Play Dough Pasta Bugs

We're keeping things simple this summer at Seedlings, so posts have been a bit sporadic, but I thought it was time to check-in.  

As I mentioned a while back, we've decided to adopt a grain-free diet due to some digestive issues Monkey was having.  I'd intended for this change to be temporary, but we're all feeling so much better, I don't see an end anytime soon.  The decision to continue on this new dietary adventure was even easier to make after two consecutive nights of grain/gluten ingestion on my part left me with two consecutive nights of belly-ache.  No thanks!

So, what to do with all that pasta?  Use it for preschool, of course!!

Monkey was getting a bit stir-crazy this past week after temperatures reached 108F and he wasn't able to get in his usual few hours of outside time each day, so play dough was the first thing that came to mind.

I cooked up a pot of fresh dough, throwing in some lavender essential oil for good measure, set out bowls of pasta: spaghetti, rotini and elbow macaroni and the little ones got to work.

The spaghetti was by far the most popular pasta to work with and even though there was quite a lot of pasta-breakage, the children never got frustrated, they were enamored with this new sensory material.

And, as is the way with play dough, someone always makes a pancake:

But Monkey decided he was making a bug and here is the finished product:

How'd you like to find this guy in your house??

I hope to gather some material to share on our upcoming vacation to the beach!  What are you and your little ones up to this summer??

Baby Sensory Play: Bugs in "Grass"

Time for another edition of our Baby Sensory Play adventures!  Last time, my little guy got to explore some wax paper and shapes and this time, we're getting messy with a fun bug-themed sensory tub.

Here is my usual preschool bug-themed sensory tub:

Not so good for Mr. Everything-is-food, so shredded paper was out and green spaghetti noodles were in!

I just boiled the noodles as I normally would, but added green food coloring to the cooking water.  When they were done - I strained, rinsed and cooled.  I did add a teeny speck of olive oil, just to keep them pliable and prevent clumping.

Little Bear dug right in!

He was definitely more interested in the bugs at first and worked hard to get each one out so he could give it a taste.  Working on that pincer grasp!

 

The texture of the noodles didn't seem to bother him at all and he was happy to get in there and find those bugs.

Monkey, my 3 1/2 yr old, was in sensory heaven!  He picked up handfuls just to squeeze them and hear the SQQQUUUUIIIIISSSSHHHH!

He also loved the noise the noodles made as he dropped them back into the tub.

And Bear was still tasting.

After a while watching big brother, he started really getting in there and actually playing with the noodles, sliding them all around.

And also tasting.

Eventually, Bear lost interest, but Monkey couldn't get enough, he wanted his feet in there and added a spatula, measuring spoon and colander from our play kitchen as well.  He spent nearly an hour playing in our 'grass' and I'll definitely be sure to cook up some colorful noodles for my students very soon!

Our Week (or 3) of Butterflies!

Just like our ladybug project, I ordered our butterfly larvae from Insect Lore.  I've been doing this project with my students for more years than I can count and I've slowly been increasing the number of butterflies I order.  For a while, I ordered one small cup of caterpillars (about 5 or 6), then last year, I had two classes, AM and PM, so I ordered two cups and we ended up with about 10 painted lady butterflies.  

This year, I have 13 students, not including my own children, but since I can only have 4 students each class period, every day looks different as far as kiddos go.  I wanted each child to experience the best part of the butterfly project - releasing the butterflies - so I ordered a 'school kit' so we'd have enough of the lovely painted ladies to release a few during each class.  

When my kit arrived and I finally got them placed into their individual cups, this is what I ended up with.

That is a grand total of 47 caterpillars....aaannnnddd, maybe I went a bit overboard with the ordering, but never mind that, on to activities.

I've been working hard to incorporate more Reggio-inspired ideas into my curriculum and because long-term projects are something used quite a bit in that particular school of thought, I figured our butterfly project would be a great time to start introducing documentation and observation to the children.

Here are some samples of my son's observations:

And because this observation and documentation thing is still new to me, these are the only three I actually managed to get done, however; you can see the progression of thought and the addition of detail in just this short amount of time.  The first picture doesn't look like much to the casual observer, but I know that the 'S' in the bottom left is his caterpillar; the second picture shows the cup with the concentric circles and the caterpillar to the left; by the third picture, he asked me to label everything for him.  Next time, I'll remember to finish these observations with him - who knows where he would have gone next!

We kept a close eye on our caterpillars over the next week and they eventually got to be quite large.

The next step in the process is the 'J' hang - and now I'm really wishing I'd done more observational drawings with the kiddos - how cool is this?

Finally, all of the caterpillars became chrysalids (which I guess sounds nicer than chrysalises) and I had to painstakingly pin each cup lid to the side of our butterfly garden.  There were a few that had to be placed on the bottom, but I managed to fit all of them in there safe and sound where we watched and waited for another whole week.

While we were waiting, we made some fun crafts.  And of course, no butterfly unit would be complete without:

We made pom-pom caterpillars.

And had a bonus math lesson when we spontaneously decided to count our pom-poms.

We also used wool roving wrapped around a pipe cleaner to create rainbow chrysalids.

And finally, coffee filter butterflies, because children love spray bottles and they always turn out lovely!

Gorgeous!

And finally, after two weeks of waiting, we were visited (on Saturday, of course!) by our very first butterfly.

And soon, we had a butterfly garden literally overflowing with painted ladies.

We have spent this week saying goodbye to our new little friends, some of whom were kind enough to give us an extended goodbye.

Even the littlest Seedling got in on the action!

Next year - praying mantises??  I think so.

What We're Up to in May

Here is what we have in the classroom this month:

Our writing salt is back! This time lavender colored and scented.  My son (aka the beta tester) was using it right after it went into the classroom and I could hear him scratching away....then a big sniff.....and "Ahhhhh, this smells soooooooo good!"

Butterfly and Flower Counting Game

I used laminated butterfly shapes that were name tags last year and wrote the numbers in permanent marker with little dots.  I put 1-5 on one side and 6-10 on the other so there weren't too many materials to work with.  I also added tongs in case the children feel inclined to use them.

Our geranium-scented play dough from last month has held up really well.  I think because we spent quite a bit of time outside, but now the weather is getting hot and we'll be back indoors, so we're giving it another try.  I've just replaced the egg cookie cutter with a butterfly.

Our bug sensory bin is always loads of fun!  Shredded paper, plastic bugs, trees and rocks and some tree blocks, made by my big brother, to bring in some nature.

Butterfly Pattern Match Game

I printed these butterflies from Preschool Printables.  They're meant to be a file folder game, but they work wonderfully on the light table.  Laminated and ready to match!

Our sewing basket has been refreshed again this month.  I've added smaller versions of the flower buttons used the Butterfly and Flower Counting Game to replace our regular buttons.  I also found a fancy flower pin cushion to keep our tapestry needle for button-sewing safe and sound.

I made this little felted bee last year along with the felted turtles pictured below.  The idea for these happy little fellows came from my curriculum purchased from Little Acorn Learning.  I love adding little Waldorf-Inspired elements into the classroom when I can find the time to make them.

10 Preschool Sensory Bin Ideas

 We always have plenty of sensory experiences here at Seedlings, but we love to go beyond the typical sand, water, potting soil, rice, birdseed, beans, etc.  Here are some examples of seasonal and anytime sensory bins.

Rainbow Bubbles

Spring/Easter Theme: shredded paper, plastic eggs, spring foam shapes, spoons, baskets.

 Cloud dough: 8c. flour, 1c. oil - I used baby oil

Bug Theme: shredded paper, wood blocks, plastic bugs and trees.

Pond Theme: Colored water, river rocks, frog life cycle models, magnifying glasses.

Gardening Theme: sand (or potting soil), garden tools, plastic planters, faux flowers.

Gardening/Flowers/Spring Theme: Lavender scented water, water beads, faux flowers, cups for scooping and pouring.

Christmas: Dyed rice, ornaments, gift boxes.

Arctic/Winter Theme: Tray covered with foil, vanilla-scented glitter play dough, Arctic TOOB

Arctic/Winter Theme: Salt in tray covered with foil, small arctic buttons (Hobby Lobby/Michael's) and blue and white pom-poms (not pictured).