Friday, July 31, 2009

Unplugged Play

Today we spent the entire morning attempting unplugged (or semi-unplugged) play.


I've really been struggling with giving Jonas my undivided attention. At home it seems like there is always something to get done (laundry, sweeping, mopping, fun craft stuff, etc...) I feel like I've been pretty distracted. I try to carve out a lot of quality time for Jonas, but to be honest, he has SO much more energy than I do, and he wants me to be his personal playmate 24/7. Sometimes I need to take a break. Today however, I attempted to have an entire unplugged, active play morning with him. We read several books, Did some morning preschool aerobics to a fun kids cd, played soccer in the hallway into a laundry basket goal, swept together, played in our mini-sandbox, and swam in a pool from Papa Mark.

When the afternoon gets here, I may be too tired to get up and go....but we'll see. We had such a great time, and I really just love my little guy. I'm so glad he loves spending time with me. I just wish I had all the energy I needed to keep up.
(For those of you wondering what he's playing in...I attempted to make homemade "Moon Sand". Real Moon Sand is incredible stuff. It's moldable, soft, doesn't stick too much to clothing. It's not gritty, and doesn't get in hair, etc... It's also VERY expensive. I found a recipe to make something similar with corn starch & play sand. It's actually nothing like the real thing, but it is soft & not grimy....so we like it! ;) It also washes off REALLY easily. Let me know if you want the recipe & I can dig it up for you.

What does everyone else do for "unplugged play"? What's a typical day consist of? Do your kiddos play on their own, or do they want you to play with them?

Monday, July 27, 2009

Edible colored macaroni - Rainy day play!


Today Jonas & I had a blast creating edible colored macaroni. I made macaroni necklaces when I was young, and thought it might be a fun rainy day activity for us today. I came across this edible method online, here, and decided to give it a go.

It's SOOOOO Easy.
1. Get some small plastic baggies
2. Macaroni or other small noodles
3. Food coloring
4. White Vinegar

First, get your kiddo helper situated & give them a teaspoon and a small bowl of white vinegar. Fill the bag with desired amount of pasta, add 1 Teaspoon of white vinegar, add 5-6 drops of food coloring, then seal the bag. Shake shake shake it up, until pasta is well-coated with color & evenly distributed. Then, (carefully) pour out the pasta to dry. ( I used a cookie sheet, covered with foil & papertowels. )

We had a great time, although now my hands are a lovely shade of green. Note for the future....wear gloves. (lol)


What a great helper I have! Can't wait to display our necklaces. But our art has to dry first!