Pine Cone Rescue Fine Motor Activity

This easy fine motor activity is perfect for keeping little hands busy without requiring any special materials! This Pine Cone Rescue is great for quarantine, or anytime you need to challenge little learners with simple supplies.

This is a super easy to set up activity, but let me be honest, this is HARD! It will challenge the kids and their fingers!  Last week my kids were restless and they were looking to argue with each other and I whisked them outside for a walk, hoping to get the ants out of their pants. 

It didn't work; they had a fight or three in the middle of the street. As the 6 year old picked up a pine cone to throw it at her older brother, inspiration hit me. Busy work was exactly what they needed!

Supplies:

Affiliate links are used, if you buy, I earn a small advertising fee.

Rainbow Loom Bands

Pine Cones

Directions:

Place the small rubber bands around the pine cones.

Add more bands for older kids, and fewer for younger kids.

Encourage your kids to rescue the pine cone.

Be sure to dispose of the bands properly after removal because they can pose a hazard to small kids and pets.

Removing the bands is challenging! So, this is a great activity for kids of all ages. 

You can find more boredom busters for kids here
Mermaid Tail
Leaf Foxes
Easy iPad Stands

Rainbow Disc Sensory Bag

Give kids a fun way to sort colors while getting a little sensory play in with this rainbow disc sensory bag.

We love sensory play. From bins to bags, and even bottles; anyway you present sensory play we are in!

With the kids being out of school for so long I have been really busy coming up with activities to engage them, challenge them, and keep them entertained. We made this easy sensory bag to practice our color sorting and pattern making skills. It is perfect for adding some color to the day.

Supplies:

Hand Sanitizer or Hair Gel

Rainbow Counting Chips

Zipper Seal Bag

Sharpies

Directions:

Draw a rainbow on a zipper seal sandwich bag with Sharpies.

Add several squirts of hand sanitizer or hair gel (about a tablespoon or two of gel is ideal).

Drop transparent colored counting chips (or bingo markers) in the colors of the rainbow into the bag.

Seal well. If your child has 'rough hands' you might want to reinforce the sides with tape to prevent the sides from busting. (This is a good idea for toddlers, but can be skipped for older kids!)

If your child has 'gentle hands' you can skip the reinforcement with tape.

Invite your child to glide the discs thru the gel and place them on the color they match.

When finished, check the seal to be sure it is closed and store for another day when a quiet activity is needed.

You can find all of my sensory play ideas here:

Reader favorites include:

Sensory party in a bag

Birthday Cake Sensory Bin

FREE Saint Patrick's Day Coloring Page

Get a free coloring page for St. Patrick's Day below. Print one for your kids or enough to share with the whole class!

We love St. Patrick's Day! It is such a fun way to break up the end of winter and get excited about all things green! We get excited about making easy shamrock crafts, reading all of the books, and of course, seeing what antics the leprechaun has been up to when he stops by our house.

If you are looking for some ideas for easy fun for the kids this St. Patrick's Day you are in the right place. I have loads of ideas for you. From free worksheets and coloring pages and even a green sensory bin.

Click HERE to Print the At the End of the Rainbow Coloring Page

Keep the fun going with these easy shamrock puppets.

If you have an idea for some easy activities or crafts for the kids to make this St. Patrick's Day, leave a comment to share your ideas!

Fine Motor Counting Activity

This easy activity is perfect for practicing early math while developing fine motor skills.

Before I was a mom, I was a developmental psychology major. In my studies, I was intrigued by sensory and fine motor development then. Now that I am a mom, I love setting up activities for my own kids that give them hands on fun and learning opportunities without spending a ton of money to do it.

This fine motor counting activity is perfect for preschoolers.They can work on their fine motor skills while practicing counting. You might have all the materials at home to do this, making it fuss free and frugal. If not, I have included some affiliate links you can use to get your supplies.

Supplies:
Rainbow Bands
Large Craft Sticks
Sharpies

Directions:
Write numbers on large craft sticks with sharpies.
Use the largest craft sticks you can find to make the activity challenging.
Offer your child small rubber bands, like the rainbow loom style of bands and encourage your child to count the number of bands that need to go on each craft stick and slide that number of bands on to each craft stick.

If you are looking for more fine motor activities for kids, check out these posts:
Unicorn Fine Motor Bin
Play Doh Pre Writing

Cat in the Hat Pattern Making Sensory Bin

This year in honor of Dr.  Seuss's birthday we made this easy and fun Cat in the Hat Pattern Making sensory bin. This is a fun way to put your puffle to good use and work on pattern making skills which later help kids grasp math concepts.

This post contains affiliate links. 

We love sensory bins, bags and play! Both of my kids still get excited when they see I have a new bin ready to explore. This one was a huge hit because they had been itching to get their hands into pluffle. This is such a fun squishy foam! It is a must have for sensory play!

Supplies:

Pluffel

Assorted red and white items.We used cotton balls, feathers, legos, mini clothespins and glittery Christmas scatter

Measuring spoons, tongs and other fun items to pick up the items in the bin with.

A large tray or a plastic storage bin.

Directions:

Pour pluffle on to a tray or into a storage bin.

Make sure you take a moment to squeeze, form and otherwise take in the pluffle; it is a great sensory play option and adults will enjoy the texture too.

Next, offer your child an assortment of red and white items.

We used tiny clothespins, legos in red and white, feathers, cotton balls, and Christmas scatter that was glittery and red.

Encourage your child to recreate the stripes of the Cat in the Hat's hat.

This is a great opportunity to use fine motor skills with the spoons and tongs. Encourage your child to try placing the items with those tools as well as their fingers.

When play time is over, you can snap a lid on the bin, or put it all back in the pluffle container for future play sessions. Pluffle never dries out!

You can find all of my sensory ideas here.

Favorites include:
Rainbow Rice BinVeggie Garden Sensory Bin

Gifts for Girls

I have shopped til I dropped this Christmas to bring you some of the hottest gift ideas for girls!

From dolls to sensory toys and even more, this list has something for every girl on it!

Samples were provided for photography.

Give the gift of a classic with the 14" Cabbage Patch Kid collection. These are so much fun for both kids and parents, because many of us likely recall getting one when we were kids!  These are about $40 and are available from Wicked Cool Toys.

Thinking putty is an awesome gift for girls of all ages. You can stretch it, fold it, tear it, bounce it and more. Give a sensory delight in a can with an assortment of Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty. Order it online for about $14 for a large tin.

Board games are perfect for gifting to girls this holiday season.  Amigo Games has some of my favorites for games because they are all fun and best of all they are affordable for all budgets. Titles like the L.l.a.m.a. card game and What the Heck will challenge and entertain girls for hours. without the screen! Get them online for under $10. 

If you need a gift for a girl who loves all things fancy, Get this really fun Find Your Fancy game. It is so much fun for little girls as young as 3 and brings the fun of Fancy Nancy on Disney Junior to life during family game night. Get this game from Ravensburger for about $25.

Kidi Star Dance is my favorite idea for kids this holiday season. It will keep them moving and playing hard, even on the coldest days when they are confined to the indoors. This system will teach kids dance moves and features games that can be played with a friend. It includes two motion sensored bracelets and a display for hours of dance party fun. Get this Vtech toy for about $50 from Walmart, Amazon or Target.

Chefclub brings kids into the kitchen for some early cooking lessons. This is a fun way to get kids interested in cooking in a kid safe, kid approved format.

Pound Puppies are another classic throwback gift idea for this year. I remember the year I got a little gray Pound Puppy of my own and how I screeched with happiness after opening it. If you had a similar experience, get one of these for your kids and relive a bit of your own childhood.  Get them from Amazon, Walmart or Target for about $20.

Boxy Girls make for a fun gift for girls who want to shop! You can shop and unbox with these fun friends to reveal some amazing surprises! Get  in on the fun online at the boxy girls website for about $20.

If you are shopping for a girl who loves Llama's she is going to be spitting happy with this Spitzy Llama. He is cute and he spits for a one of a kind experience. Find him at Target or Walmart for about $50 this holiday season.

Pomsies Lumies are sure to be quite the hit this year. They turn color into music for a fun, interactive play experience.  Get them from Target, Walmart or Kohl's for about $15.

Girls are going to want to collect all of the Boxy Babies this holiday. Get a few to fill her holiday with shopping and mystery surprises with these cute little ones.  Each baby comes with 2 surprises. Get them for about $20.

Fuzzikins are so much fun! You can color them again and again to make them as unique as possible. This is one of my favorite options because it goes beyond the one time use model of so many artsy toys. Get fuzzikins online for about $15 from the Play Monster website.

Turn the ceiling into a light show with this adorable Unicorn Playbrite. Featuring a sound activation feature and mix and match faces, this colorful and bright toy is a great gift idea. Get it online for about $20.

Blume dolls grow to meet you for a magical surprise. Get the Blume secret surprise garden and gift a new friend and a bunch of other surprises that will make a smile grow before your eyes! Get these cute kids toys online for about $27 from Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Vendees Atomic Rainbow Lip Balm by Horizon Group USA, gives girls a chance to mix & create their own shimmery, flavorful, layered lip balm creations. There are even some surprises included in the vendee machine. Get this from Amazon.

Cry Babies Blind Bottles are perfect for gifting this holiday season.  Each bottle has 8 accessories and a baby. Press her belly to see real tears! Get these at Target, Amazon and Walmart. Girls will want to collect them all!

Blume has a blind bag option that girls are going to love. Add a little water and see which friend will grow from the Blume pot. My 6 year old goes wild for these and naturally wants to collect them all. Priced at $10, these are a great stocking stuffer option from Skyrocket Toys.

If you need a gift for a girl that you know she is going to love, you are going to want to grab some fluffy cloudz from Compound Kings. This stuff is fantastic. It smells great and is available in several varieties, plus it is so much fun to squeeze, stretch and play with! Get it at Target, Michael's or online for about $5 a jar. Compound Kings also has some other fun slime options that girls will love this Christmas.

Girls that love unicorns are going to adore these adorable bedtime friends called Zoonicorns. They combine zoo animals with the fun of unicorns. These are a little whimsy, a little magic and a lot of fun. Kiss your zoonicorns nose and make a wish, and drift off to sleep with a cuddly friend. Order online from Wish Me for about $20.

If you need a gift for a little girl that loves babies, you are going to want to check out these adorable, collectible The Bellies babies. Each one has unique features like a bottle, a blankie and a birthmark. These are interactive and so adorable that they are sure to steal her heart on Christmas morning! Get them all online for about $30.

Flipazoo make for really fun gifts this holiday season because they are adorable, and even better than that, they are like 2 toys in one! Flip it inside out to reveal a super soft plushie. Flip it the other way to reveal a shiny and adorable friend, for those days when you need a little sparkle. Get them for $15 online at the Flipazoo site, or find them at Walmart.

Lil Shuckies are a party waiting to happen. Girls will love opening the shells and then harvesting "pearls' which they will collect to create a bracelet. These are so much fun that they are on my wish list too! Get them for about $13 a pack from Compound Kings.

If you need a fun stocking stuffer for a Leapfrog fan, grab some of the Rock It Twist Game Pack Eggs. These add games and learning activities to the Rock It Twist game system and are perfect for kids 8 and under. The game packs cost about $8 and you can get them at retailers such as Target, Walmart or from Amazon.

The boxy girls are so much fun to play with, collect and of course, unbox! Get this Target exclusive Boxy Girls studio for a ton of fun on Christmas morning, and beyond!

Give a gift she can play with and grow herself with the My Fairy Garden Nature Cottage from Play Monster. This is the cutest gift idea that girls of all ages are going to dig. Get it online or from major retailers like Walmart or Target for $25.

These Wowzer Surprise Polar Magic from the  Orbeez Wow World line are a fun option because they are contained yet tons of fun. Add water to the globe, wave your wand over it and see what friend is included. They are so cute that girls will want to collect them all. Get them from Maya Toys for about $6.

Girls want to get out and ride! So gift a special girl the coolest scooter on the block with this Globber Primo Plus Lights. It has light up wheels to make it awesome and a little safer. Get these for younger girls. Order it online for about $70.

If you have a girl on your list that loves to take selfies the Kidizoom Pixi is the perfect gift for her. She can snap selfies or photos of friends all day long without taking over your cell and camera roll! But it for about $55 from Walmart, Target or Amazon.

Add a great educational option to the gifts under the tree with a boxed set that works with Leap Frogs Leapstart Go system. Little learners are going to love discovering how the human body works in a kid friendly presentation. Get them online or from retailers like Walmart or Amazon .

Slimy unicorn smoothies are bound to be all the rage this holiday. This is so much fun to squish, squeeze and combine that girls won't be able to keep their hands off this Slimy Goop Squuez Pop. Get this fun offering from Horizon Group for about $5 at Target or from Amazon.

What could be more fun than a cuddly little new friend this Christmas? Only one thing; that little friend wrapped up in a tortilla, like a burrito. Cutetitos are portable, adorable and totally collectible. Get them from places like Best Buy, Walmart or Amazon for about $10 this holiday season.

Minnie's Walk and Dance Unicorn is nothing short of magical fun for girls who are fans of the Happy Helpers show. This duo dances, walks and sings! Find this animated offering from Just Play for under $40. You can find it at Walmart and Target as well as online.

Sometimes all you need is a baby animal to wrap up like a burrito. These adorable little toys are plush, perfect for cuddling and totally portable. Fit one in your pocket for on the go snuggles with a Babito from the Cutetito line. Get them from Target, Walmart or Amazon for under $14 for a 2 pack.

Make your favorite girls holiay hair-mazing with Series 3 Hairdorables.  These are so much fun to collect, and I love that each package is a mystery! Get them from Walmart, Target or Amazon for about $13 for a hair raising holiday!

KidiGo Walkie Talkies are perfect for kids who love adventure! Give them a chance to get outside and explore while putting their walkie talkies to use for communication. This set is easy to use and is sure to be a lot of fun. Get this V Tech option online or at retailers like Target, Walmart or Amazon for about $30.

If you have a girl who has been asking for a phone, but you aren't sure if she is ready yet, why not give her a Vtech KidiBuzz. It looks like a real phone. It an play music, take photos and video. It has games and it can connect to wifi, but it lacks the ability to make calls. It is a great option for a starter phone. Get it for about $80.

Girls love dolls, but Cry Babies take things up a notch with a baby that can cry! These are some of the cutest dolls on the market! Get them from Walmart, Target and Amazon for about $20.

Give a cute kid some awesome all season boots that are perfect for splashing in puddles, climbing snow mounds and more with a pair from Lone Cone. They have styles for little and big feet starting around $18. Get a Mommy and Me set, or just a kids pair from Amazon.

If you have a little fashionista on your shopping list, Pediped makes some adorable options for little feet. From styles for holiday dresses to plain comfy shoes, Pediped has so many styles to choose from. Order online.

Pluffle makes for a fun way to engage kids in sensory play this holiday season. Get a 2 pack from Educational Insights and give a cute kid in your life a way to mold, squish and mix a really fun to touch material! Order online for about $17.

Brick Mates are a fun twist on building. This kit is like Legos and puzzles come together for a creativity explosion! These give girls a chance to stack up works of art! Order online for about $20.

This holiday give a gift that is less clutter and does more for turtles by giving a gift that supports the Sea Turtle Conservancy . You get a folder of info about the turtles and a too cute photo of the turtle you adopt with your support. They also give you a little plush turtle to cuddle!