Open Minds & Messy Hands
Messy play ideas for babies and toddlers, plus tested ways to embrace and contain the mess. Read the benefits of messy play for kids! Sensory play for 1 year olds is critical…yet daunting. Often we turn to mess-free alternatives to avoid the mess and the choking hazards, but, allowing children to play freely and get
So many ideas for sensory games that use homemade slime. Never know what to do with all the slime your kids make? Here are 10 ideas. We love to make homemade slime around here. My 5 year old would make it every day if I let her, and multiple times a day at that. It
An Easter egg stained glass craft for kids. Get the free printable egg coloring sheets to use, line with colored glue and paint. Gorgeous DIY holiday decor. Making a stained glass craft is easy and fun for kids to do. Plus, for as beautiful as these turn out, they are no-fail AND toddler friendly.
A tutorial for making colored beans great for a number of sensory activities for children. See how these beautiful beans are used as a sensory bin base. Dyed materials for sensory play are certainly among my kids’ favorites. Rice, pasta, beans, and more can all be dyed in a number or different ways, and make
This bead threading busy bag uses colorful wooden beads and craft feathers for a kids activity that promotes fine motor and early math skills. Busy bags are great to have on hand! This bead threading activity checks all of the boxes. It works on math skills, at a basic or more advanced level for school
These rice dyed eggs are a fun and engaging way to color Easter eggs. Ideas for using the colored rice for sensory play after dyeing the eggs included. We often use colored rice in sensory play. My children love to play with it, scooping and dumping to their heart’s content. Did you know that you
This pirate board game is perfect for preschoolers learning shapes and colors. It’s a race to the treasure with this fun and free board game printable. This Pirate Board Game is the perfect way to introduce the concept of learning colors and following directions, all while creating fun family memories as well. See our entire
A free printable solar system board game that kids will love to play. Learn about the planets and what they look like in a hands-on way! Isn’t the world we live in an amazing place? This Solar System Board Game is one that you and your child will love to play and explore together. If
This Easter sensory bin is made with colored rice, plastic eggs, little chicks and fine motor tools. Bright and colorful, this rice bin is fun for all ages. One of our favorite ways to celebrate the holidays is by making a themed sensory bin! This Easter sensory bin is such a fun one, with
A frog life cycle printable board game that is fun and easy for kids to play. Game shows the transformation of a tadpole to a frog. Learning about life cycles is such a fun topic with kids. When observing life cycles, children learn about change and transformation, and some of these changes are quite magical
These life cycle of a frog painted rocks show how to paint frog eggs, a tadpole, a froglet, and a frog for sequencing in early learning. We love using story stones in early learning. The tactile experience of holding and playing with an object as an aid to retell a story is incredible helpful
These St. Patrick’s Day books for kids introduce concepts such as leprechauns and shamrocks through fun and imaginative stories that kids love. Reading books is an important way to connect and bond with kids, all while introducing a new subject or theme. Research shows that reading with babies and toddlers helps boost vocabulary and language
Gold slime that combines clear glass slime with gold foil confetti glitter, for a stretchy and crunchy beautiful gold slime. Slime is such a fun sensory tool for kids. It is slimy, stretchy and fun to make. Children feel like young scientists when mixing ingredients to make something new. This gold slime is crunchy and
Frog life cycle printable puzzle for kids. Puzzle shows the metamorphosis of a tadpole for a frog, and is great for preschoolers and older children. Learning about life cycles is such a fun topic with kids. When observing life cycles, children learn about change and transformation, and some of these changes are quite magical in
This free printable garden board game is perfect for kids. Children will enjoy drawing a vegetable card and moving around the board to plant their garden. With the warm months on the horizon, this Garden Board Game is just waiting to be played! Visions of carrots can be dancing through your toddlers head with
This salt and ice experiment encourages kids to do some critical thinking. A fun penguin themed STEM activity for kids using salt and water to melt ice. Playing with ice is such a fun way to engage in science fun with kids. Ice forms when a water freezes to a solid. This alone is
These books about Spring for preschoolers introduce concepts such as rain showers, baby animals, blooming flowers and seeds, and more. Reading books are an important way to connect and bond with kids, all while introducing a new subject or theme. Research shows that reading with babies and toddlers helps boost vocabulary and language development. Not
These President’s Day books for kids are perfect for learning about presidential history through fun and educational stories for kids. Reading books are an important way to connect and bond with kids, all while introducing a new subject or theme. Research shows that reading with babies and toddlers helps boost vocabulary and language development. Not
These Cat in the Hat crafts are perfect for kids. Handprint crafts, finger puppets, bookmarks and more. Great for preschool or learning at home. Dr. Seuss crafts are perfect for a preschool educator or a parent of young children. These books are full of fun rhymes and creative stories that kids just love. These Cat in
Dr. Seuss crafts and snacks are perfect for a preschool educator or a parent of young children. These books are full of fun rhymes and creative stories that kids just love. These red fish, blue fish crafts and snacks are perfect as extension activities. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Crafts and Snacks
This snow sensory bin uses Insta-Snow as a base with some farm animals for fun Winter sensory play for kids. Great for school or home. We love engaging in sensory play all year long. It is a really great way to discuss a topic or a learning theme. Studies show that kids retain information better when engaging the
Glow stick Valentines are perfect for kids to distribute at class parties. Get the free printable and pair with a glow stick for a non-candy alternative. Printable Valentines are perfect for friends to give one another at class parties. They are a fun homemade alternative to store bought Valentines, and can be just as
A valentine’s day sensory bin with colored rice, heart buttons and pipe cleaners for fine motor practice and sensory fun. This colored rice Valentine’s Day sensory bin is wonderful fun for children! Perfect for the month of February, or for anytime that you want to spread a little love and cheer with bright colors
Color mixing is fascinating for kids to observe! The simplest way for children to understand that mixing primary colors makes secondary colors, is by doing it. 10 Simple Color Mixing Activities for Kids These color mixing activities use either food coloring or paint in primary colors, mixed together or onto various household objects to create
Winter activities for kids. Great for learning at home or in the classroom, or for Winter play dates with friends! Here is a collection of some of the Winter activities that we love to do at home! These are great for stay-at-home parents who need boredom busters during long winter days, awesome for snow
These New Year’s reading resolution printable bookmarks are perfect to use after the New Year to keep kids motivated to read! Available to print for free in color or black and white. Fun bookmarks made reading exciting and fun for many kids! The best part about printable bookmarks is that you can swap them out easily without
This woven Heart Busy bag can be used for a Grinch or valentines theme, or for fun fine motor play all year long with kids. We loved the new Grinch movie that was recently released in the theaters! We also love a good busy bag. This busy bag is awesome because you can easily swap
This upcycled present took Facebook Marketplace finds and turned them into a wonderful art desk and chair for a present for a little girl. Thank you Facebook Marketplace for sponsoring this post. There’s something for everyone! My 5-year-old loves creating art and has gotten to the point where she really needs her own space
This penguin sensory bin uses water beads as a base, some of them frozen, for fun Winter sensory play for kids. Great for school or home. We love engaging in sensory play all year long. It is a really great way to discuss a topic or a learning theme. Studies show that kids retain
This DIY Christmas ornament resembles the popular ugly sweater for Christmas. Made out of felt and with a basic stitch, this is perfect fine motor practice. DIY Christmas ornaments are so much fun to make! Kids love keeping them for years to come and reminiscing about when they made them. Felt ornaments are always fun
