Color Cars!

Remember this? We often use it and Caden enjoys the cloths pins but this last time when I got it out he didn't even want to try:( I thought that was a bummer so I asked if he wanted to drive cars on it? He was very excited about that. We got out his cars and he went right to work. I didn't have to give him any direction at all! He would dig around in the bucket looking for certain colors and then drive them and park them, complete with sound effects {see video}! This was one of those experiences that reminds me of two things: 1-play to their interests and 2-find new ways to use materials you have so they don't go to waste:) P. S. We don't have a pink car:)

An Addition to the Busy Book family: Bitty Busy Book

Tutorial

Two Sundays ago we were sitting in church and Caden had finished looking at his Big Busy Book! I put it on the seat next to me and Drake picked it up. I haven't really used it with him because I really made it with Caden in mind. I watched him fumble around with the big book and decided that he needed one that was more his size. I watched as he played and kept note of all of the things he liked and the things he passed by without a care. And so the Bitty Busy Book was born. I used it today in church and It kept Drake happy and engaged for the whole hour! He actually cried when I had to take it away so he could go to Nursery class.

P.S. I bought the lock and calculator from the dollar store but everything else was left overs and re-purposed old clothes. You would be surprised what you can make from left over scraps!

Cover:

I used Steam to Seam to put the letters on the cover and then hand sewed the buttons to add some texture. When Drake first saw it he stared at it and touched each of the buttons.

Lock and Key:

In the Big Book Drake loved the keys in the pocket so I made this activity. I built the pages with the intent for them to be interesting but still present a challenge. Drake loves to try to put the key in the lock but that is as far as he goes. As he becomes more skilled he will unlock it and try to lock it onto the middle ring.

Magnet Maze:

I used some mesh material from my dad's old scrubs pocket and slipped a ball bearing behind it. I sewed two lines so that it was like a very simple maze. I sewed a very strong little magnet into the pouch and attached it to a rope. I used fabric markers to draw the blue and red dots. Caden really enjoyed the maze aspect but Drake was more interested in trying the magnet out on different things. I anticipated that which is why I put it adjacent to the Lock and Key page, so that there would be some metal to try it out on.

Buckles:

Drake is very in to buckles! He can't undo them yet but he loves to buckle them! Half an hour was spent buckling them and then looking at me to unbuckle them again.

Shapes and Color Matching:

Drake played with this for about a minute but it wasn't to big of a hit. I mostly put it in because of the educational value.

Wallet:

This was Drake other favorite. The flap has to snaps holding it shut and the green fabric at the bottom holds a click pen with the ink removed.

When opened there are pockets for laminated play money and credit cards. A zipper pocket with play coins and a little flip calculator that I got at the dollar store

Letter Pockets:
These are four little pockets with a letter on the front of each one and the beads attached to rope are for sorting into the pockets.

Leave a comment if you have any specific questions about how to do something.

Bowling Bottles!

I can't even begin to tell you how much fun Caden had with this activity! My husband had bought a six pack of Diet Dr. Pepper bottles and when I looked at them I thought of bowling pins. I decided to make three primary colored bowling pins! All it is water and food coloring but I might add some glitter! I'm sure the idea of using bottles for bowling is not a new concept to most but I loved the colors! I drew three matching circles on the side walk with chalk so that Caden new just how to set them back up. It made it so much better. I plan to use the other three bottles to make green, orange, and purple and then make a matching mat for Caden to set them up on. The bottles looked so pretty in the sun too!
The ball I used was a rubber band ball that Nate made when he was a kid! Too much Fun!

Puzzles and No Sleep!

Towards the end of my pregnancies I get insomnia every time. Last night was the first time of this pregnancy and it lasted until 3:30 am!!!! I watched online TV while doing this little project. I bought a big bag of wood blocks at my thrift store for 2 dollars. I used a couple to make these little two sided puzzles. My sister saw them and loved them so much that I just gave them to her this morning.

Bean Bag Feely Game!

I love making things that are multifunctional and also things that can grow and evolve with the child. My latest sewing project has been these baby bean bags. This activity is great for sensory development, talking about same and different, and large motor skills.
Aren't they cute!!! I wanted to make bean bags that were smaller for little hands and I had tons of little scraps from other projects. I decided to make them in to a texture game as well. Before I I let Caden play with the target board I had him find the Bean bags that were the same and we talked about how each pair felt. Then the real fun started! He started throwing them at the target and even got one in:) My little one Drake loved it even more then Caden. He stood at the little table and just kept on slipping them through the hole. I was sneaking them from behind back into his pile!
For older children: Put half of the bean bags in a cloth bag. Give the child a bean bag and then have them feel inside the bag without looking to see if they can feel for the correct bean bag.

These were so simple but I am going to give the directions on how I made them just in case anyone wants to know:)

1) I selected 6 fabrics that had different textures and cut 4 rectangles measuring 4in by 3in out of each fabric.

2)I put two pieces of fabric together with the textured sides facing in and sewed around the edges, leaving a little opening at the top in which to turn it right side out.

3) Turn it right side out using a chopstick to push out all of the corners.

4)Fill the bag with filling. I used poly-beads. Make sure that you don't over stuff them!

5) Sew the small opening shut and you have an adorable little bean bag!