Homemade Play Doh!

In an effort to keep us busy the past week, I've been scouring the internet for ideas to keep Zach learning.  The amount of knowledge that a toddler can pick up in one day is incredible and I don't want one moment of that to slip from our fingers.  About 80% of my days are spent feeding Eli (yes, he eats that much!) so having a moment to get things together for Zach is not easy.  Luckily, Eli napped for a full hour and a half today, which gave me just enough time to get an activity together.

I've seen quite a few recipes for homemade play doh these days but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for Zach yet.  Luckily, most of the recipes were things that weren't going to kill him if he ate it, so I decided it was time for him to try playing with play doh.  I did a quick search for a simple recipe (you wouldn't believe how many really unique ones there are out there- gingerbread, glitter, slime green, rainbow, even chocolate!).  I settled upon a simple one with three ingredients I had in the pantry- flour, water, and salt!  

Homemade play doh (warning- this recipe dries out fairly quickly)

1 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

1/2 cup water dyed color of choice

Have your child mix the salt and flour

Slowly add water until the desired consistency is achieved!

*This teaches cause and effect.  Child will learn that when you add liquids to the dry mixture you will get a new texture!*

Ready to help make play doh!

Right after stirring

And then came time to play!  Zach was very confused at first, and of course put it right into his mouth right away.  He quickly learned that it was very salty and didn't try to eat it again.  The dog on the other hand ate a small ball!  He wasn't sure what to do with it, so I showed him how he can mold it in his hands.  I made a snowman, a heart, and a Z.  He had fun watching me, but still wasn't to crazy into it.  Finally I began breaking pieces apart and counting them.  He's really fascinated in counting lately so he had fun pretending to count the balls that Mommy laid out in front of him.  I'd like to think that he was learning some fractions as I distributed smaller pieces from the big ball.  I also showed him how I could take 2 balls away from the 5 that he had so that there were only three left now.  He seemed really interested in this activity!  Eventually he got bored and play time was over.  I will do this activity again, when he's a bit older and can actually mold and play with the play doh!  

I <3 td="td" z="z">

Play time!

Love that face!

I was begging him "not" to smile!

One happy toddler!

Until next time- happy learning!

How to keep a big brother busy

Most, if not all, of my time these days is spent with a certain special boy.  He's small, bald, and handsome, and I call him my baby.  With that said, Zach doesn't get as much fun Mommy time as he used to.  We don't get out of the house nearly as often as before, and some days we don't even get out of our pajamas.  I'm not complaining, as I knew this was going to happen after the birth of Elijah.  The downside of this though is that Zach is not getting nearly enough fun time, and I am trying my hardest to get him out of the house or doing something fun as often as I can.  Many days I head down to the park so we can play for a few hours.  But on days that I cant even get the kids together and in the stroller I try to initiate some kind of home activity to foster his learning.  

Today I decided to set up a sensory activity for him in the front yard.  I have learned over the years that most of the time toys aren't worth your money.  The best toys are everyday things in your home.  And perfect timing for this, as I'm currently digging through my house in preparations for our possible move in a few weeks.  As I've dug through my pantry, I discovered a bag of old beans and some rice that we don't eat.  I immediately knew what I was going to do!  

Our sensory learning experience today involved two tupperware containers, a measuring cup, rice, and beans of all colors and sizes.  As many moms know, toddlers- especially boys, love to put things in and out of containers.  And that's exactly what Zach did.  

We began by touching the different beans and rice.  I explained to him that they were all smooth, and showed him that some were bigger then others.  I also showed him the contrast in colors in some of the beans.  We even counted the beans.  I showed him how to count to four lima beans, and he mimicked my counting.  Though it wasn't full words, he got the point that we were counting something and was laying beans aside while counting.  Eventually I just sat back and let him play without my guidance.  He loved every moment of it.  He dug his hands into the beans, he picked fists full up and put it in the other container, and of course- he made a mess!  But a mess that was easy enough to clean up!  

Digging into one container

Mom, I'm playing!

Love that boy!

He tried to eat one.  Apparently it wasn't tasty! 

And the mess begins

OK mom, i'm ready to just dump everything!

The end result.  A quick clean up for so much fun!

We had a ball playing and it kept him busy for a whole 2 hours!  What mom doesn't love that?  Since, we've pulled this out again and he's played again.  We'll keep this activity on the back burner for future use!  

Another activity I created this week to keep Zach busy was this paper magnet pumpkin on our fridge.  I simply cut out a pumpkin from old scrapbook paper, then cut out eyes and a few mouths to try on.  I glued magnets to the back of them and Zach was able to make different Jack o Lanterns!  He played for awhile, but unfortunately the magnets I used weren't very good.  I'll be heading to the store this week to buy better ones for better pumpkin faces!  What an easy and fun activity.  It took me all of 5 minutes to make.  

Our pumpkin on our fridge!

And that my friends is how you entertain a bored toddler.  It doesn't have to cost much, sometimes the best toys are those you have laying around your house already.  I'll be trying to work in some more crafts and activities in the next few weeks to make life with a newborn and a toddler a bit easier.  

BOO!! Boo who....??

Halloween is just not quite the same holiday it was living in America.  We don't have pumpkin patches to go to with our kids to pick the perfect pumpkin, we don't get to see beautiful fall foliage, and we certainly don't get to go apple picking.  Instead, we buy our pumpkins at the grocery store (if there's enough left that is!), wear flip flops because it's too hot for shoes still, and dish out a whopping $3.50+ a pound for apples that don't even taste great.  It's not the same as in America, but we have learned to make due.  

One way us Okinawians make due is by "Booing" our neighbors.  What's "booing" you ask?  Booing involves leaving a little halloween themed gift on your neighbor's porch with a note asking them to do the same to two others.  The bag comes with a letter asking you to post a note on your door that you've already been booed.  We decided since nobody else started the chain up on our hill, we would!  We made two bags of goodies for some friends.  Candy, toys, coloring pages, and lots of fun goodies for the kids and adults in the families made their way to the door step of two families.  Dima snuck outside in the dark and did a ding dong ditch on the neighbor's door, leaving a special treat for them.  We were delighted that when one of the friends came outside he yelled, "HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" When he realized he'd been booed!  Gotta love the spirit of our friends!  

After the first boo had been sent, we began seeing "We've been booed!" signs pop up every day in our neighborhood.  What a great feeling it is to know you started a chain of random acts of kindness!  And a few days later, that act of kindness made its way back to us... we got booed!  Our booers brought us a bunch of great things to keep us (ok, Zach...) busy.  We got green chocolate and pretzels and a mold to make "mummy" shaped chocolate pretzels.  We got a great face mask that Zach was initially scared of but now he likes to wear.  We got a light up eyeball bouncy ball.  And we got a ghost that lights up.  Zach has been having a lot of fun playing with his new toys and It's getting me excited for Halloween in a few weeks!

Our boo basket!

Zach playing with the mask

Freaky!

Zach asked Daddy to wear it too

Booing was something on our "fall five."  The first we can cross off our list!  Even with two little ones, we're still accomplishing our to do lists! 

As a result of our "booing" I've decided to add something new this blog.  If there's one thing I love, it's doing something nice for others.  Whether that be someone I know, or a total stranger.  It's something that is very dear to me, and something I really want my boys to learn from me.  People today have too many wants and needs.  Gimmie this, Gimmie that.  I want my boys to learn to give, and to get satisfaction from giving.  And with that said, I'd like to start my "RAOK" or Random Act Of Kindness.  From here on, I will be randomly surprising people with kindness.  Because sometimes one little action can make someone's entire day turn right side up.