a handful of things we’ve been busy playing lately

• we tested this indoor obstacle course suggested by Preschool Outdoor Activities with great success.  I have been asked to recreate it many times since we first tried it.  One activity in the course – carrying blocks on a spoon and dropping them in a saucepan – has proven to be very motivating for my toddler, J.  He will try to acheive this challenge,with great focus, for a long time, even though it is obviously very frustrating for him.

• we borrowed a set of Magnetix from the toy library, which has sparked a great interest in building.  And it is the first time that B has thought about the N and S poles on magnets and noticed that sometimes magnets repel one another, a discovery that was met with great interest and enthusiasm.

• we used diluted food colouring and eyedroppers to create rainbow art on sheets of paper towel.  When you drop each colour on the paper they spread and mix together.  The results are very colourful and beautiful.  They might make a nice bunting for decoration if you string them together.
• we have been painting with watercolours a lot lately, so I tried the Waldorf idea of telling a story to inspire the artwork and told the story of Sunbeam’s Visit from Little Acorn Learning.

 

• decorating gingerbread dinosaurs.  The decorating part was very enjoyable, but once again I had trouble creating a dough that could be rolled out.  My doughs always stick to the bench – very frustrating especially when cooking with children.

There has also been lots of talk about identifying the first letter of words and with writing letters (B has developed a great interest in letters since starting preschool and is always asking what letter words start with and wanting me to write different words for him to copy) and lots of creating hideaways – behind the couch and in the linen cupboard being the favourite spots.
What have your children been playing at/with lately?