Fall Fun with Playdough

Posted on November 18, 2018June 8, 2019 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

If you haven’t already guessed, engaging with playdough with the kiddos that I work with is one of my favorite activities. I make my own playdough much of the time or I use the playdough that they have at home.

Special Shapes for Fall

I just wanted to show you my latest cookie cutters and cards that I’ve made for Thanksgiving and the fall season.

I found these fun shapes at the dollar store!

Talk about finding something just when you need it!

Let me back up a bit . . .

By the way, I added a lot more cinnamon than this picture shows! Oops!

Last month when I was making playdough for Halloween fun, I went a little overboard with the cinnamon in my recipe. (Great for a sensory element and it just smells so good!) Anyway, my lovely orange playdough turned quite brown. Okay, so I put it aside and started again. I didn’t want to just throw away this wonderful smelling playdough, so I put it in a plastic bag knowing that I could use it for mixing with yellow and orange to make some cool autumn leaves.

So . . . when I found the football and acorn cookie cutters at the dollar store (Dollar General) I might have squealed a little. Acorns and footballs are brown! And the pack of 4 was only $1!

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Pool Noodle Repurposed

Posted on July 24, 2018May 25, 2019 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

It’s late July but, here in Florida, we still have several months of very warm weather! Here is a great way to repurpose those pool noodles that are hanging around your backyard. Sadly, these fun pool toys cannot be recycled very easily in most communities, but we can salvage the good parts for a new activity and use the broken pieces for the bottom of your plant containers instead of rocks or stones. I start by slicing the noodles with my electric knife. This is the best way to get (somewhat) even rings with virtually no mess to your work space. My slices are approximately 3/4 of an inch but can certainly be larger.

When I use these colorful rings with kids, we place them on a rope or string. We stack them and sort them. We use the rings to make patterns, too!

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The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Bean Bin Sensory Play

Posted on February 28, 2018October 13, 2018 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

Sensory play activities are not only fun but also great learning opportunities for young children. There are so many different manipulatives that you can incorporate into hands-on play tasks.

Who

So who should engage in bean bin sensory play? Everyone! I love these play times for ALL kids because everyone can benefit from the social engagement and language.

What

Use a large plastic container with a lid to house your beans. Use black beans for “planting” tasks, brown beans for general purpose sensory play. Buy some white beans and dye them a variety of colors for different holidays. Place objects into the beans for your child to explore. Use themes–animals, letters, or dinosaurs, for example. Provide different colored cups and have your child find a variety of items in different colors, sort them into the cups.

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“Getting ready for the holidays” has a different meaning for families of a child with sensory concerns.

Posted on November 14, 2017July 30, 2018 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

When our children were babies, we got used to packing a special bag with all of the essentials for when we went visiting out of state, across town, or even to the neighbors house!

We were conscious of nap schedules, eating schedules and where an appropriate space to change the diapers would be. Planning ahead of time was typical. We calculated every possible scenario on the airplane or at the dinner table. Families of a child with sensory concerns do calculations too.

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It’s the Process, not the Product!

Posted on October 31, 2017November 20, 2018 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

I remember Kindergarten teachers telling parents, “It’s the process, not the product”, as we admired the children’s artwork.

I’m not quite sure how I felt about this comment, because I thought the creations were pretty amazing. But I understand it now. After working with children and their families for so long, I value that process more than ever.

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Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Everywhere!

Posted on October 28, 2017November 20, 2018 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

Pumpkins! Gotta Love this Time of Year!

Looking for some fun activities for the fall season? Here are a few ideas that you may find interesting!

Pumpkin Hunt

Find a fun pumpkin patch. Go on a pumpkin hunt to choose your pumpkins. Talk about: large, small, behind (the tree), next to (the basket), “Oh, I like this one! Wow, that pumpkin is big. Look at this pumpkin, oh, it’s so heavy. This pumpkin is_______. (smooth, bumpy, colorful, round, dirty).

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Play Dough Match

Posted on June 4, 2017February 1, 2018 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

Hello! Here is one of my favorite tasks for preschoolers. Play dough match! This is a great task to address fine motor, following directions, imitation, sensory integration, language and social engagement. If your child is already engaging with play dough then that’s great.

Read this if you are wondering why engaging with play dough and other sensory mediums are so important.

To make your own matching project you will need:

cookie cutters

copy paper, or other paper

pencil and sharpie

laminator and laminating sheets

play dough and accessories

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Why play with play dough? Make it social!

Posted on June 4, 2017February 1, 2018 by myumbrelladay@aol.com

So how many times have you tried to introduce play dough (or something else ooey and gooey) to your child and he refuses to touch it? Trust me, you are not the only one. Ok, so some may say, “Who cares if my kid plays with play dough or not, no big deal.” Well, that’s pretty much true, but my concern with kids not engaging with toys or sensory manipulatives is that it may keep them from being social with their peers.

The same is true for sensory/bean/rice/sand/water tables or bins. The whole point in providing the opportunity for them to engage in these tasks is so that when they are presented with these activities at school or in any other social situation, they will more likely participate with their peers than leave the environment.

When providing the opportunity for your child to engage in these tasks, just consider them prerequisites to social play, communication, and friendship. We would have to agree that these are pretty important goals to focus on!Continue reading→