Create Fairy Houses
True Fact:
There is an island off of Maine called Monhegan Island where visitors build fairy houses and leave them for others to find. This is a link with pictures of some of the houses. You and your child can look at the houses before you go and build your own.
http://www.spokaneoutdoors.com/fairy.htm
http://www.fairyhouses.com/feature1.html
Toddler or Preschooler:
Take your child out for a walk to a woodsy area or look for a spot in your own garden, under a tree, or in some special secret spot. Gather up materials. Build. Make a simple house or spend hours on it, your choice! While you are out in the woods, see if you can find other fairy houses.
You need:
What ever you can find! Creativity is key in this activity!
Leaves, twigs, grass, acorns, rocks, stones, pinecones, etc.
You can also try to find other fairy houses or places that look like they might have been fairy houses before.
This is an activity that has no age limit!
See above for our hous. We built it under a large tree in the backyard
Construction Sensory Table
After seeing this on a blog, I had to do it! See link above. It was as fun as it looked!
I went to the store to get actual gravel but it only came in huge bags and was expensive. I decided to try aquarium gravel. The kids picked out the colorful stuff. I thought it was pretty. We could've used another bag...
They played with this forever. They pushed the rocks into one pile. They did repeatedly tell each other "no hands, use the trucks" because I had said that in the beginning. Then we switched to, "Play however you like as long as it stays in the sensory table!"
I thoroughly enjoyed Bob the Builder giving every one directions and the construction workers sitting down in a row to have lunch. We saw "lunch time" one day while driving and it must have left an impression! :-)
Thursday July 30th / Build Your Own Mini Golf Course
The number one way to get your kids interested in an activity is: get on the floor too, at least in the beginning, and then let them take over and play by themselves.
Toddler and Preschooler
You need:
golf clubs real or platsic
gold balls real or plastic
Keep in mind your child's age and ability when designing your course.
You can build ramps, tunnels, and buildings. You can use toys, chairs, books, or anything you can think of.
Outside courses can include digging holes, wood ramps, fairy twig houses, etc.
If you make a great game, take pictures and post them on Play is Essential's Facebook Fan Page!
Thursday July 16th / Beyond Basic Blocks
The number one way to get your kids interested in an activity is: get on the floor too, at least in the beginning, and then let them take over and play by themselves.
Toddler and Preschooler
You need:
Blocks all shapes, sizes, and colors
Imagination is a must!
Toddlers:
Stacking blocks is a major accomplishment.
How many blocks can your toddler stack before they knock it down??
Build them a big tower to smash! (build quick!) lol
Preschooler:
Challenge your preschooler to expand their imagination and dramatic play.
How high of a tower can they build?
Can they build cages for our their animals and call it a zoo? Grab some people and have them visit the zoo.
Can they build a house for their small dolls, include beds, kitchen, house walls, chairs, etc.
Can they build a garage for their match box cars?
Can they build a fire station?
How long can they sit and be engaged with this activity? Preschool years are also about building attention spans.
What else can they think of to build with blocks?
Todddler and Preschooler and Dad
You will need a mailing tube or something like it.
We have an expanded collection of tubes: one long mailing tube, one short fat mailing tube, one clear plastic tube from the hardware store ( I have no idea what it is really for!), and the inside tube from home decorating fabric from the fabric store. We tried the inside tube from gift wrap but it was not sturdy enough.
Idea #1
Attach the tube to your railing on the steps. Show you child how to put small balls or match box cars in the "top side" and watch them come out the bottom. You will be pleasently surprised at how exciting this is to a child. Repeat, repeat, repeat!
Idea #2
Same mail tube. Just place this one in the middle of your couch. It will stay because you balance it on the back of the couch and secure it between the couch cushions. Now place a hat, bucket, bin, anything and catch all the objects that roll out. I let me preschooler climb on the couch and do this one. His favorite thing to put through the tube is small cars and he figured out that if they are "wheels side down", they go much faster!
Idea#3
My daughter is a toddler and too young to climb up on the couch, for her we got a shorter fat mailing tube. We put it at a shorter height for her as well. She can fit many different items through it!
This one deserves a video! If you video your little ones playing this send me your youtube link and I will insert it here!
Toddler and Preschooler:
You need a sheet.
Ok this is not new, but if you haven't done this in awhile, try it again. Kids have been buiding forts for years because it is FUN.
Put a sheet over a table and build a fort inside, put your sheet over two chairs, put the sheet over a small card table, or even arrange your couch cushions so you can crawl inside.
Here are ideas for inside your fort. Under the table set up a large train track system with train cars.
Under the card table put in books, pillows, and a flash light.
Tent
Go ahead and set your tent up in the middle of your living room. Put sleeping bags, pillows, back pack, flash lights, and play food inside. You might want to add your plastic bugs?!
This is a cute idea.
After your kids go to bed for the night, or while they are taking a nap, build a structure with blocks.When they wake up tell them you built them a special structure (house, building, thing) and they have to find it. Repeat as often as you like, but vary where you build and what you build. They will be excited to find what you have built for them! After they find it let them play with it, or knock it down.
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