Glitter Glue!

I purchased some silver and orange glitter glue from Target in the dollar section. I knew the moment I saw it that something fun could be done with it. 

My oldest found it and immediately ran into the play room to get pencils and paper. The youngest followed yelling "paper, paperrrr"! I let them play for a few minutes before it dawned on me that a big mess could be in the making. I was pleasantly surprised to find this:

My oldest son decided to draw halloween pictures and trace over them with the glue. My youngest just had fun pouring the glue out. Either way, it looked like fun to me. They soaked the paper; not allowing us to keep their masterpieces. 

I do have an idea I want to try out. I am thinking of drawing shapes on wax paper and having them trace it. Once the glue dries I will cut out the shape and hang it up. I am not sure how it will work, but I will be trying it this weekend. I will update the blog with our results. 

The Little Ones and the Purple Sand

After seeing my 2-3 year old friends enjoy the purple sand so much, I was curious as to how my 1-2 year olds would react. I was surprised to find out that it was not as big of a deal. Most of my little friends played with it for a minute or two, however my one friend really enjoyed it. I believe it is because it is calming to her. She spent a good chunk of her time with us playing in the purple sand. 

The real big hit of the class was the parachute and the plastic balls. Every class we bring out the parachute. We ride on it, sit under it, and pop plastic ball "popcorn". My friends run to circle time when I announce the parachute is coming out. 

Our Play Friends class for our 1-2 year old friends is really about playing with the parent. It is so important for a parent or caregiver to help their child explore their world in a safe environment. Our class does that. Plus we make a mess; which normally does not happen at home (not even mine). 

Pumpkins, Play Dough and Purple Play Sand

This week our theme is halloween based, but nothing scary; pumpkins. I have mini pumpkins to paint, pumpkin pie scented play dough, and new purple sand for the sensory table. 

I picked up 20 small pumpkins from the local farmers market for my friends to paint. I had it all planned out, we would sit in circle time, read 5 Little Pumpkins and then hop on over to the art table to paint the pumpkins. Well, today was another reminder that having a plan is a good idea, but really you just go with the flow with this age group. 

Why? I purchased some new play sand. Purple play sand. It was a huge hit. Once the sand was discovered, circle time was promptly left behind. My friends had such a blast playing in the purple sand. They kept going back to it after each activity. I love the color, it is so vibrant. I am sure this is why it was a huge hit. ***If you are going to play with sand at home indoors, make sure it is on a hard surface and not carpet. It takes a few vacuuming sessions to get the sand out of carpet.

Eventually we made it to the art table to paint our pumpkins and here are the results:

This last photo is of my boys "helping" me make the play dough for class. It is a simple flour, salt, oil, and food coloring recipe that I added pumpkin pie spice to. It is great for sensory play. 

It will be interesting to see how my 1-2 year olds handle the play sand. Will it be met with the same excitement? I am not sure, but I cannot wait to find out. 

REMINDER - FREE OPEN PLAY FRIDAY OCTOBER 28th 9:30am to 10:30am