Rainbow Sorting Sensory Bin

 This rainbow sorting bin is so much fun for little ones. It has a variety of textures, shapes and colors for sorting on a rainy day, or anytime! This is perfect for kids who are learning colors, or just need some busy work!

My daughter loves rainbows, and she loves busy work, so this rainbow sorting bin was the perfect rainy day activity for her. We had dyed oats in our craft supplies, and with that, an idea was born to make this activity. Dying oats is so easy, and they are awesome to play with. 

I grabbed a 3 pack of mini pots at the dollar store  and painted them with Kwik Stix but you could use any type of small container, like a baby food jar, a food storage container or whatever for this bin. you just need something that your toddler or preschooler can place the beads in.

Supplies:

Dyed Oats  * instructions here*

Small containers

A plastic storage bin with a lid

Clothespins

Small spoons

Foam beads

Buttons or larger beads

After dying your oatmeal start layering it into the storage bin.

Place the pots or containers for sorting into the bin.

Add beads to the bin, or buttons. I like to offer a variety of textures in the beads. This bin has foam, wooden and standard crafting beads in it.

Add a few small spoons, clothespins and other items for sorting, pinching and measuring. Tongs and slotted spoons are great additions!

I added a clear plastic ornament to the bin too because I wanted to challenge Harper to place the items in a smaller opening.

Offer your child the bin. Ask your child to identify colors as they are picking them up. Encourage your child to sort the colors. This bin is fun to play in, and it is visually appealing too. The variety of textures is engaging. The use of clothespins and or tongs uses the small muscles of the hand. 

This bin has so many developmental benefits and it is a lot of fun too!

Harper loved this bin. She is a big fan of rainbows and busy work, so this rainbow sorting bin engaged her for a while on a rainy afternoon. When she was finished we snapped the lid on the storage bin and stashed it away for another day.

You can find more sensory play ideas here

Rainbow Disc Bag

Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin

Top Gifts for Girls

This year there are so many awesome gift options that the hardest part of making Christmas wishes come true is deciding on what to buy! I have been busy as one of Santa's elves testing out some of the hottest toys and I have found some super fun ones! I am so excited to present these fun toys to you in my top picks for girls gift guide!

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1) LeapFrog Epic Academy Edition Kids Tablet
This was my top pick for Harper this year because she really wants to use my ipad all of the time, but I worry about some of the things she wants to watch and play. The ads that pop up on so many of the games. This tablet is completely perfect for her, right out of the box. It has 20 learning games installed for family friendly entertainment, it also has a free trial of Leapfrog academy included. This offers kids a great chance to learn a variety of subjects anywhere they may go. The search feature is super safe, which I love. I no longer have to worry about my 4 year old landing on inappropriate youtube videos!

Retailing for under $120, this is a tablet that will grow with Harper. Ideal for ages 3 to 9, this is a colorful and durable tablet for kids that helps them learn and play all in one. A great feature is that as your child is ready to explore new android apps, you can add them to this tablet. That was a deciding factor for me as it will allow her to use the tablet with some of the other toys she will receive on Christmas morning!

2) Dance Code Belle
This is such a fun way to introduce your daughters to coding! They can create dances for Belle, and she will show them her moves! Control her from the app, press her necklace, or hold her hand for different ways to play with Dance Code Belle.

Coding seems like it would be hard, but girls as young as 5 can get in on the action by drawing the steps out, or a simple dot to dot style of coding. This is a great way to introduce a concept that may play a big role in her later life through an irresistible option!

Retailing for under $100 you can find this gorgeous Belle doll exclusively on Amazon this holiday season.

3) Baby Alive Sweet Tears Baby Doll
If your little girl loves babies this is the ultimate doll for her! Not only is it really adorable, but it also gives kids hands on tasks to make baby happy and smiling again! Your little one can play caregiver to a very interactive doll that smiles, giggles and even cries real tears!

The Sweet Tears Baby Alive comes with so much more than just a doll! She comes with everything you need to nurse her back to health when she is ill, feed her a snack, or brush her hair. One of my favorite features is that this doll isn't just for little girls. With a simple flip of a switch you can take your interactive doll from mommy to daddy mode for fun for little boys. Sweet Tears Baby Alive can make 35 phrases and sounds as an added bonus!

Retailing for under $50 this is a super fun gift option for little ones that love dolls!

4)  Play Doh Letters and Language Set
This is such a fun way to combine play and learning! The set has 26 letter stamps, 6 cans of play doh, a stylus, a roller, a mat  and a guide book for a complete letter learning experience.

One of the reasons we love play doh is it is such a wonderful tool for fine motor skill development. Harp has been playing with the classic dough since she was about a year old, and has developed so many crucial skills for life with the squishy dough in her hands, including using scissors. As we are learning all about the alphabet and making a lot effort on letter recognition in her preschool years this is a set that will bring her so much more than fun on Christmas day. It will help her build on a solid foundation of early learning with a favorite play time staple.

Retailing for under $20 this is a gift I recommend to anyone shopping for an early learner!

5) Go Go Smart Friends Shimmering Seashell Castle
This fun playset is perfect for little ones that like mermaids! The sandcastle features 3 points that when Pearl the mermaid is placed will produce fun sounds and phrases. The set includes friends for Pearl the mermaid to make playtime an epic underwater adventure.

Retailing at under $40 this is a great V tech toy for dramatic play and discovery. I love dramatic play tools for Harp so this was a natural choice. She will play with this in so many ways and I know she will introduce Pearl and the underwater friends to a lot of other toys.

This set features so much more than just a cute house. There is a vanity, a slide, a carrousel and so many more fun features to make this an exciting choice for little ones!

6) Hape Toys City Cafe Play Kitchen
This is a seriously adorable little kitchen. I love that it is wooden, because it looks so much more realistic than the heavy plastic varieties. It is compact enough for small space play, but in that tiny space it packs a lot of fun!

Featuring everything your little one needs to cook up a great time, the City Cafe Play Kitchen is one of my favorite gift ideas this year. As I mentioned above, I love to encourage dramatic play in my preschooler. With something as simple as a cute little kitchen, she can learn in so many ways!

This was a great option to pair with our Hape toys play food that we have been collecting over the years. Retailing for under $100, this is a gift that will bring years of learning through play.

7) Hape Toys Mighty Echo Microphone
This was another great choice for dramatic play. My kids have always wanted to get their hands on a microphone and with this choice it is possible without damaging eardrums or sanity levels.

This microphone has amazingly good sound quality for a battery free toy! I think it is a fun way to encourage kids to sing and again, engage in dramatic play. This makes a great gift for kids 12 months and up.

This would make a great stocking stuffer or gift exchange option as well.

8) Voice Activated BB8 
If your little girl looks up to Rey, then the natural choice is the Voice Activated BB8 from Hammacher Schlemmer. This is such a fun toy! Standing at about 19" tall this cute little robot is ready for adventure! The Star Wars character can be controlled using an included 40' range remote or set to an interactive mode that responds to voice commands such as “Come here”, “Where’s Rey?”, and “Stand guard!” Complete with lights and sounds from the BB8 we all know and love, this is a one of a kind toy that will make Christmas dreams come true as she sets out on an adventure with her new interactive friend. Retailing at under $230 this is the perfect gift for Star Wars fan girls of all ages. Not only is the BB8 droid adorable but he is so interactive! his moods are funtastic and the sounds are completely realistic. Also, check out kids advent calendars on Kidsco for more inspiration for various toys.

I would love to hear what your favorite gift options for girls are this year!

Fun With the Kids: The Rennaissance Teddy Bear concert Series

My family is always looking for something fun to do with the kids! Lucky for us, we live in Ohio! There are so many things to do in this state! From parks and museums; to the Lake {We have some major #LakeErieLove in this family!}; to the events that are ideal for families!

Next weekend on April 3rd we will be heading to the Renaissance in historic downtown Mansfield to see a really adorable performance with Roo and Harper! They are so excited about the Teddy Bear Concert: The Emperors New Clothes. Let me tell you a little more about this performance and why you are going to want to head into Mansfield for the event!

This show is a part of the Mechanics Bank Education Series. It is the perfect way to introduce your kids to theater and live performances. This performance will feature a woodwind trio playing popular and classical selections along with an interactive puppet retelling of the Emperor's New Clothes with actors Maddie Beer and Colton Penwell. My kids are incredibly excited! 

The show begins at 2:30 pm on Sunday, April 3rd. Of course, doors open an hour before the start of the show. If you are worried about price, don't be! This show is incredibly affordable! Tickets start at $10. 

Have you ever taken your kids to a play? How did it go? We have taken Rolf to a few when he was a toddler. He did really well with sitting and watching! Harper has not been to the theater yet, but I anticipate that she is going to love the Teddy Bear Concert! 

H is for Hot Air Balloon

This free printable is perfect for your letter of the week studies! It incorporates tracing, coloring and letter recognition, and best of all, it is FREE to print!

Harper and I have been working on one letter each week to help her build on what she is learning at preschool. I am a firm believer that education continues at home, and I LOVE to tackle fun projects with my mini. We make coloring time at least 3 times a week, so I knew that creating letter themed coloring pages would be a lot of fun for the two of us!

H is naturally her favorite letter. It is H like for Harper! I have a love of hot air balloons so I added that in, in hopes that she will find them interesting too. I want to do a hot air balloon ride with the kids when she gets a little older.

I would love it if you pin this coloring page for later, share it with a friend or print as many as you could need! If you work on these printable pages with your early learners I would love it if you share a pic on my facebook page.

Print the H is for Hot Air Balloon Coloring Page

You can find our other letter printables here:

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Print the I is for Igloo Coloring Page

School is out but we are still working on our letters! When the temps reached 92 last week, all Harper and Rolf could think of was popsicles, ice cream and playing with the hose. It seemed fitting to make an igloo for the letter I!

This printable combines handwriting practice and coloring for the win.

This post contains affiliate or compensated links.

To keep the fun of igloos going, we got some fun Toob toys from Safari LTD. We went with the Arctic Toob series because it had so many fun options including a seal, a fox, a whale, an igloo and more! Harper loved adding these fun toys to a bin of ice for a fun sensory experience.

We followed it up with a great book, Curious George Builds an Igloo. An afternoon playing in ice, learning about the letter Ii, and reading a great story in the cool comforts of our house made for an experience that even Rolfie, who is too cool on his own, couldn't resist getting involved in!

Print the I is for Igloo Coloring Page

Pin this page for later, or share it with a preschool parent!

You can find more FREE preschool printables here

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

Flower Garden Sensory Bin

Flowers are so much fun for little hands! Harper loves to pick them, plant them and even pull the weeds. I made a fun flower garden sensory bin for her and this super simple bin has not disappointed Harp at all!

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Supplies:

Dried black beans

Artificial flowers

Small terracotta pots

Sand toys

A clip case box

Instructions:
Pour the dried black beans into the container.
Add Terracotta Pots and artificial flowers.

Offer a variety of tools to explore the beans with. Plastic serving tongs, sand toys
like shovels and rakes, kitchen spoons and small gardening spades are all fun options for

small hands. I chose items that would fit into the container with the lid for easy clean up and storage.

This is a sensory bin your little ones will want to play with many more times.

With supervision allow your child to explore the beans, the tools and plant the flowers.

This bin was so simple. But, the best things in life usually are.

As I put the bin out, Harp was ready to start gardening right away. Rolf heard the beans being poured into a pot and he exclaimed "I love these bins!"

He naturally wanted to play too. Harper was more than happy to share her flower garden with Rolf.

The kids loved the sound the beans made when poured into the pots. They also like the smoothness of the beans.

To make it even more realistic, I later added a drop of rose to a few flowers and jasmine to a few others to add the fun of fragrance to the bin.

Wen playtime was over it was simple to lay everything in the box and snap the lid on for easy storage. 

We will definitely be playing with this again! 

You might also like this In the Sky Sensory Bin.
Find all of my sensory bin ideas here

Find more flower crafts for kids here.

Play Doh Pie Counting Activity

Play doh pies are the perfect way to make learning a hands on activity. Little learners will love getting a good grasp on counting and number recognition.

Harper is my go to girl for all things to make or bake. She loves to get involved in all of my projects.

We made a chocolate chip cookie pie a few weeks ago and she was hooked on pie making! She asked me everyday for a week if we could make another pie.

Finally, I came up with an idea that thrilled her and satisfied her desires to make a whole bunch of pies.

Play doh pies are great for fine motor play, rolling the dough into little balls is fun!

Adding a few wooden numbers turned the activity into a counting lesson too.

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Supplies:

A mason jar lid

Play doh

A play doh tool for cutting

Play food rolling pin

Directions:

Roll out a can of yellow play doh

Cut the doh to fit a mason jar lid to form your pie shell.

Use any leftover doh to cut strips. These will form your lattice crust.

Encourage your child to roll a can of play doh into small balls.

Select a number you want to work on counting to.

We decided on number 6.

Have your child count the selected number play doh balls to the pie shell.

Now have your child count the number of leftover crust strips.

Have your child add the selected number of lattice strips to the top of the pie.

Repeat with other numbers.

We loved this activity, it was easy to set up, encouraged learning and hands on play, and kept Harper busy for several afternoons. Play doh is our favorite learning tool these days!

If you are looking for more play doh ideas here are a few reader favorites:

Super Soft Hair Gel Play Dough 

Glitter Sunscreen Play Dough

C is for Cat Coloring Page

This week Harper and I are studying the letter C. Harper attends preschool, but I am a firm believer that education continues when you get home, and any extra help she can get will benefit her as she enters the fast paced world of kindergarten.

I have been designing a coloring page, creating a craft and selecting a fun book to focus on each week. I hope you will pin these totally free coloring page printables so you can use them and share them with other little learners in your life.

This post contains affiliate links.

Harp loves this simple design, it gives her a chance to trace her letter of the week. She can color a picture associated with the letter and of course, the story to wrap it all up is always a hit. This week we are recommending Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. This is one of Harps all time favorites!

C is for Cat Coloring Page Printable

We are revisiting a favorite  craft this week too! Both of my kids have loved making paper cookies for years now. Harp knew we were going to make them as soon as she saw me add sprinkles to the shopping cart this week!

You can check out our easy paper cookie craft here.

Who will you print this coloring page for?

B is for Butterfly Coloring Page

This week Harper and I are working on the letter B. It is cold enough that I debated making the theme for this letter BRRRR... but, we are hopeful for spring and the return of our winged friends, the butterflies!

I made this cute coloring page to help Harp flutter through this letter. As soon as she saw it she said, "You made that for me to color!?!" It was too cute!

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We are going to revisit a favorite butterfly craft to accompany our coloring page. We made these easy butterflies last year, they were adorable and fun so we won't mind making them again at all!

If that isn't enough butterfly crafty fun, I would love to have you check out my butterfly pasta art project on Crafting Reality.

We love to incorporate a story into our studies. This is an affiliate link and I may earn a commission. Harper and I had a ton of fun with Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle.

                                                  Print this free coloring page here 

If you have a fun idea for the letter B I would love to hear about it!

Cork and Button Apple Tree Process Art

This cork and button apple tree process art is perfect for preschoolers or kindergartners this fall. It is an easy activity that requires very little prep. 

We love process art, and we love all things fall around here! Harper and I have been hoarding fall decor since we saw the first adorable decorative pumpkin in stores back in July. Rolf is not so quick to jump seasons, but on the first of September, he said "Finally! It is September. Now we can buy all the pumpkins we want without comment." HA! 

Related: Apple Tree Window Clings

Harper and I felt like painting and wanted to start on some fridge decorations for the season. We came up with these adorable cork and button apple trees. They are so worthy of displaying! Plus, they are easy to make!

 

Supplies Needed: 

Paint in Brown and Green

A Wine Cork

A Paper Plate

White Paper

Buttons

Glue

Directions:

Pour a quarter sized drop of both the brown and the green paint onto a paper plate.

Offer your child the cork.

Encourage your child to first stamp the trunk of the tree with the cork.

Then ask your child to give the tree leaves with the green paint.

Allow to dry for about an hour in a warm, sunny place.

When the paint has dried, offer your child the glue and some buttons. We used yellow for this project to make the kind of apples we like. Feel free to use red, green or even a mix if you like. As you can see below we also made one with red buttons, just because we had so much fun the first time.

Encourage your child to spread out the buttons, pressing them onto dots of glue.

Allow the glue time to dry. Then display! This is perfect for refrigerator art!

Are you looking for more awesome apple art projects for kids? 

Here are some favorites:

Easy Paper Apples

Apple Process Art

Cotton Candy Ice Cream Cones

This easy treat is perfect for sharing with a group of kids! On the hottest day, these tasty ice cream cones won't drip because they are made with cotton candy! Everyone loves these cotton candy ice cream cones!

Harper and I are always getting into something. She loves to bake and is known in our home as the making baking girl. But, between friends, my oven really needs to be cleaned before we bake, and I have no idea how to actually do it... google here I come. But, in the meantime, I can't deny my girl her fun in the kitchen!

This post contains affiliate links.

We had a box of sugar cones and Harper had talked me into a bag of cotton candy recently. Inspiration hit, and this is what we came up with. Cotton Candy Ice Cream Cones. To make them "fancy" we dipped them into chocolate and then into sprinkles.

This is such an easy treat to make. They would be perfect for sharing at a birthday party, or in the classroom for a mess free snack. You can make a dozen of these in under 10 minutes.

Ingredients

4 Sugar cones

1/2 cup of Wilton white candy melts 

1 package of cotton candy

Sprinkles

Instructions

Melt the chocolate in a microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir and repeat until the chocolate stirs smooth.

Immediately dip your sugar cones in the melted chocolate.

Next dip the cones into sprinkles, allow to dry for about 15 minutes.

Stuff the cones with cotton candy.

Wrap in cellophane or serve immediately.

 More easy recipes and crafts 

Reader favorites include:
Mermaid Tails

Homemade Rice Pudding