Sensory bags for the kids!

I decided to make sensory bags for my kids, with little Alex in mind in particular as I'd like to introduce him to more types of sensory play. 

A sensory bag is basically made up of stuff you put in a bag that won't burst the bag (read: no sharp objects) and yet offers some sensory play for the child. So basically anything goes as long as it doesn't break the bag (e.g. gel, liquid soap, shaving cream, embellishments, buttons etc.). 

Little Alex has played with his leftover food (yes, I let him play with only the leftovers - after all, it's all gonna be thrown away so I might as well let him have a go at it) and he loves to crush cauliflower - somehow he thinks that it isn't food because he never tries to mouth the florets which I give him for finger food. He always crushes the florets and has this look of glee when the florets are in bits and pieces in his palms. Babies.

Since sensory bags can offer safe sensory play for babies, I decided why not?

So I got down to making them for my kids.

Here's the math themed sensory bag for my girl. This was too small a baggie and I have since transferred the stuff into a bigger bag so that we can play I Spy with her. Too small a bag means that all the items are squashed together and it's difficult to play the game.

Items that went in my math themed sensory bag:

• gel sticker numbers
• heart-shaped beads
• some sequins
• glitter
• liquid handsoap
• food colouring

And here's the all things bright and sparkly bag for the baby boy:

Items that went in this bag:

• liquid handsoap
• lots of glitter
• lots of different shaped sequins and embellishments

Remember to tape up the sensory bags to prevent leaking and supervise your children at all times as little teeth and sharp fingernails could pierce the bags.

I added colouring to one of the bags the next day and my girl realised to her delight that she could practise her handwriting! :)

Simply use your fingertips to 'write' on the sensory bag! Here she practised her Chinese strokes but she also happily practised writing alphabets. So wonderful to find another use for my sensory bags since she's not so into squishing the bags!

If you have a preschooler who's learning to write, or if you've a little baby and you want to introduce safe sensory play, give this a try!

I'm gonna try to make a shaving cream sensory bag as well as a water beads sensory bag too... when I get my hands on the materials... :)

Do share your sensory bags on my Facebook page if you make some! 

*edited on 3/8/2010:

Please try to use freezer bags as they are thicker and have a double zip instead of a single one. Mine kept leaking after awhile as I was using normal storage bags.

Home-made Playdoh

Alicia fell sick over the weekend so she had to miss school today. To cheer her up, I decided to try something different with her and we made playdoh! I was really quite apprehensive as even though I've been reading quite a bit about making playdoh, it was a different thing trying to put the act together.

Nevertheless, I'm very glad that the recipe I worked with worked well, with some impromptu alterations as I made the playdoh:

I've received some queries about the playdoh recipe I used on my Facebook page, so here it is!:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• up to 2 cups boiling water 
• food colouring (I worked with only red, blue and yellow)
• glycerin (optional, for extra shine - I didn't use it this time)

Directions:

• Mix the ingredients together (except water and food colouring)
• Pour in the boiling water. Don't pour 2 cups in immediately. Adjust as you go along.
• Stir continuously until it becomes a sticky dough.
• Let it cool down a bit then knead it vigorously for a few minutes until the texture is that of playdoh. 
• If it's still sticky, add a bit more flour and knead again. Adjust accordingly. (I personally had to add more flour using this recipe)
• Separate the dough into as many balls (I made 8) as you wish to colour using the food colouring.
• Add the food colouring to individual balls then knead in the colour till the dough is of a solid colour.
• Play!!!!

Invitation to play: playdoh and coloured craft sticks

Welcome to Alicia's little ice-cream shop!

Even lil Alex (9mths) had a go at it! Well, he tried to have a bite of it too! But I guess it tasted very bad as he didn't try to eat it again. :P

Note: I didn't scent or add glitter etc. to the dough this time as it's my first attempt at making playdough and I wanted Alex to play with it too. I'm too paranoid that he'd eat the glitter etc. but I may try to add these the next time round!