O is for Oatmeal!

Our final letter of 2013!  We'll start back up with P in January.

Oatmeal Sensory Box

This one was fun to put together!  I took a large Tupperware container.  I added about a cup and a half of oatmeal. 

I made two batches of oatmeal playdough (1 c oats, 1/2 c water, 1/2 c flour all mixed together + food coloring).  I colored one red and one green. 

The kids got involved.  I asked them to pick things out of the kitchen drawers that they wanted to use.  A potato masher, cookie cutters, random lids, an empty medicine bottle and a piece of an old fashion coffee pot were all selected. 

We played!  Owen liked the playdough.  I liked that it wouldn't hurt him when he sampled it.  I still stayed with him and tried to keep him from eating it, but at least two small pieces made it down the hatch.  He is quick!

Jeffrey and Ellie used the lids to make Os.  They poked the middle out with their fingers.  They really liked the texture.

Sydney shoved it all in the coffee pot piece.  Then she tried to squish it out the bottom, but it was too thick.  She then started picking up the oatmeal and letting it fall back down on her arms.  She giggled a lot!

Ellie got the idea to try and add the oats to the clay.  It became pretty stiff.  Then Jeffrey filled up the medicine container with water and tried helping her out.  They ended up getting workable clay again.
 That's a huge reason why I like sensory play--the kids can explore the materials and try and problem solve on their own.  And they work together at it. 

N is for Noodle

This has been a fun week in our little homeschool!  We've made it all the way to N.  N is for noodle!  I've been making an effort to incorporate more sensory play into our learning.  It's good for Owen.  Actually--it's good for all the kids! 


First, we had to make colored noodles.  With Christmas just around the corner, I picked red and green.  I put dried macaroni noodles into a gallon Ziploc.  We added several drops of red food coloring to one bag, and several drops of green to another.  A little rubbing alcohol was added as well. 

Then my helpers shook, shook, shook.  Eventually the majority of the noodles got covered.  Then we let them dry on a cookie sheet.  When they were done, they looked like this:

I divided the colored noodles between five sparkly boxes I found in the dollar section at Target.  I added a few goodies--gold chocolate coins, Christmas stamps, ribbon for lacing, and a cinnamon stick.  The kids loved digging through their noodles to find everything. 

Then I used glue to write a name on construction paper.  Each child put noodles on top of the glue, and had a tactile name. Great practice!  I just did a big O for Owen, and a big S for Sydney.  Those two needed some help.  Owen had hand-over-hand assistance, and Sydney just had big sister work with her until she understood what she was supposed to do.

 But, macaroni noodles aren't the only ones we used for play this week.  Spaghetti noodles worked wonderfully as well.  I cooked a big 3 pound bag. Then I colored half of it red and half of it green.  I used the same bags as before, but used olive oil instead of rubbing alcohol to  help transfer the color.

This is the perfect sensory medium for Owen.  It's cooked, so if when he eats it I don't have to worry about it expanding internally.  After reading about noodle baths on this website, I knew that Owen would love one.  He did!  He had noodles on his head, noodles on his toes, and he even threw noodles on the floor.  Thankfully, it was easy to clean up!

Then the little girls asked if they could take one too.  I dug out their swim clothes and refilled the tub.  They had a blast! The noodles turned the water an interesting color.  They picked it up and cooked with it on the sides of the tub.  They threw it at each other.  They let their toes dangle in the noodles. 

That website (Growing a Jeweled Rose) also has directions for making glow in the dark noodles.  I want to try that sometime, though I probably won't let Owen play with those ones.  He will eat them after all. Thanks to the Pica.  Don't want him glowing internally!  

 

Other possible noodle activities for the week:

 

Noodle Necklaces

Noodle Patterns

Noodle ABC dig

 

Do you have any fun ideas for noodle play?