Tot School: 14 Months

~14 Months~

This week we worked on three activities, as usual! The first activity that we worked on was a fine motor activity. I pulled out the small colander for yet another go at it. This time we used pipe cleaners instead of toothpicks. I figured that they would be a bit gentler if she put them in her ears. Thankfully, she didn't make the connection this time!




This activity was a bit too easy but, she still really enjoyed it. She also enjoyed pulling the pipe cleaner back in forth in the holes while listening to the nice "scratching" sound that it made.




Look at that concentration! I love it!




The second activity we worked on was a pouring activity. I did not have high expectations but BINGO it was perfect! Just challenging enough for me to have to do plenty of modeling but, no so difficult that she couldn't do it by herself. Yay! I was glad to finally have great activity right at the cusp of her "sweet spot" for learning. You can expect to see a pouring activity each week now!




At first she wanted to play with the rainbow rice that I had in the glass measuring cups. (Check out my tutorial for rainbow rice here.)







But she got the hang of pouring it too! She even stuck her hand in the rice as she was pouring it! (Sooooo glad we did this one outside!)




The last activity that we worked on was sign language related. Not your typically tot tray type of activity but, something to take signing to a new level for us. The Stink Bug can sign 30+ words so, I needed to do something a little bit more challenging with her knowledge.




I pulled out a ring of cards that we use for identifying and laid it out for her on her tray. Normally I would hold up two cards and ask her to choose/point to one of them. For example, "Please point to the apple." This time I asked her, "What is that?" as she looked at the cards. I also asked her, "What is the sign for that?" She happily signed back what each card was. Sometimes I had to be more direct and ask her, "That is a puppy. How do you sign puppy?"










We both liked this activity and I may even stick these in my purse or her diaper bag for those times that we are out and need a quiet activity. You know, those times like standing in line at the grocery store....when all your toddler wants to do is grab at the bananas and fuss about having been in the cart too long? We all need activities for times like those! What types of activities do you do with your toddler during those times? I would love to have a few more tricks up my sleeve!




Oh, and before I forget! Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win an 8x10! You get get there by clicking here!

Rainbow Rice

One of the many fun, and educational, DIY projects that's floating around is home made rainbow rice! I love this stuff! It is great to put in a sensory bin or table for your toddler or preschooler. It would also be great to use for home decor. I can imagine making some red and green rice to fill a decorative apothecary jar or vase around Christmas time. I could also see using rainbow rice as the bottom support for flower arrangements. No matter what reason you have to make it, I am SURE you will come up with a hundred more! It is simple to make out of common household items. Here are the supplies you need:

rice (2 cups per color)
vinegar or rubbing alcohol (1-2tbs per color)
food coloring (amount varies)
glass jars with lids, or another seal-able container that you don't mind staining
aluminum foil
cookie sheet
conventional oven

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum fold, making sure that you let a little bit hang over on at least two sides. (This will give you something to grab a hold of later. Don't skip this step or you will have a heck of a time pouring the rice off of the cookie sheet later.) Place the cookie sheet aside.


Put approximately 1-2 tbs of rubbing alcohol or vinegar into a glass jar. Add your desired color and how much food coloring that you find you need. (You may have to experiment a little bit here. Obviously, you will need more food coloring for more saturated colors.) Then add two cups of rice to the jar. Cover or close TIGHTLY, then shake to mix. (You can imagine why the tightly part is important....not a pleasant thing to clean up...)

Once mixed, pour the rice onto the aluminum foiled lined cookie sheet. If you plan on making more colors and mixing them, you can continue to add rice to the cookie sheet. Otherwise, you may want to make each color separately, or on a separate cookie sheet. Be sure that your layer of rice is not too thick. A tick layer will take longer to dry out in the oven.

Place in the oven for approximately 20 min. Check the rice, and bake another 10-15 min if it is still wet. (When I made my rice, I made the layer of rice WAY TO THICK. I ended up having to bake mine much longer than this.) Continue baking and checking the rice as necessary.

Removed the rice from the oven, and let cool. The great thing about this recipe is that the color will not bleed even if the rice gets wet. Unfortunately, my little one has put this in her mouth on more than one occasion and has even managed to drool into it with no ill effects.

Now go have some fun with your rainbow rice!


Side note: I used vinegar with my rice and to this day the rice smells a little bit like vinegar. If your not fond of that smell in particular, I would suggest using rubbing alcohol. I also hear that people have success with just letting it air dry. I was worried about knocking it over accidentally and ending up with a HUGE mess so, I didn't try it.