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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query paper plate. Sort by date Show all posts

How to Dye Oatmeal without Water for Sensory Play

Dyed oats are perfect for sensory bins! You won't believe how easy it is to dye them without any water!



I have made a ton of sensory bins for my kids over the years. We have explored rice, beans, sand and even straws as fillers. I knew I wanted to try something different, and inspiration was as close as my pantry. I pulled out some oatmeal and got busy experimenting.


First, I tried soaking the oats in dyed water. That was a fail. They clumped together and formed a soggy mess. I couldn't dry them out. 

Next, I thought about how we dyed rice, and decided to try that method on oats. The results were perfect. The oats didn't clump together and they are so soft!



To dye oats you will need:


  • One cup of oats 
  • Food coloring of your choice
  • Hand sanitizer
  • One Ziploc bag


Directions:


  • Pour the oats into the bag.
  • Add 7 to 10 drops of food coloring.
  • Add a generous dollop of hand sanitizer to the bag.
  • Seal the bag and shake until all of the oats are coated.
  • Pour the oats on a paper towel or paper plate to dry.




Dyed oats are perfect for sensory play. Stay tuned for bins that use dyed oats.

You can find all of my sensory content here


No Tricks Just Treats This Halloween

 Halloween is so close that the kids can almost taste all of that sweet candy they hope to come home with! I knew there would be no better time than now to share some of my favorite Halloween finds from the season with you!

Everything has been out of sorts this year, from the great toilet paper shortage that might keep your house from being TP'ed this season, to the widespread sickness and too much political pressure surrounding the election. This year is the time to go all out with costumes, decorations and treats! Personally, we are going to keep the tricks at a minimum, life has been tricky enough for everyone!

Samples have been provided. Affiliate links may be used.



To kick things off, no matter how last minute it is you can count on Gourmet Gift Baskets to send a great gift to your house, or a special friend. We love the Eat, Drink and Be Scary Bucket of Beer. It has something for everyone in it. A 6 pack of seasonal brews for the adults and a variety of great goodies for the kids. I love the black cauldron style bucket the treats and sips are shipped in. Plus, you can get this at your door in like 2 days time! For under $70, which is nothing to say Boo too!



If you want to bake something wonderful with the kids to share, I highly recommend the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie mix from Lehi Mills. This mix is easy to whip up and creates a really flavorful cookie that the whole family will love. This is a perfect solution for busy families that want to make some memories on a $5 budget.



If your kids aren't going to be doing as much trick or treating this year, why not treat them to some one of a kind zombie fun that will keep going long after Halloween has ended with World of Zombies. Not only are they fun loving toys, but they also have webisodes that kids will love. These are perfectly creepy yet friendly enough for kids of all ages to enjoy. Check out the toys and the show on the World of Zombies site.



Are you looking to make Halloween a little sweeter for the kids, get the bulk packs of Welch's Fruit Snacks for Halloween. You can 110 pouches of tasty fruity treats to hand out to all of the kids in the neighborhood. These are also ideal for families with multiple kids who need to take a treat to school for a classroom party. Order this multi flavor pack in bulk on Amazon for easy treating all season long!




This year, the costumes need to steal the show! Kids have already sacrificed so much this year, that we can't ask them to skip an epic costume! The Ultimate Party Super Store has some incredible option like this Hungry Howler Wolf-man costume for tweens. Retailing at under $30 this is an awesome and toasty costume for kids.




The Ultimate Party Superstore has a ton of options for kids of all interests and age levels. My daughter loves this Justice League Superman costume for girls. I love that they include the girls in the superhero fun! Get this one for under $42.




Gamer girls will delight in the Princess Peach costume. It is so cute for smaller girls and is super affordable at about $25. If you order now you can get the best costumes delivered to your door in time for Halloween!




My kids are both learning from home this year, so I am always looking for ways to sneak a little education into the day when they least expect it. (Hello Xtra Math App...) to keep things interesting and engaging, The Gross Anatomy set from Thames and Kosmos makes learning about the human body a squishy and squealy fun event! Order this fun set for $20.




Aaron's Thinking Putty is the best way to spread glow in the dark fun this year on a budget. For $3 you can get a can of really engaging can of mini thinking putty. This is a great treat to share with kids of all ages.  My kids are big Ghost Busters fans, so the Ectoplasm thinking putty was right up their alley!




If you aren't taking the kids trick or treating for safety this year, why not treat them to a fun camping set from Magformers? These are so much fun to play with and this set is under $40. It will keep the kids entertained all fall long! Grab it at Target for a fun treat the kids will love.



You can find more Halloween fun here:
Reader favorites include:

Play Dough Ghost Ornaments

This easy Halloween craft is perfect for anyone who wants to add a little boo to the holiday without having to spend any cash! You already have the ingredients to make the Play Dough Ghost Ornaments in your pantry! 


With the kids being at home this year, it feels like old times, we have time to craft in the afternoons again, and I LOVE it! With Halloween coming up, we decided to add a little boo to our decor with this easy homemade play doh ghost ornament craft. This is such an easy craft to make! It is perfect for all ages, from kids to adults.  You can make about a dozen of these (or more depending on your cookie cutter size) from a batch of dough.




Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 cup salt
2 cup flour



Directions:
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.


Slowly add water, a few spoons at a time, until dough is smooth.
You will know you haven't added to much water if your dough is easy to handle and isn't sticking to your hands messily.


Knead by hand for 5 minutes and let rest for 10 minutes.



Roll out the dough until it is about 1/2 an inch thck.
I used a cookie cutter to cut the shape of ghosts.
Next, poke a hole thru the top of the ghost so you can hang it up.
I used a BBQ skewer.

After cutting my shapes, I used a black crayola marker to make the face of the ghost, on the raw dough.

Place  the dough on a cookie sheet and place it in a cold oven, turning up the temp to 200 degrees. Allow your ornaments to bake for about 90 minutes. Check them frequently to make sure they are not browning (if they are pull them out.)

Allow the ornaments to cool then feed a section of bakers twine or a string into the hole and hang.



Add a variety of faces to your ornaments for a boo-tiful variety of economical and adorable DIY Halloween decorations.


You can find all of my Halloween crafts here.
Reader favorites include:

7 Rainbow Crafts to Make with the Kids

Spring is here and that means we have been seeing our share of showers, and rainbows! Let's embrace the weather and savor the beautiful sights to be seen after the storm and make a few cute crafts while we are at it!



These ideas are so cute yet so simple! They are perfect for kids of a variety of ages and are worth bookmarking for those rainy spring days spent indoors with the kids!

I am going to try making the rainbow necklaces sometime this spring, and I think my kids would love to try the layered felt magnets. I can't wait to hear which of these rainbow crafts you want to make with the kids first!

Easy Streamer Rainbows
Layered Felt Rainbow Magnet
Paper Plate Rainbow Craft
Rainbow Mobile
Rainbow Necklaces
Rainbow Jars
DIY Rainbow Bracelet

Find more rainbow  crafts here

Easy Dyed Rice

Dyed rice for sensory bins has never been easier! This 3 ingredient method dries super fast and provides vibrant results!




I love to make sensory bins, almost as much as the kids love to play in them! They still love the sushi sensory bin we made ages ago and it inspired me to try dying rice for more sensory fun. 

To make this dyed rice you will need:
  • Rice
  • Food Coloring
  • Hand Sanitizer



 Place the uncooked white rice in a zipper seal baggie. I used 3/4 cup per color.
Add a tablespoon of hand sanitizer.


Add 3-5 drops of food coloring (I used the cheap stuff from dollar tree FYI).


Release the air from the baggie to avoid popping it. The shake it, squish it, wiggle the rice around until it is coated completely. The pour the rice on a paper plate and let it dry for about 45 minutes.


Repeat with additional colors as desired.


Naturally, we did all of the colors of the rainbow!

You can find all of our sensory play ideas here




15+ Halloween Books for Toddlers


Don't miss our Halloween reading list for little ones! Rolf and Harp hand picked most of these 15+ Halloween Books for Toddlers. These are some of the ones they remember liking the most when they were "babies". 

From colorful picture books to touch and feel titles, this list has a Halloween book for every toddler! Please be advised that I am participant in the Amazon affiliate program. If you make a purchase I earn a small advertising fee, which helps keep the site up and running!



Where Is Baby's Pumpkin? (Karen Katz Lift-the-Flap Books)
Little hands will love exploring this lift the flap book and helping baby find her very own pumpkin!


My First Halloween
With warm and friendly illustrations this book focuses on the moments that become memories for families.



Hoot Howl Halloween
It is Halloween night and the moon is bright, as your little one discovers the haunted house, they can press a button to activate one of ten spooky sounds.



Babies Love Halloween: Lift-a-Flap Board Book
This book offers a fun way to practice sentence structuring while introducing Halloween to little learners with the fun of discovering what lies under the flaps of the book!




Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch
Biscuit visits the pumpkin patch. What could he find there besides the perfect pumpkin? Toddlers will love the friendly surprises that await in this book!



Little Blue Truck's Halloween
Hop in and go for a ride with Little Blue as he picks up his friends for a costume party! Toddlers will love lifting the flaps to see who is in the costumes!

Related: Paper Plate Spiders




Llama Llama Trick or Treat (Llama Llama Board Books)
Llama Llama picks out a costume, finds a great pumpkin and heads out with Mama Llama for a fun night of trick or treating!


Disney Baby My First Halloween
This board book is perfect for little ones. It has friendly Halloween images and touch and feel elements for an engaging experience.



Winnie the Pooh Pooh's Halloween Pumpkin
While walking in the hundred acre woods, Pooh finds a marvelous pumpkin. Toddlers will love what Pooh and friends do with it!



Halloween ABC
This book gives kids a chance to practice their abc's with a festive touch!





Little Cat: Finger Puppet Book 
This little book has a lot of fun hidden in the pages with a little finger puppet friend to help tell the story.

Related: Glam Pumpkins


  

Little Friends: Trick or Treat: A lift-the-flap book
Tag along with some little friends for trick or treat fun! Little hands will love to discover what is hiding behind the flaps.



The Cheerios Halloween Play Book
A snack and an activity that are perfect for Halloween fun await toddlers with this book!




Boo! (Leslie Patricelli Board Books)
This book covers all of the bases for fun with costumes, pumpkins, treats and a boo or two!




Pop-Up Peekaboo! Pumpkin
This fun lift the flap book is packed with pop up surprises. Toddlers will enjoy this friendly book.

What is your toddlers favorite Halloween book? Leave a comment to inspire young readers everywhere!