Octonauts Water Pool Hunt

We had a fun afternoon in the sun pretending to be Octonauts. With the help of Peso, Dashi, and Tweak we used our fishing nets to hunt the pool for missing objects :)

I filled the activity table with water and a little bit of bubble bath to obscure their view slightly. I threw in some foam alphabets, sea creatures and random little items. I then gave the children little missions  to use their nets to find certain letters, items, or to spell words.

Exploring track marks

My children love exploring track marks, it really appeals to there inquisitive minds. I was hoping to do this outdoors today so we could get a bit messier but the weather was a bit of a let down. Instead we taped brown paper to the top of the dining room table.

We then rolled the cars through the paint and pushed them across the paper to discover what kind of track they left.

When we do this outdoors we usually sent up a car wash using a tray of shaving foam, a ramp, a bucket of water, and a few plastic cups and funnels. Next time we get to do this outdoors I will share pics.

Sometimes we play detectives. I tell them a little story about a robbery or crime  that took place and the only clue is this track mark I found outside. I show them a picture of the track mark and their job is to find out who committed the crime by finding out which car has a track that matches the one from the scene of the crime.

Practising reading and writing with Flashcards

Making writing fun can be really tricky especially for children who don't want to pick up a pencil. I have found my kids prefer writing on small pieces of paper.

One of the activities my daughter enjoys is making her own flashcards. I give her a pile of small sheets of paper, various pens and pencils, and a pack of flash card for inspiration and to help with words she cannot spell
She will sit for a hour or so drawing pictures, reading words, and writing. She has a great sense of self achievement and is always really proud of her finished pack of Flashcards.

Easter Sensory Box

A sensory box is an activity where  the children are given materials and tools in a table or container with no instruction on what to do with them.  The children are given a chance to explore whats in front of them and decide what to do with it themselves. This self directed play allows children to be creative and gives them confidence and a feeling of self achievement. 

Today we set up a Easter themed sensory box using porridge oats, crunched up Shredded Wheat, fluffy chicks, plastic eggs, and feathers.

The plastic eggs I used split in half. The children used these as scoops and also mix and matched them together. They  used the eggs with holes in as sieves. 

Sensory activities  build on cognitive development. This is a mental process that includes memory, making decisions, problem solving and understanding language. It is the part of our brain that helps us process information and apply knowledge.

Maths can be applied to count, size, match and sort items into groups. They can grasp a better understanding of full and empty, more or less, and whether things float or sink.

Science concepts are used when predicting outcomes and experimenting with materials such as cause and effect. Children have the opportunity to explore and build a better understanding of gravity and speed.

English and language can also be improved. Children build their hand eye coordination and fine motor skills which are used for holding a pencil to learn how to write when pouring stirring, whisking and manipulating the materials. The activity gives a child a sense of self awe which they want to share. It gives them something interesting to talk to others about because each child will use the materials differently. It builds on their vocabulary as they try to express and share their ideas.

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This Day in History - The Eiffel Tower Opens

On the 31st March 1889 The Eiffel Tower opened

The Eiffel Tower is in Paris. The capitol city of France

We painted the flag :) 

The tower is 320 meters high. To help the children understand how big this is we compared it to the size of a average two storey house which is roughly about 6m high meaning the tower is as high as 53 houses stacked on top of each other.

There are 1710 steps to get to the top of the tower.

The tower was named after the engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel whose company designed and built the tower.

Gustave Eiffel 

We attempted to build the tower out of Wafer biscuits and icing sugar. It was a little tricky it took a couple of attempts. We had a giggle trying to balance the biscuits without them falling down.

 Once you have assembled the bottom part leave it a few moments for the icing sugar to set and it will stay in place better and you will find the second layer a little easier. Also it prevents the first layer from falling if the second layer collapses. We learnt this the hard way :/

Macey had a go making the first layer of the tower and Drew made a tower of his own.

We then looked at the pattern of the panels and assembled matchsticks in a similar way.

After we finished the activity the kids decided they wanted to draw some towers

Princess sunflower tower 

Wizards Magical Tower 

They then decided to get the lego out and build some towers of their own.

Easter ice eggs

 I didn't think I would be saying this but I am a tiny bit disappointed (just a teenie tiny bit) that the snow has cleared in my area.  Expecting a snowy Easter weekend I thought it would be fun to make some ice eggs for a outdoor egg hunt and to play some games with them too.

To make the eggs use a dropper or syringe to put a few drops of food colouring inside of a balloon and fill with water. Give them a little jiggle around so that the food colouring mixes with the water evenly and place them in the freezer over night.

Tip: I used a normal balloon because they are a little thicker than water balloons. Stretch the balloon over the end of the tap to fill with water. 

When the water in the balloon is completely frozen cut the knot off the balloon and peel the balloon  away from the ice egg.

If it is still snowy in your area you can hide the eggs around the garden or have a game of marbles or skittles. You could also make some snow chicks and bunnies instead of snowmen.

Although we wont be using ours for a egg hunt we did find another use for them. We made Easter ice sculptures instead :)

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Easter Nest

We had a stay and play session at school today where parents could go along and do activities with the children. One of the activities was to make this cute little Easter nest :)

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Construction site bath play

The bath is a perfect place to set up messy sensory play activities. Today we had a construction themed bath. I ran a bath and added a little yellow food dye to the water to make the water look like a murky construction site colour.  I threw in some bricks and plastic tools and some toy trucks for little man to play with. 

Foam sticks to the bath and tiles when wet so I used sheets of foam to make some brick bath stickers.  

We used a stool as a play table and squirted the top with shaving foam for him to play in.

Sensory activities  build on cognitive development. This is a mental process that includes memory, making decisions, problem solving and understanding language. It is the part of our brain that helps us process information and apply knowledge.

Maths can be applied to count, size, match and sort items into groups. They can grasp a better understanding of full and empty, more or less, and whether things float or sink.

Science concepts are used when predicting outcomes and experimenting with materials such as cause and effect. Children have the opportunity to explore and build a better understanding of gravity and speed.

English and language can also be improved. Children build their hand eye coordination and fine motor skills which are used for holding a pencil to learn how to write when pouring stirring, whisking and manipulating the materials. The activity gives a child a sense of self awe which they want to share. It gives them something interesting to talk to others about because each child will use the materials differently. It builds on their vocabulary as they try to express and share their ideas.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmazingLittleMinds

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Homemade Turkey Burgers

I love getting my children involved when it comes to making tea. They always sit around the dinner table grinning from ear to ear, proud of what they have accomplished.
Here is a healthy Turkey burger recipe that is simple, quick, and fun for children to make.

To make 6 burgers you will need:
500g lean turkey mince 
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp mixed herbs 
1 egg beaten 
season to taste with salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and divide and mould into 6 burger shapes. 

Grill on a medium heat for 6-7 minutes on each side. 

Dinosaur Island

I gave my little boy a bowl of porridge oats and some yogurt pots and let him decide what he wanted to do with them. He got his box of dinosaurs out and excitedly announced he was going to make a dinosaur island. :)

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