the majority of their time at home in bed asleep? 

Maybe that's not entirely accurate for those of us who are up and down all night tending to small children, but on average most people spend a third of each day in bed. When you factor in hours spent working, travelling to work, and out socialising this means sleeping, or laying in bed trying to sleep, is the longest activity we do while at home. Despite all the time spent in bed, ensuring a clean and healthy sleep environment can often be overlooked. I've been guilty of this myself, forgetting to do things like regularly washing sheets and flipping the mattress. It makes me cringe knowing what I do now.



WHAT'S REALLY LURKING INSIDE YOUR MATTRESS?


While you may not actually realise it, your mattress is probably one of the dirtiest areas of your home, even if the rest of your house is spotless. Each night while we're sleeping we're also shedding millions of dead skin flakes and losing up to 1L of sweat. It's a bit disturbing when you think about it isn't it? All of that soaks directly into the mattress, providing the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. So what are you really sleeping on?

> Allergenic particles such as dead skin cells, pet dander and dust mite waste.

> Dust mites are microscopic {less than half a mm} and can't be seen by the naked eye. They feed off dead skin cells. An unprotected mattress generally has 100000 to 2 million dust mites inside. While they don't bite, their waste is a common trigger for asthma and allergic reactions. Each dust mite produces 10-20 waste particles a day. Up to 30% of the population are allergic to dust mite waste {and if you're not it's still gross knowing they're crawling around in there}.

> Bed Bugs are becoming increasingly common in Australia. They're small {4-6mm} parasitic bugs that feed off human blood. Yes you read that right, they eat our blood. Ouch. Their bites can cause skin reactions such as redness, swelling and itching.

> Bacteria and mould can grow as a result of moisture.

> Stains can result from sweating, bed wetting and accidental spills.

Most mattresses look relatively clean on the surface, but lurking below is a veritable delight of excrement soup which is also a never-ending smörgåsbord for microscopic bugs. Thankfully though there are many ways to combat the nasties that want to take refuge in your bed.



HOW TO KEEP YOUR MATTRESS CLEAN 


One of the easiest ways to protect a mattress from uninvited guests is to use a mattress protector. A mattress protector sits directly over, or completely encases, a mattress to provide a waterproof protection layer between the person sleeping and the mattress. It creates a barrier to shield against potential bugs, skin cells, spills and moisture.



As well as the allergen benefits of fitting a mattress protector, they're also particularly useful for small children who naturally bed wet or people who are prone to incontinence issues. I'm 100% guilty of thinking mattress protectors were something only used for kids who wet the bed, but mattress protectors play an important part in prolonging the life of a mattress and are often an overlooked requirement of mattress replacement guarantees.



In addition to using a protector, it's also recommended all bedding is washed regularly and vacuuming the mattress itself will reduce the amount of dead skin cells and dust mites present.


WHY WE CHOSE THE PROTECT-A-BED SIGNATURE TENCEL RANGE


When researching different types of mattress protectors and their various benefits, I chose tencel mattress protectors for our family. Tencel is the common name used for lyocell and modal fibres. I'm very familiar with tencel having managed a clothing store for many years before I had children. It has a lovely soft feel and wears well. The fibers are softer than silk, cooler than linen, more absorbent than cotton, but still super strong.

THE BENEFITS OF TENCEL


Sustainable Manufacturing process
Tencel is a cellulose fiber derived from regenerated wood pulp. It's sourced from eucalyptus trees sustainably harvested from tree farms. There are no pesticides or synthetic solvents used in the production process. Tencel production is a closed loop environmentally sound process which recycles process water and recovers more than 99% of the non toxic solvent used. 



Biodegradable
In addition to the manufacturing process having an extremely low ecological impact, lyocell and modal fibres are certified biodegradable and compostable.

Moisture Wicking
Tencel is naturally moisture wicking meaning it draws moisture to the fibre core leaving the surface feeling dry.

Thermal Regulation
Tencel's moisture absorption and breathability supports the body's natural thermal regulation helping to keep cool in summer and warm in winter.

Odourless Non Allergenic Fibres
Because tencel absorbs moisture so well there's less moisture on the surface for bacteria to grow. Up to 2000 less bacteria grow on tencel in comparison to synthetic fibres. Supported by the Eczema Association as Sensitive Skin Tried and Tested, it's a great fabric choice for people with sensitive skin, eczema or rhinitis.

Machine Washable & Quick Drying
Tencel is machine washable and also dries very quickly which is extremely beneficial on bed washing day. Nobody wants to still have wet bedding at bed time!



I have to admit I haven't always used a mattress protector on our current mattress, I didn't really think it was a big deal for us, but I've always had them on the kids beds. I always associated them with bed wetting, hence having them for the kids. After I started researching everything that can be lying underneath us while we're asleep I started to feel ill, especially with a partner who sweats profusely overnight. Our mattress is almost ten years old now, and with my newfound knowledge of what's lurking underneath we're thinking of replacing it soon, and will definitely be using a mattress protector 100% of the time with the new one. I'm even going to get a spare one and I've got tencel pillowcase protectors for our pillows too.


Have you always used a mattress protector on your mattress? 

Toni x


Disclosure - We were kindly gifted mattress protectors of our choice from Protect-A-Bed®. I did not receive monetary payment for this post.


Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Make learning fun with educational games.



I've long been an advocate for learning through play. I believe kids naturally stay focused for longer, and subsequently learn more, when they're having fun... and what's more fun than playing?

I've fostered my kids passion for play and learning in many different ways over the years and their stand out favourites have always been sensory play and small world play. However, since my big girl started school she's been exposed to more structured ways of learning and she's getting more capable of doing structured play activities like board games. Board games provide an easy, structured, yet fun and engaging way for kids to play... with a lot of incidental learning thrown in. They're a gentle way to introduce them to playing with instructions in order to reach a desired outcome, however they also have an element of chance, so each time they're played the game will be slightly different.

I have fond memories of sitting around the dining room table playing games of rummy and scrabble with my family on school holidays and I'd love to create similar memories for my girls as they get older. I've started investing in board games and we have regular games afternoons to wind down after school. Obviously at 5yrs old we're not up to any complex games yet, so I've been researching and collecting some simple, educational board games for preschoolers {we'll move onto scrabble in a few years}.






Learning made fun with Orchard Toys


When I think of iconic educational games I automatically think of Orchard Toys. I first discovered the brand a few years ago, thanks to some teacher friends, and I've literally been counting down waiting for my 5yr old to be old enough to play some of the games. We would have a huge collection of Orchard Toys games already if it wasn't for her dad constantly reminding me she won't be old enough to play that for years, you don't need it yet. Well finally, after years of waiting, she's old enough for most of the games... and so our collection begins!

For those not familiar with the brand, Orchard Toys are a UK manufacturer of educational games and puzzles. Based in Norfolk, they've been around for 40 years, and now ship to over 50 different countries. They're recognised worldwide thanks to distinctive, colourful cartoon illustrations and known for high quality educational products.

Learning made fun is Orchard Toys motto and at the heart of product development. The company work in conjunction with teachers, educational professionals and children to ensure their games and jigsaws provide the perfect balance between educational benefits and play value {aka fun!}. Their product range covers a diverse number of interests including animals, fairies, pirates, dinosaurs and vehicles {amongst others} and various scenarios such as shopping, cooking, travelling, parties and solving mysteries. Each game or puzzle focuses on a certain developmental skill such as language, literacy, numbers, colours, shapes, cognitive skills, interpersonal skills, fine motor skills and imaginary play; with many products covering multiple skills. Below are a few of our favourite Orchard Toys games, how to play them and how they help build different skills through play.




Shopping List Game + Shopping List Extras


The Shopping List game is probably the most well known and popular Orchard Toys game available and has been on our wish list for some time now.  Shopping List is a fun, engaging and age appropriate memory game where children have to find {and remember} where the groceries from their shopping list are in order to fill their shopping trolley or basket. The game comes with 4 different shopping lists, 2 shopping trolleys, 2 shopping baskets and 32 super cute individual grocery tiles. It's recommended for 3-7 year old children {and adults who are big kids at heart} and can be played by 2-4 players at a time.

How to Play:


Each player chooses a shopping list and either a shopping trolley or basket to collect their items into. The grocery tiles are placed upside down and each player takes turns turning over a tile until they've collected all items on their list. If a player picks an item that isn't on their list they turn it back over and play moves onto the next player. The first player to collect all items on their list is the winner.







How to extend play:


Games sometimes seem a little one dimensional as they have a particular way of playing and a specific outcome, however Shopping List can still be tweaked in a number of ways to change it up. If playing with less than 4 players, the game can be made easier by only using the tiles from the lists being used; or harder by using all tiles {making the game last longer}. Other ways to change the Shopping list game include:

> Adding the clothing extras pack or fruit and veg extras pack to allow up to 8 players by adding different lists and groceries to the game.
> Categorising food in different ways - e.g. by types {dairy, fruit, veg, packaged} or by colour.
> Matching the tiles with play food/empty packaging at home.
> Taking one of the shopping lists grocery shopping and getting the kids to find the items while in the store.



Learning Opportunities:


- Cognitive skills {memory & matching}
- Strategic thinking & problem solving
- Improves concentration & observational skills
- Hypothesising {where will the correct card be}
- Categorising groceries
- Pincer grip practice {picking up the tiles}
- Language development
- Reading comprehension
- Interpersonal skills {turn taking}
- Counting

What we think


The quality of the Shopping List game and extras packs are really good, all of the play pieces are on thick cardboard making them quite durable {even when rough little toddler hands get to them}. The cartoon style images are really cute and I love how the shopping lists are depicted on different pieces of paper, and even a smartphone version, making them familiar and realistic for kids. 

As Orchard Toys are UK based, some of the names of the items are different to what we use here in Australia, e.g. aubergines for eggplants, which has been a great way to expand on my 5yr old's language base and has opened up discussions about how foods and items can have different names in different parts of the world. I've noticed her concentration levels have increased as she tries hard to remember where her items are after I've flipped them over and put them back down. She loves playing the shopping list game and so do I, her favourite part is the little grocery tiles and how you get to collect all different items {the monster toy is the best apparently}.



Pop to the shops {International Edition}


Pop to the shops is a traditional board game where children get to travel to different shops to purchase different items. The game includes a jigsaw game base with 4 different shops, 4 characters, 48 different grocery items and play money. Throughout the game children get to take on the roles of both customer and shopkeeper both buying and selling items. There's also a designated banker in charge of the remaining coins. Pop to the shops is a great way to introduce children to money value {using 10c, 20c and 50c piece coins} and simple calculations as they work out how many coins are needed to purchase an item and how much change must be given to each customer.


How to Play:


Each player picks a character which determines their shop colour. Grocery tiles are placed upside down and each player chooses a tile, then rolls the dice to travel to the correct shop and purchase that item, ensuring they have enough money to do so. Once they've purchased an item they pick another grocery tile as their next item. The player that fills their shopping bag first is the winner.


Learning opportunities:


- Counting
- Money values
- Addition & Subtraction
- Language development
- Interpersonal skills {turn taking}
- Pincer grip practice {picking up the tiles}
- Imaginary play

What we think


Pop to the shops reminds me of a really simplified kids version of Monopoly. While playing the game you travel around the board {albeit in different directions, not clockwise} and collect money for passing a certain point from the bank. Instead of buying and selling property you buy items from different shops.

My favourite element of the game is the play money as it's been a great way to introduce my 5yr old to simple monetary value, without overwhelming her. The game only uses 10c, 20c and 50c cardboard coins and each items purchase value can be made with different derivatives of those coins, making the money calculations quite simple. My daughter is almost 6 and can count to 100, however she's not sure how to count in units of 10 or 20, so it's been a bit challenging for her and she's needed help to work out how many coins to use. I fully anticipated this though as while she knows what money is, until now she's had no understanding of it's monetary value. Despite needing help with the coins, she still really enjoys the game and asks to play it often.






Toni x




Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Dig, Dump, Roll Sensory Bookish Play for Preschoolers

Ever since I was really little I've always had an innate love of books and reading, so it's no surprise that my children have developed their own love of reading at a young age too. It's probably directly related to the number of children's books we have all over the house. You can never have too many right? Unless you ask their dad, he definitely thinks we have too many... and yet I keep finding even more to add to our collection {sorry, not sorry}. Our latest addition is Dig, Dump, Roll by Sally Sutton.

Dig, Dump, Roll is the follow-up to the wildly popular picture book Roadworks. In this book Sally Sutton uses interactive, rhyming text to entice children to guess what kind of vehicle is at work on each page. Bright cropped illustrations work alongside the descriptive text to give further clues before all is revealed over the page.

Crash-a-rumble Smash-a-grumble 
What’s at work? 
Here’s a clue: It will clear the ground for you. 

Bulldozer! Coming through! 

My 5yr old can't read herself yet, but she very much enjoyed the descriptive text {it's entirely possible I'm a little too enthusiastic when reading aloud} and guessing what would come next. To my surprise she was very quick to guess the final surprise, but then she admitted to me they'd read this book before at kindy {cheater!}. Clearly that proves that it's a book kids love to read over and over, even when they somewhat remember what comes next. 

Dig, Dump, Roll has been selected for the prestigious 2019 Storylines Notable Book List. Since 1999 Storylines has produced an annual list of outstanding books for children and young people published in New Zealand by New Zealand authors and illustrators during the previous calendar year. The annual list of Notable Books ensures that children, parents/grandparents, teachers, librarians and the public are all made aware of the large range of high quality New Zealand books being published.


DIG, DUMP, ROLL -  SENSORY BOOKISH PLAY


After we finished reading the book together I brought out a little small world bookish play activity I'd prepared while she was at school. Bookish play is a general term for any play based activity that is centered around a particular book. Its a great way to extend the story or main theme of a book beyond the pages and onto the craft table or into the playroom. With its descriptive, interactive text, Dig, Dump, Roll is the perfect starting point for some messy, fun, construction themed sensory bookish play. Of course I went with a cutlery tray construction small world because the girls love sensory play and small worlds, so it was a no brainer. 

Dig dump roll bookish play activity using a cutlery tray.

<<< Please note this activity poses a choking risk to children under 3yrs of age due to small parts. This activity is intended for children aged 3+ and to be done under strict adult supervision >>>

SUPPLIES YOU'LL NEED


~ A cutlery tray {we use an Ikea one}
~ Construction vehicles {ours are from Kmart}
~ Construction loose parts {rocks, sticks}
~ Sensory construction bases {chickpeas, blackbeans}
~ Chocolate or brown playdough
~ Chocolate dirt {recipe further below}
~ Wooden letters


 LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES


- Hypothesising {how do the machines work, how can we build with each material}
- Categorising types of construction materials
- Sensory input {touch, smell and taste}
- Hand strengthening {squishing the sensory materials}
- Pincer grip practice {picking up the beans and chickpeas}
- Hand/eye co-ordination
- Language development
- Sight word practice
- Letter recognition
- Imaginary play



If you've been following me on Instagram for a while, you'll know I love using cutlery trays as a base for small world play {search #cutlerytrayplay for some of my other play ideas}. They're particularly perfect for scenes that use many different sensory bases as each compartment contains the individual bases so they don't mix together {until the kids get to it anyway}. The tray slots are also great for defining separate play spaces like animal enclosures for a zoo, or in this case different construction zones. I love the Ikea cutlery trays because they're plastic and can be used with wet or dry materials.

Dig Dump Roll sensory bookish play tray
Construction bookish play sensory bases
Edible chocolate dirt sensory base.


I deliberately chose sensory bases that would all be taste safe, just in case my 1yr old was awake when we did this activity and she wanted to explore it as well. While I never encourage the girls to eat any of the sensory materials I put out for play, I know with a mouthing toddler it's inevitable that it could happen, so I'd rather use items that won't cause harm if accidentally ingested. I chose beans, chickpeas, edible dirt and playdough specifically because they all work in well size and texture wise with the construction vehicles I paired them with. I included the rocks and sticks because this set up was for my 5yr old, however if I intended to do it with both girls I would remove the rocks and sticks to be safe.

We've lived with fake grass for years now so my kids have never really had the chance to play with real dirt or mud. I substitute mud by making oobleck, but until now I've never had a substitute for dirt. This week I decided to try and make a chocolate edible dirt version. 

EDIBLE CHOCOLATE DIRT RECIPE


1 cup flour
1/3 cup chocolate powder
1/8 cup canola oil

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl with a spoon and add oil slowly until it resembles a crumbly dirt consistency. Squeeze mixture with hands, it should hold its shape under pressure, similar to kinetic sand. Add more oil sparingly if required.

For our chocolate flavouring and dirt colour I simply used chocolate powder sachets that I've been keeping for sensory play. You could also use cocoa powder, drinking chocolate or Milo. Just insure your chocolate element is powder based so the cloud dough mixes properly. You can adjust the recipe amounts based on how much you need, just ensure you keep an 8:1 ratio of flour to oil.

Dig Dump Roll book and bookish play tray activity

I added in our small wooden letters to spell out the title of the book, with hints from the vehicles, for some bonus word recognition for my daughter. After we read the book together I brought out the tray and at first she sounded out the words trying to figure out what they were. She got dig and dump relatively easy and needed a little bit of help with roll. I think she did pretty well considering they haven't started on sight words yet at school and they haven't finished learning all the letter sounds. She then drove all the letters around in the different vehicles which was great incidental letter recognition. Eventually her play moved on from re-enacting the story to planting the chickpeas into the dirt and using the sticks as plants that sprouted from the seeds. I love how bookish play uses a story as a springboard that leads to all sorts of other imaginary play. An added bonus of this particular activity is that the aroma of chocolate was ah-mazing.

MORE BOOKISH PLAY IDEAS





Disclosure - We were kindly gifted a copy of Dig, Dump, Roll from Walker Books for the purpose of review. All other products featured within this post are part of our personal sensory play resources and were previously purchased by myself.

*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, should you make a purchase.
Monday, January 14, 2019

Back to School with Smiggle

In just over 2 weeks my biggest baby is starting school.

* Insert all the "I don't know how this happened, she was just a baby" clichés here *

Truth is both her and I are more than ready. She had to wait an extra year as she missed the age cut off here in QLD and I think that extra year has well and truly helped us both prepare for the separation anxiety that's to come. In fact I think we're more emotionally prepared than practically prepared. It's been the monumental list of things I've needed to buy/get ready that's been stressing me out the most, not the fact that I'll miss her everyday {although I will miss her of course}.

We're lucky because our school seems pretty laid back when it comes to all the "things" they need. They can have whatever backpack, drink bottle, lunchbox etc that we as parents see fit to get them. Which for the most part is amazing, because nobody wants to be dictated to, but it also meant as a first time school mum to be {that's totally a term} I really had no idea where to look for school stuff. There's been a lot of frantic Facebook statuses asking for advice and trips to the shops where I get so overwhelmed I just panic and walk out. So, when I got an email in my inbox telling me about the Smiggle back to school range of products and asking if I wanted some samples I couldn't say yes please quick enough!


SMIGGLE BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES


When I think of Smiggle I automatically think of cool stationary and accessories, but to be honest they weren't even on my radar for other school supplies. I didn't even realise they stocked things like drink bottles, lunchboxes or backpacks. I'm sure there's other time poor mums out there like me that didn't know this either so I thought I'd share some of the range here. Please note the images I've used are totally bias because I have a girl, but rest assured they do have plenty of options for boys too.

LUNCHBOXES


Smiggle has a comprehensive range of lunchboxes available including snack jars, square lunchboxes, super popular bento styles and double decker ones. The double decker ones {far left in the image below} have plenty of room for a traditional lunchbox in the bottom and an ice brick or fruit/snacks in the top. The cool thing about the Smiggle lunchboxes is most of them can be coordinated with matching drink bottles, backpacks and in some cases stationary too. Lunch containers range from $9.95 to $39.95.


DRINK BOTTLES


Smiggle have drink bottles for junior preppies right through to the mega thirst option for big {water} drinkers. They all contain straws which can be removed if your child prefers to drink without one. Drink bottles range from $12.95 to $26.95.



BACKPACKS


Smiggle has a big range of school bags including drawstring bags {great for library bags or to store swimming gear/spare clothes}, book bags, character backpacks and traditional backpacks in numerous designs. We already had a backpack organised, but if we were getting one from Smiggle bub would pick the faves backpack in pink {below} as it matches her lunchbox and drink bottle. School bags range from $17.95 through to $64.95.


STATIONARY & ACCESSORIES


The one part of school supply shopping that I've been looking forward to for years is the stationary. Pretty pens, highlighters, notebooks, accessories, tapes, erasers etc get me way more excited than they should, and as far as I'm concerned you can never have too many. However, all my hopes and dreams of going overboard shopping for stationary were dashed when our school announced they have a system where we all pay a set fee and the school buys all the stationary supplies needed in bulk. I mean it's saved me lots of time and probably money, but part of me is mourning all the trips I could of made and all the cute stationary we could have bought. Alas it wasn't meant to be, but we can have super cute stuff for home. She has to do her homework with something...

Smiggle have you covered with basic stationary supplies with notebooks, pens, pencils, staplers, pencil cases, scissors and rulers available in different colours and designs. There's also novelty erasers, sharpeners, pens and pencil toppers. In addition to the basics, they also have cool accessories like keyrings, watches, alarm clocks and lights. See the full range of Smiggle back to school stationary here.


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Disclosure - I was sent a Smiggle lunchbox, drink bottle and pen sets for the purpose of  review. I did not receive payment for this post. All stock photos have been used with permission.