August Sensory Make and Take

The August Sensory Make and Take was a four week pre-registered program that provided parents insight on how easy making child activities can be with things you most likely have around home. No need buy expensive toys!

Week One - Jello Hunt 

Follow directions on back of Jello box. Use little bowls/containers, put a candy or toy at the bottom and fill with Jello until covered.  I used gummy worms.   Put in the fridge and let it set. Then have fun finding the hidden treasures. 

Week Two - Flubber 

In a big bowl:

2 cups - Elmers glue
2 cups - water
Couple drops of food colouring or water colour

In a smaller bowl:
1/2 cup - Borax
2 cups - boiling water
Stir slowly, letting all the Borax dissolve. This is a good way to practice patience.

Once Borax is dissolved pour into the big bowl.
Slowly stir and the mixture will start to clump together.
You may need to use your hands to finish mixing the water with the glue. Be careful as the water can still be hot.
Once most of the water is mixed with the glue it is done.

Week Three - Sidewalk Chalk Paint 

1/2 cup - cornstarch

1/2 cup - water
1 Tbsp - tempera paint

Optional - a squirt of dish soap for a greater washability

Stir well and have fun creating! 

Week Four - Edible Finger Paint

There are several ways to make non-toxic edible finger paint. We chose to use shaving cream and water colour. 

Squirt the desired amount of shaving cream into a bowl.  We used glass jars with lids so it was easier to take home.  However, I would not recommend this as it was much harder to mix. Squirt a couple drops of food colouring/water colour on the shaving cream.  We used water colour as it doesn't stain. 

Mix well. 

This paint can be used on paper. Also is great in the bathtub making clean up easy! 

Sad you missed this program? No need to worry – another Make and Take program using household items such as popsicle sticks, paper plates, paper bags, etc. will be back in September with some new and different ideas. Call Laura at Scott (306) 523-3512 to register.

Laura Bieber

Best Flubber Recipe Ever!

Today we experimented with this flubber recipe.

This is what we found worked best:

In a big bowl:
2 cups Elmers glue
2 cups of water
Couple drops of food colouring or water colour

In a smaller bowl:
1/2 cup Borax
2 cups boiling water
Stir slowly, letting all the Borax dissolve. This is a good way to practice patience.

Once Borax is dissolved pour into the big bowl.
Slowly stir and it will start to clump together.
You may need to use your hands to finish mixing the water with the glue. Careful as the water can still be hot.
Once most of the water is mixed with the glue- It is done.

Once done it is fun to make "Flubber bubbles" or put in a strainer and let it ooze out of the holes and cute with scissors. This is endless fun!

Laura

Literacy Development

As your child's first and most important teacher, the role you have in your child's perception and love of reading is crucial. Reading each day with your child and having your child see you read are great ways to model the importance and love for reading.

The time shared with a book should be fun, enjoyable and as long as your child shows interest. From birth it is possible to make books available by borrowing from the library and visiting one of our  centres that have a wonderful collection of books.

You may notice that your child wants to read the same story repeatedly and speaks about the same parts in the same way. Children learn through repetition so allow your child to hear the story over and over. If you get tired of just reading the story, try retelling the story through dramatic play or representing the stories events through a drawing or painting.

As your young child grows into a preschooler, begin to point to words as you say them to demonstrate that the print carries meaning and is related to the words you are saying. Notice the pictures on the page and encourage your child to "read" the book on their own.

Jada