DIY Sensory Bags

According to Katharine Robinson (MOTR/L) and Crystal Emery (P.L.A.Y. Consultant) from Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain; sensory processing involves the ability to take in information within our environment through our senses and utilizing that information to create a response. Once sensory information is received through nerve receptors in our body, that information is sent up to the brain. The brain then decides how to respond or react to that sensation. Exposing children to sensory play helps develop the use of their senses. 

Here is a fun, simple sensory activity to do with your children!

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Materials:

• Cheap hair gel (if you use clear gel, get food coloring to dye it)
• Ziplock bags
• Glitter
• Soft add ins
• Duct Tape

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How to:

1. Fill the ziplock bag with hair gel and throw in some food coloring if you only have clear gel. 
2. Throw in some fun things for your child to look at and squish around in the bag. Ideas: flat marbles, beads, little animals, glitter, buttons, anything that won't poke a hole in the bag. 
3. Squeeze as much of the air out as you can when sealing the bag
4. If needed, run duct tape around the edges to reinforce the bag. 

Here are some different sensory bags to try!

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If you decide to try this project yourself, let us know what you think! Which add-ins would you use?

To read more on sensory processing, read our blog post here!

Your Creative Artist

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Children naturally enjoy art - painting, sculpting, drawing, gluing, making music. Art introduces children to be able to work through emotions, experiment with different materials, represent their understanding of the world, and learn to think creatively. 

According to the Parents as Teachers National Center; process art focuses on actions, thinking, and individual expression, rather than on final projects. What your child learns about himself and the world through his experiments, is more valuable than the resulting piece of artwork. Start thinking about what your child can create with instead of what he will create. 

Fun, creative items to start collecting in your home are: 

A- art foam, aluminum foil, aquarium gravel

B- beans, buttons, bingo daubers, 

C- cardboard rolls and tubes, clothespins, corks, cotton balls, computer paper, cookie cutters

D- duct tape, dandelions, detergent jugs and caps

E- envelopes, electrical tape, egg cartons

F- feathers, flower pots, food containers, fabric, felt, folders

G- grocery bags, greeting cares, gallon milk jugs, glitter, glue

H- headbands with animal ears, hair clips, hats, hangers, handkerchiefs

I- ice cube tray, ice cream tub, index card, 

J- junk mail, jewelry, juice cans, jars, jellybeans,

K- kitchen utensils, kleenex, knobs, kite string, keys

L- leaves, lace, lids

M- magnets, magazines, macaroni, manila envelopes, milk cartons, music

N- noodles, nuts, newspaper, necklaces

O- ornaments, oatmeal boxes

P- pipe cleaners, paper plates and cups, popsicle sticks, pvc pipe scraps

Q- q-tips, queen's crowns

R- ribbon, rubberbands, rice, rubber gloves

S- stickers, shoe boxes, sponges, sheets, spice containers, sand, stensils, spray bottles

T- tissue paper, toothpicks, tempera paints, tennis ball containers

U- utensils 

V- velcro, vase, vines, velvet scraps

W- watercolor paints, wire, wallpaper scraps, wood, washers

X- x-rays 

Y- yarn, yardstick

Z- zippers, ziplock bags

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Have fun with these ideas and remember to encourage your child to wonder, experiment, and create! Make sure to display their artwork proudly in your home and feel free to share with us too!

Easter Bunny's on His Way

Easter was always so much fun in my family. When we were little, we used to hunt for Easter eggs out in my front yard. The Easter Bunny filled little plastic eggs with all sorts of fun candy and hid them around our yard. Each egg had a number on it and each child was assigned a number. We were only allowed to pick up the eggs that had our number so everyone got the same number of eggs. The Easter Bunny also hid a chocolate bunny, big Cadbury eggs, and Reese's eggs for each of us, but we had to be quick or they would all melt.

When I got a little older and there were only 2 of us left at home, the Easter Bunny started hiding our Easter Baskets, already filled with candy. She was good at hiding them too! One year I searched for almost an hour until I finally found it in the very back of the food pantry. It also seemed that our baskets got a little healthier as I got older as well; sometimes there would be granola bars and fruit leathers along with the Reese's eggs and jelly beans.

When I left to college I thought my Easter Bunny days would be over, but No! She found me at BYU and secretly sent my Easter Basket to my roommates. They were instructed to hide it really well and have me search for it. It was so much fun and I felt so loved all the way up in Provo away from my family.

Our family loved to decorate Easter Eggs during the day as well. Sometimes we would try new ways of decorating like using a white crayon to draw designs on the egg first and then dying the egg. The white design will show up after! Or we would draw on them after we dyed the eggs with colored crayons. Stickers can be a fun way to spice up your design as well. No matter how we did it, we always had a lot of fun together.

We hope you have a great Easter with your family this year!


What are your Easter traditions? 

Check out our Pinterest board for more fun Easter ideas!

Let's Talk About Bike-Riding

With the Spring-like weather we've been having lately maybe it's a good time to teach your child to ride a bike!

When it comes to children and bikes, here are a few concerns parents have shared with us:

• Am I the only one that struggles with teaching my child how to ride a bike? 
• I'm worried that my child still doesn't know how to ride a bike. Is this something to be worried about? 
• Is there an easy, but safe way to teach my child to ride a bike? 

We all know that our children are not born with all the talents in the world. They might excel in one area of development, but struggle in another. Some children catch on quickly when learning to ride a bike, whereas for others, it takes some extra practice.

I've heard about several methods parents have used to teach their child to ride a bike. There's the "hold onto their seat" method, the "training wheels" method, or even the "let them go" method where parents set them free to learn for themselves how to ride. Recently, I've come across another method that many parents have given a two thumbs up rating. I call this the "balancing bike" method.

The Balancing Bike Method

This method is meant to be a step-by-step progression approach to easily and safely teach your child to ride a bike (citation). In the beginning it will isolate major individual components of bike riding and then bring them together in the end to master the skill. The major components for riding a bike include learning how to balance, brake, pedal, and steer. This video gives great instruction on how to use the balancing bike method, but before jumping into the video, take time to get your child ready to ride.

Deciding when to teach your child

Generally, children are physically and mentally ready to learn how to ride a bike between the ages of three and six – this of course is not a set in stone rule. Remember not to force your child to learn to ride, but instead keep it FUN!!

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Bike fitting

Buying a bike that fits your child is crucial. I know it's tempting to buy a too-large of bike and think he or she will eventually grow into it. Unfortunately, this can slow down or even completely halt your child's learning progress. When riding large, cumbersome bikes, children are more likely to lose control and crash. To ensure safety, he or she should feel comfortable and in control of the bike at all times.

What is the right size of bike for your child? According to experts from REI, they recommend the "standover" test, which instructs your child to stand over the top tube of the bike with both feet planted on the ground (see photo below). You will know the bike is the right height if there is a 2" to 4" clearance between him or her and the top tube.

Click here if you need instructions for online bike fitting.

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Also, before buying a bike, make sure you can adjust the seat position to a comfortable height for your child. Remember, for both kids and adults, the seat should be situated so legs never fully straighten during a down stroke. It's good to have a little bend in the knee at the bottom of your pedaling motion.

Further adjustments that might be helpful are explained on this website.

(Source of information: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/bike+fit.html)

Watch the How-To video

For another helpful website for teaching the balancing bike method, click here.

We would love to hear from you and your experiences with teaching your child to ride a bike. Please comment below!!

Yer Always After Me Lucky Charms!

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and there are so many fun activities you can do with your kids to celebrate! 

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Green Pepper 4-Leaf Clovers!

What you'll need:

• green pepper
• green paint
• paint brush
• paper

While you're making these fun designs, you can share the legend of the 4-leaf clover with your kids! They might find it interesting to know that the 4 leaves represent Hope, Love, Faith, and Luck!

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Edible Rainbow!

What you'll need:

• Fruit Loop Cereal, Skittles, or M&Ms
• Cotton balls
• Paper
• White glue

Learn about the legend of how leprechauns keep their pots of gold at the end of rainbows. If you're good they may share their gold with you!

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Paint the Rainbow!

What you'll need

• Watercolor or acrylic paints
• paintbrush
• paper

You can even help your kids paint a pot of gold at one end of the rainbow! Just be creative.  

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If you have older kids...

Print out fun Crossword puzzles and Word Searches at this website.

Check out our Pinterest Board for even more St. Patrick's Day ideas!
And don't forget to wear GREEN!

What are some of your family's St. Patrick's Day traditions?

Mother Nature's Playground

It’s Autumn-time! It's my favorite time of year! Although fleeting here in Utah, I love the cool, crisp air, the scent of falling leaves, and the bursts of color in the mountains that Autumn brings.

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The other day I was at a family hot dog roast for my Grandma’s birthday. All of the little kids kept coming up to their parents with armfuls of acorns and colorful leaves from my aunt’s trees. I remember that when I was little, I loved collecting “treasures” during the fall and going on nature walks. With the change in seasons, there are lots of “new” things to look at, which makes an autumn nature walk an intriguing activity for both younger and older kids. Getting out of town to do a nature walk can be fun, but they can still be great even in your own backyard! 

Below are some ideas of things to think about when preparing to do a nature walk with your kids:

1. Have a checklist. Make sure it is appropriate to the age of the child, and to the items you might see in the location you are going. You can either make your own, or download one from the internet (just search “checklist for a nature walk”).

2. Decide if you will have the kids gather the items they see, take pictures of them, draw them, etc…

3. Don’t forget to bring a box or bucket to carry the treasures in if they will be bringing them home. For young kids just learning colors, you can get an empty egg carton, glue a differently-colored piece of paper in each hole, and have kids find items that match.

4. If you do have kids collect items, think of fun, creative ways to display their treasures when you return. They can be put in a clear jar, glued to a paper, or even just stored in a plastic bag.

5. Binoculars and magnifying glasses can make the adventure even more exciting!

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6. You can also bring crayons, pencils, and a sketchpad for kids to draw what they find.

7. For older kids, books to identify plants, animals, and birds may be fun.

8. Bring a camera to photograph animal or insect species your children can later identify.

9. Depending on where you are going, you may want to talk with your kids about being quiet while on your nature walk… especially if you want to see animals.

10. While on the nature walk, don’t forget to stop and take time to use other senses… listening, smelling, touching, etc…

11. Take time to look under rocks for lizards and insects, look at the shape of a leaf, and inspect the details of a flower.

12. Use the opportunity to teach developmentally appropriate lessons to your kids – shapes, colors, numbers, etc…

13. Some more great ideas can be found on these websites:

http://letsgo4preschool.sdcoe.net/resources/Nature.pdf

http://simplekids.net/nature-walk-2/

http://www.stormthecastle.com/nature-walk-ideas-and-projects.htm

Have fun on your nature walk! Please comment below if you have other suggestions.

March Playgroup Recap

During March, playgroup was full of spring-themed crafts to welcome in the new season. We wanted to give everyone a chance to make the crafts at home so click on the links below the pictures for a link to the instructions. Happy crafting!

Play Dough

Click HERE for some awesome DIY play dough! 

We started out the month by making homemade, bright green play dough. The kids had pipe cleaners, figurines, beads, stickers and other items to help them create their own “play dough garden.” At the end of the day, everyone got to take home their play dough so the fun and creativity could continue at home.

Wind Socks

Click HERE for instructions! 

Children love to watch the wind blow around outside. Kids will have a blast making their own wind sock and then watching it blow around in the wind. Help your kids learn about the wind and the weather as they create this fun craft.

Water-colors painting

Follow the link HERE and scroll down to#6 on their list!

Bright colors and flowers are iconic parts of spring. We gave the kids at playgroup the chance to use their imaginations and paint their own pictures about spring with some bright water colors. It was so fun to see the kids gets so excited about their new creations. 

Rain

For more details click HERE! 

As Spring comes, we welcome in the rain to replace the cold snow we have had all Winter. To help your child learn more about rain and umbrellas, help them make an umbrella out of a paper plate, popsicle stick, and tinsel. They will have fun pretending to have it rain on them for hours!

Fun in the Springtime Sun!

How great has the weather been lately?! It just makes me want to get out and do stuff! With busy schedules and six long months since we were able to do some fun, WARM outside activities, it can be hard to think of fun things to do in that beautiful springtime sunshine. So I scoured the internet and came up with 10 great ideas for some new or nostalgic, active or relaxing, family-friendly or kid solo activities to do this spring break.

1. Plant something green

Whether you are outside getting an early start on your summer garden...

...or spending a rainy day making a beautiful indoor garden, springtime green is always a happy addition to a home.  

2. Take a hike

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Hiking is a great way to help kids connect with nature. Its also a great way for parents to refresh as well!

3. Go on a bike ride
Get out and enjoy the sunshine while you visit downtown or your local park on a bike ride.

4. Visit a farm

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5. Fly a kite
Flying a kite is the perfect match to a windy spring day. Get nostalgic and show your kids a fun new activity!

6. Jump in puddles

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April showers bring May flowers....and plenty of puddles for kids to play in! Send them out in the rain if you need to get out some of those winter wiggles.

7. Feed the ducks
Ducky ducky! Visit your local duck pond and have a picnic, for you and these cute little animal friends.

8. Pick strawberries

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Don't those look delicious! Investigate local farms in your area that let visitors come and pick their strawberry harvest and get to pickin'.

9. Play with sidewalk chalk

Help your kids create a sidewalk chalk world to take pictures in and then have an afternoon photo session.

10. Take a sun nap
What better way to recharge than to relax in the sun and get in a quick nap. Or a long one!

Get out and enjoy spending some time in the sun, or rain, this spring!

Welcome Baby Provo Playgroup: Valentine's Day

 As children are growing up and learning about the world around them, they need a variety of experiences in order to grow in the right ways. Research has actually shown that one of the key ways to strengthen your child’s social and emotional skills is by taking them to a community playgroup where they can interact with other children. (Citation)

Welcome Baby currently has a playgroup at the South Franklin Community Center in Provo that is open to children under five and their parents on Fridays at 11 am.

For our playgroup on Valentine’s Day, we started out the day with free-play where we played with blocks, cars, and other fun toys together. Then we moved on to making Valentine’s Day cards by tracing our hands. See how cute they turned out? This activity helped develop fine motor skills as the children color.  This activity can be used for any special occasion to share with a special someone.  Click on the link below to learn how to make your own.

http://www.happyclippings.com/2012/01/handprint-love-you-this-much-card-kids-craft.html

 When all hands were traced, it was time to read “The Kiss Box” for story time. All the children gathered on a rug as they were read to, enhancing their cognitive development.

Then it was time for everyone’s favorite part of the day: snack time! In honor of Valentine’s Day, we made mini heart-shaped pizzas and ate oranges too.  

Check out how much fun we all had during playgroup and look below for a general schedule of what you can typically expect each Friday as we play! We hope you will join in all the fun and come to Provo playgroup! To join, visit the Welcome Baby website at www.welcomebabyuc.org or call us at 801-691-5320.

Playgroup Schedule:

11:00-11:20   Play time

11:20-11:25   Clean up

11:25- 11:45   Story time/ singing/ finger plays

11:45-12:00    Arts/ crafts

12:00- 12:15   Snack time

12:15-12:30    Large motor/games Clean up 

Easter is Coming!

Here's a highlight of a few fun finger crafts you can do with your little ones to promote their creativity skills and fine motor development!


After decorating hard boiled eggs, do you wonder what you are going to do with the colorful shells?
Here's a solution:  Smash 'em and turn 'em into art!!

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All you need:
colored smashed egg shells
pencil
glue
heavy card-stock paper
a tray to catch the extra pieces

Draw fun Easter designs with your kids, then follow your designs with glue, and sprinkle the smashed egg shells along the glue. Shake off the extra shells onto the tray, and use for another drawing!

Here's the link: Easter Egg Shell Art

Help your kids us their imaginations and turn those tiny hands into Bunny Rabbits! Great decoration for your fridge!

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All you need:
Paint
Paint Brush
Colored paper
Markers
And Tiny Hands to decorate!!


Check out this link for some other Easy Easter Handprint Crafts 





Here's a great way to reuse those mini plastic eggs:
Make some music!  Here is the link for how-to: Plastic Eggs Sound Shakers

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 Check out Pinterest for more ideas!

 Tell us what Easter activities your kids enjoy...

Father's Day Gifts

Need a gift idea for the kiddos to do for father's day?  Here are some great ones to make your own and give to Dad.

Coupon book:

Have the kids help decide what "coupons" they want to give to dad.

Examples of coupons:

 “I’ll read you a bed time story”, “One giant bear hug”,

”I’ll rake the lawn”, and “Wash your car”

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Decorate a cooking apron

Get fabric paint and have the kids go crazy on an apron.

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Salt Dough & Pea Gravel "Dad Rocks" rock

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Recipe:

1/4 cup salt
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Mix flour, salt and water together in a bowl. If dough is too sticky add small amounts of flour until it is doughy and pliable. Be careful not to add too much as the dough will dry out and your creation will crack.

Shape a piece of the dough into a ball in your hands. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2" thickness.

Carefully select pieces of pea gravel to spell out "DAD ROCKS". Press them firmly but gently into the salt dough.

Bake your "rock" for 2-2.5 hours until completely dry.

Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling or removing from cookie sheet.

Optional: You can spray your creation with acrylic sealer or paint it with a clear coat sealer.

Treats!
The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

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D-A-D Picture

Cute kids. Cute photos. Cute frame. Cute gift.

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Tie Greeting Cards

You can never go wrong with a hand made card.

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Top Reasons Why My Dad Is The Best List

Have the kids make a list and find a creative way to display the reasons why they love their dad.

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