Sensory Balloons

I work at a special needs integrated preschool. I've worked in both the classroom and the offices. I have had many opportunities to experience the various ways the therapists work with the children. I've seen their plans and goals written on their paperwork while in an office position and I've also seen the implementation and results while in the classroom setting. One area that gets worked on quite often is sensory needs. I do not believe my boys have sensory issues but that doesn't mean we can't use various sensory techniques in our own home. The kids seem to really enjoy it. My first sensory "toy" is these sensory balloons.

I happened to have a large bag of balloons in a dark purple and also a light purple. I thought it would be a fun idea to fill the balloons with various household objects. Since I had 2 different colored balloons, I figured I'd expand that idea and fill a balloon of each color with the same items so that we can also match the textures.

I soon discovered that some things, while very different outside of the balloon, can appear to be very much alike once inside the balloon. The first set of balloons I filled with rice. Then I filled another set with sunflower seeds. Once I closed up the balloons, it was very difficult to figure out which was which.

I ended up labeling them so I could tell the difference but the boys wouldn't be able to. I tried to take a picture but it's not working out for me. What I did was stretch out the end after I tied it up and wrote inside it. That way, I'll know what it is if I stretch it out and read it but it won't be obvious what it is to the boys.

I filled many more sets of balloons with kosher salt, oats, poly-fil, popcorn kernels, along with the already mentioned rice and sunflower seeds. I'm also not a big fan of candy so I used a bag of Sixlets candy that he got for Halloween and filled balloons with that too. Last but not least, can't forget good old fashioned air.

The lil guy has been having a blast! Who needs fancy, expensive toys?

Rainbow Toast

I told the lil man that if he was a good boy, we could break out the paints and paint some pictures. Well, we had an awesome day so after nap, we got to work. I laid out a large plastic table cloth to protect my hardwood floor. Then we brought out his desk that converts to an easel. I set up the paper and got out all the paints and let my lil artist go to town. He made about 4 paintings himself and then asked for help making a rainbow. Together we painted a beautiful rainbow! It was really lovely. Alas, we had to stop because A.) I was out of places to put his lovely artwork to dry and B.) it was time to make dinner.

Lil man has his picky days and today just so happened to be one of those days. He didn't want what we were having for dinner so I made him his own dinner using components of ours but leaving out the things he doesn't like and adding some things he does. He wanted toast. I had a brilliant idea (thanks to an idea I had seen on pinterest a while back). How about rainbow toast? Perfect!

All I needed was a little milk, some food coloring and of course a slice of bread. I put just a small amount of milk in 6 different small containers. Then I got out the food coloring: red, yellow, green, and blue. I put 2 drops of red in the first container, 1 red and 1 yellow in the next, followed by 2 yellow, then 2 green, then 2 blue, and finally 1 red and 1 blue. The result, rainbow paint!

Now it was time to paint the bread.

All that was left was to pop it in the toaster on the lightest setting. This was our final result:

And there you have it, rainbow toast. It was so good, he asked for another one. It was so easy to do and gave the lil man so much enjoyment. It's too bad I'm not a better artist. Rainbows are about as good as it gets. Maybe I'll branch out and see what else I can try. It may or may not look like it is supposed to but I'm sure the lil guy will enjoy it all the same. Give it a try and tell me what you came up with. I'd love to see what others can do! Have fun!

What I've been up to...

As per my previous post, I've been sucked into the pinterest vortex. I've come across many great recipes, craft ideas, and kid stuff. I've tried a few of them. I will post about the results in a bit.

I've also started a new business venture as a Pampered Chef consultant. I've loved their products for many years  so I thought it would be a good fit for me. I can sell the products that I love and in return I get more of the products that I love and maybe a little bit of diaper money. Sounds like a win-win to me. If you are interested in hosting a show or becoming a consultant yourself, please don't hesitate to contact me.