hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

  This weeks theme:   SEA SHORE SORT        Supplies:   sea shells   decorative glass beads   craft fuzzy balls   craft feathers   foam sticker fish   small plastic containers for scooping, sorting, dumping, etc.   feel free to add anything that you might find on a beach, this was just what we had already, so the whole thing cost $0!   Tip: If your kiddos need a new twist on it, this one can easily be changed up by adding water, just like at the beach!   And bonus, no sunscreen needed!!                            

"And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down/In rushing, rising riv'lets..." - from Winnie the Pooh. Yes that was most of the night before last and yesterday morning. For the most part it was nice, we got to have Daddy home till noon since he can't work in the rain. And once the front moved out everything was extra bright and crisp looking outside. After Vic was finally able to head out for the day, our afternoon here got very busy, but not in the ways I had hoped. Kit was having very clingy day. And a wanting-to-be-naked day. And a let's-get-into-everything-and-make-lots-of-messes day. It was evident very early that any attempts to get housework done were going to be undone , helped with. So I gave in and decided I'd simply dedicate the rest of the day to the kids. In doing so I gave them permission to make plenty of (controlled) messes. And freed myself from all of the frustration, turning into anger, when they are busy making messes while I am ...

(Sorry this is so late. We had multiple power outages last night that interrupted my last few edits, and today was just busy, busy, busy! But here it is at last...)     Welcome to Wordy Wednesday! Today's subject: SENSORY BINS Every individual from before we are born seeks out sensory information in order to learn about our world and understand ourselves in it. Children are especially good at this. And every child needs to receive sufficient input on a regular basis in order to develop essential life skills. One great and easy way to encourage this kind of exploration is through sensory tables or bins. These are very good for avoiders because the contents can be tailored to their tolerance levels, but can easily have gentle challenges added in gradually. And they are fantastic for seekers, especially on sick days or yucky weather days or the I-just-really-need-a-few-minutes-of-sanity days! So basically they are A+ fantastic awesomeness for any kid, of any...

Welcome to Wordy Wednesday!   Today's subject:   TACTILE PLAY     adjective 1. of, pertaining to, endowed with, or affecting the sense of touch. 2. perceptible to the touch; tangible. (dictionary.com) Getting started young.   Our first sensory experience takes place in the womb, and do you know which sense it involves? Yes, our sense of touch. This sense plays an enormous roll in our lives everyday, an essential roll. Not only is this an external sense, but we have receptors inside our bodies as well. It's these receptors that alert us when we are hungry or full. That let us know that our bladder needs emptying, that our throat hurts because of illness, or allows us to feel pain because our appendix is about to burst! It's how an expectant mother can feel the fluttering kicks (or stabs and pile drives) of her precious baby before it's born.   All of these receptors are part of the greater  soma...