Colleen Beck OTR/L

Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Read about Colleen's experience and career as an occupational therapist, including how The OT Toolbox began on our About The OT Toolbox page: https://www.theottoolbox.com/about-us/ Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:

Why You Need Bunny Tongs for Developing Scissor Skills

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Bunny tongs activity for fine motor skills

When I worked as an Occupational Therapist with pediatrics, I did a ton of work on scissor skills and pre-scissor skills. It was one of my favorite things to work on with school-based kiddos. There was an item in my therapy bag that I (and the kids) LOVED for scissor practice: bunny tongs. These are a great Easter activity for occupational therapy sessions, but we actually use them all year round. Here’s my OT tip: if you see a pair of these bunny tongs in the egg-dying section of stores around Easter time, GRAB THEM!

You’ll also want to check out our other Bunny Activities:

Bunny Tongs for Scissor Skills

Now being at home with my own kids, it’s so much fun to pull out my OT stash of supplies and play.  We pulled out a few things recently and the kids had a blast playing.  And if you follow this blog, you know we do a ton of fine motor activities! 

This is the ONE item you want to pick up from the Dollar Store this spring.  It’s a must-have for OTs working in the schools or with kids on scissor skills.

You’ll want to check out our resource on how to hold scissors for more tips on the grasp aspect. The one thing I love about using the bunny tongs as a tool to support scissor skills is that it is a fun way to work on the mechanics of holding scissors.

 
 
Beginner scissor skills using bunny tongs
 

Scissor Skills with Tongs

 
If you see these Bunny Tongs at the store this Spring, GRAB them up!  These are awesome for scissor skills and besides being completely cute, they are SO fun to play with. 
 
Adorable bunny + working on developmental skills= AWESOME!
 
These bunny tongs are out this time of year because they are really intended for dipping Easter eggs. 
 
We’ve never actually used them for egg dying, but I’m guessing it’s a pretty cool way to dye eggs, too.  I did find them on amazon (affiliate link), so if you can’t find these guys in the store, they are always available online. 
 
New scissor users will love to sort and manipulate crafting pom poms with bunny tongs.

I set up this sorting activity for the kids one day using our bunny tongs.  Scissor skills were really worked on with the repetition of picking up lots of assorted pom poms and sorting them into crates.

Bunny tongs for working on scissor grasp in young kids
 
Baby Girl LOVED this activity. She went through and sorted pom poms at least three separate times.  You can see how she’s got her ring finger and pinkie finger extended out as she opens the tongs in the picture above. 
 
This is a great time to work on pre-scissor skills with her, so that as she does start with snipping with real scissors down the road, she maintains an appropriate and effective grasp on the scissors.
 
Tuck a crafting pom pom into the palm of the hand to improve scissor skills.

Tuck a small object into the hand when using the bunny tongs to work on grasp on scissors.

Tips for Cutting with Scissors

Not a great picture, but popping a crafting pom pom into the palm of her little hand is a great way to correct that grasp on the tongs (or scissors).  This way, the child opens and closes the tongs/scissors with the thumb and pointer/middle fingers in an effective and more controlled manner.  This will help with scissor control and line awareness.

If you’ve got a little one who cuts with scissors and snips all over the place, with their pinkie finger and ring finger extended out as they open the scissors, try this trick. 

You can use any small item like a little eraser or pebble in the palm of their hand.  It’s a good physical prompt to remind them to keep their hand closed as they cut with scissors.

Kids can sort and manipulate crafting pom poms to work on beginner scissor skills.

Little Guy wanted in on this action too, and once Big Sister came home from school, she sorted the pom poms too.  This was just fun!

Kids can sort pom poms using tongs for fine motor play

Baby Girl resorted to just using her hands to sort later in the day.  Still great for color matching and identification.   we’ll definitely be doing this activity again.  It was a huge hit for my kids as much as it was a hit for all of the school-based clients I’ve worked with over the years.  It’s the cuteness of that bunny!

Spring Fine Motor Kit

Score Fine Motor Tools and resources and help kids build the skills they need to thrive!

Developing hand strength, dexterity, dexterity, precision skills, and eye-hand coordination skills that kids need for holding and writing with a pencil, coloring, and manipulating small objects in every day task doesn’t need to be difficult. The Spring Fine Motor Kit includes 100 pages of fine motor activities, worksheets, crafts, and more:

Spring fine motor kit set of printable fine motor skills worksheets for kids.
  • Lacing cards
  • Sensory bin cards
  • Hole punch activities
  • Pencil control worksheets
  • Play dough mats
  • Write the Room cards
  • Modified paper
  • Sticker activities
  • MUCH MORE

Click here to add this resource set to your therapy toolbox.

Spring Fine Motor Kit
Spring Fine Motor Kit: TONS of resources and tools to build stronger hands.

Grab your copy of the Spring Fine Motor Kit and build coordination, strength, and endurance in fun and creative activities. Click here to add this resource set to your therapy toolbox.

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.

Family Fun Night Activities

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Family playing with blocks on the floor. Text reads family fun night

If you are looking for family fun night ideas, look no further. We love a good family fun day, but sometimes you need a game night with the family or just a way to spend an evening. These family night ideas will keep you busy and building memories!

Family fun night

Family Fun Night

A typical Friday night or Saturday night with the family doesn’t need to mean everyone is off in their rooms watching screens. Get the whole family together for a family fun night!

The thing is that evenings and nights are a prime time for too much screen time, for the whole family. Research on screen time tells us this is detrimental!

Family fun night doesn’t need to be complicated. Whether you are thinking a movie night, playing board games, or doing activities, we’ve got you covered.

 
When you’ve got a family, your Friday and Saturday nights are no longer like they were in that time BK (Before Kids).  You find yourself on the couch after Toddler bed time, planning at-home date nights, looking forward to Friday night pizza night, or whatever your weekend rituals are! 
No matter what the family fun involves, it is sure to be better than it ever was BK!  Snuggles, giggles, and general chaos are sure to be involved (with some bedtime-procrastinating antics, too).  Life sure does change once you’ve got a family and it’s all for the better.
 
We’re featuring great ideas for Family Fun Night.  Weather you’re up for games. activities, or experiments, these are fun activities the whole family can enjoy.  And of course, you’ve GOT to have the snacks!   So get ready to plan this weekend’s Family Fun night…we’ve got you covered!

 

 
Activities for Family Fun Night
 

Family Fun Night Ideas

  1. Create a whole themed night around a game. Gather board games, card games, or video games for an evening of friendly competition. Here are our favorite board games that are modified to develop skills and learning through play.
  2. If you’ve got kids who love the rainbow loom craze, get busy creating with DIY rubber band rings (Kids Activities Blog).
  3. Make your own shaped tortilla chips  as a family.  Enjoy dipping and watch for double-dippers!
  4. If the weather is nice, take a family walk and go on a Family nature walk. Collect signs of nature and create pretty flower collage art.
  5. Movie marathon: Pick a theme or series of movies to watch back-to-back with plenty of popcorn and snacks.
  6. DIY pizza party: Let everyone personalize their own pizzas with a variety of toppings.
  7. Indoor picnic: Spread out a blanket on the living room floor and enjoy a picnic-style dinner.
  8. Family Talent show: Showcase your family’s talents with performances, skits, or musical numbers.
  9. Arts and crafts night: Engage in a creative activity like painting, sculpting, or making jewelry together. Use these occupational therapy crafts that develop skills.
  10. Campout at home: Set up tents in the living room or backyard for a cozy indoor camping experience.
  11. Puzzle challenge: Work together to complete a challenging jigsaw puzzle as a team.
  12. Science experiments: Conduct fun and educational science experiments at home using household items.
  13. Karaoke night: Sing your hearts out with a karaoke machine or YouTube karaoke videos.
  14. Outdoor movie night: Set up a projector and screen in your backyard and enjoy a movie under the stars.
  15. Scavenger hunt: Create a scavenger hunt with clues and riddles for the whole family to solve.
  16. Theme night: Choose a theme such as superheroes, pirates, or the 80s, and dress up accordingly.
  17. Mini-Olympics: Set up a series of backyard or indoor games and compete in a family Olympics. Add some Olympics activities!
  18. Cookie baking contest: Have a friendly competition to see who can bake the most delicious cookies.
  19. Storytelling night: Take turns telling stories or make up a collaborative story together.
  20. Build a fort: Use blankets, pillows, and furniture to build a cozy fort for reading or playing games.
  21. Outdoor adventure: Go for a hike, bike ride, or nature walk in a nearby park or trail.
  22. Family photo shoot: Dress up, find a scenic location, and take family portraits together.
  23. DIY spa night: Create a relaxing spa experience at home with face masks, foot baths, and massages.
  24. Family book club: Choose a book to read together and discuss it during a special book club night. Pair these preschool books with activities.
  25. Family cooking challenge: Select a secret ingredient and see who can come up with the tastiest dish using it.
  26. Sports night: Play a game of basketball, soccer, or another sport in your backyard or at a local park.
  27. Build a model: Work together to assemble a model car, plane, or ship.
  28. Outdoor game tournament: Organize a tournament with games like cornhole, horseshoes, or ladder toss. Here are more outdoor lawn games.
  29. Family dance party: Clear some space, create a playlist, and dance together.
  30. DIY ice cream sundae bar: Set up a variety of toppings and let everyone create their own delicious sundae.
  31. Family video game competition: Play multiplayer video games and see who comes out on top.
  32. Painting night: Get out the easels, paints, and brushes for a family painting session.

  33. Family yoga or exercise session: Follow a guided family yoga video or do a workout routine together.

  34. Family gardening: Start a small garden or tend to existing plants, teaching children about plants and nature. Why not make a sensory garden?

  35. Backyard camping and stargazing: Pitch a tent, roast marshmallows, and enjoy the night sky.
  36. Family trivia night: Test your knowledge with trivia questions and see who knows the most.
  37. Visit a local museum or art gallery: Explore the exhibits and learn something new together.
  38. DIY movie production: Write a short script, assign roles, and create your own family movie.
  39. Create a time capsule: Gather meaningful items and bury them in the backyard to be opened in the future.

  40. DIY mini-golf course: Create your own mini-golf course using household items and have a friendly competition.

  41. Family bike ride: Take a bike ride together, exploring your neighborhood or a nearby bike trail.

  42. Write a message to your future self! This is fun for the whole family.
  43. Family volunteer.
     
     
     
    Enjoy your Family Fun night!  Let us know how YOUR family enjoys family time.
 

Mr. Rogers Quote About Play

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mr. rogers quote about play

One of our favorite quotes about play is a Mr. Rogers play quote. You’ve probably seen or heard this Mr. Rogers quote before…and as occupational therapy providers, we know that play is the primary occupation of children, so this quote is a pivotal one! It’s an occupational therapy quote, for sure!

Mr. Rogers quote about play

Mr. Rogers Quote About Play

We love the Mr. Rogers quote:

“Play is often talked about as if it were a serious relief from learning. But for children, play is learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

Mr. Rogers

We talked about the components of learning through play that are fostered in children, especially when it comes to learning to read in our blog post on beginning reading for kindergarten.

Play based learning is learning at the child’s level and uses their primary occupation as a mode of building skills!

 
Did you know March 20th is Fred Roger’s birthday?  Growing up,  Mr. Rogers was one of our favorite shows. 
 
And now we love to watch Mr. Roger’s shows with our kids.
 
What an accomplished man and such a role model for parents, educators, and all who teach and play with kiddos!  I think we feel a special connection now to Mr. Rogers because he was born and worked in our neck of the woods, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the small town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. 

 

 
Quote from Fred Rogers: Play is the work of childhood

 

One of the best and well-known songs and mantras of the show is the classic, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mine; Could you be mine…” 
 
We are SO blessed to live in a quiet little neighborhood where we can interact, play, chat, and share with our neighbors. 
 
Being a good neighbor is easy when you live by people that end up being friends.  We’ve got some great folks nearby and as far away as next door, we’ve become friends with people who were once total strangers. 
 
The kids play outside with each other, there is always someone you can text and ask for a cup of flour, and if you need a shoulder to cry on, a smiling face or a friendly wave.  We love to play outside and are always waving to neighbors…or in the kids’ case, yelling, “HEEEEELLLLLLOOOOO!” down the street.   
 

Be a Good Neighbor

Give a small give to neighbors on their doorstep
 
One day recently, we made a special delivery to special neighbors with a little boy about the age of Baby Girl. 
 
We had finished up playing with our fine motor color sorting activity and thought our little friend next door would love to play as much as we did.  It was so nice to get a text later that day saying how much our little friend loved playing with our special delivery! 
 
How many ways can you think of to be a good neighbor?
 
Wave, pull in trash cans, shovel snow from a walkway, deliver cupcakes or other goodies, invite a new (or old) neighbor over for dinner, arrange a neighborhood yard sale (collaborative de-cluttering makes everyone happy, right??!!).
 

Tips for Being Neighborly

To help encourage neighborliness with your little ones at home, here are some tips inspired by the “Neighbor Day” episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood that will help show your children that doing something nice for their neighbors can be a rewarding experience that makes them feel good about themselves!  
  • Volunteer!:  Check out your local food bank, library or neighborhood park for opportunities for your family to contribute, whether it is going through your house with your preschooler and donating extra canned goods or old books  or helping plant brand-new trees!
  • Play outside and meet new people!:  Bring your young children for a fun visit at the neighborhood playground, so they can make new friends and interact with old friends, too!
  • Ask to help!:  When your family sees someone who might need a hand, offer it!  Work together with an elderly neighbor who needs extra assistance in their yard or even have your preschooler help take care of a friend’s pet while they’re away on an end-of-summer trip.  You can also just talk with your child about times when you helped someone in need.
  • Smile and say, hello!:  Sometimes the littlest things makes the biggest difference!  When you are walking through your own neighborhood with your kids, greet passing neighbors with a friendly smile and a “hello” – you might just brighten someone’s day!
  • Make Coupons for Giving: Help your child create homemade paper coupons for kind and helpful acts, like “a hug,” “help with household chores” or “reading a book to a younger sibling.”
 
 

Be My Neighbor Day 

To honor Fred Rogers and in celebration of neighbors, we’ll be participating in “Be My Neighbor Day” on March 22th.

The United Way of Allegheny County, in partnership with The Fred Rogers Company and WQED, presents “Be My Neighbor Day.”  On March 22, 2014, four YMCA locations across the Pittsburgh area will host a variety of fun, free, family-friendly activities to give children the opportunity to practice being neighborly. Daniel Tiger of the PBS series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood will make his first Pittsburgh appearance as part of the event. (Times vary by location).
 
“’Be My Neighbor Day’ builds on the indomitable legacy of Fred Rogers, who for more than 40 years taught kindness, generosity and respect to thousands of children and families,” said William Isler, president, The Fred Rogers Company. “Like our new series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, this event embodies the values Fred stood for and carries his timeless message to a new generation of children.”
 
Inspired by an episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, “Be My Neighbor Day” encourages neighbors to come together to help one another. Families will learn about acts of kindness, work together on craft projects to benefit their local communities, participate in YMCA Healthy Kids activities, and have the opportunity to meet Daniel Tiger.  
 
Additionally, in honor of Rogers’ favorite attire, families are encouraged to bring a new or gently worn sweater to the event. Sweater donations will be distributed to needy families throughout the region.

Interested in joining us??  If you’re local to Pittsburgh, we would love to meet you!!
 
Those interested in participating are encouraged to visit www.bemyneighborday.org for more information and to register at one of four locations: Baierl Family YMCA (Sewickley), Western Area YMCA (Coraopolis), Penn Hills YMCA, or Thelma Lovett YMCA (Centre Avenue).  There is no cost to attend.
 
 

 

Glass Gems on the Light Table

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We made our own colorful glass gems to use on a light table for a sensory activity and creative painting activity. These glass gems are fun to make and build fine motor skills.

Glass Gems

Do you have a light box or ever used one?  It’s a super cool way to play, learn, and explore.  We’ve done an attempt at a DIY light box before but weren’t too happy with the long term results of it. 

It worked well for tracing and handwriting practice, checking out a few cool manipulatives on the lights, but…well, you can read about our thoughts in the end.  We wanted to try another attempt and so this time, we did something just as simple and easy, but it worked WAY better. 

That post should be up this week.  For now, we wanted to share what we’ve been playing with on the light box.  Our own DIY colored glass gems!

 
 


 
Create your own colored glass gems easily for learning, decor, and play.

 

DIY Glass Gems

These cuties were very easy to make and VERY fun to play with.  We’ve been sorting, counting, patterning, and making shapes with our colored gems and on the light box, do they ever look awesome!

 

Use your colored glass gems on the light table for learning and play.

 

 

Check out that light shining through our gems!  WOW!  Seriously, this was so cool.  So, how did we make these gorgeous gems??

 

Create your own colored glass gems in any color for decor, learning, and play
 
Amazon affiliate links are included below.
 
We started out with a pile of assorted colored tissue paper
cut into little squares.   
 
You’ll also need a bunch of clear large glass gems. 
 
We used the 1 and 1/4″ sized gems that are flat on one side.  We found them in the dollar store but the are also available in the link above. 

 

Create your own colored glass gems for learning and play

 

Add a little bit of glue with some water and mix together with a paint brush.

 

Next, trace your gems onto a piece of tissue paper.  I cut out a whole stack at once and it worked well to cover each gem.  A pretty princess pencil makes it more fun 😉

Creating your own colored glass gems is a great activity for kids

 

Baby Girl helped with the next part.  She painted the glue mixture onto the flat side of each gem while I stuck the tissue paper on.

Make your own colored glass gems for learning and play.

 

They are starting to look pretty fun!

colored glass gems for play and learning. These are easy and fun to make your own colors!

 

Once the glue dried, we started playing!  We didn’t even pull out the light box yet.  Just playing with these colored stones on the table was fun.  These would be so pretty in a flat dish with a Spring centerpiece or perfect for math activities.  We sorted, stacked, made shapes, counted, named colors…how many ways can you think of to play and learn with colored gemstones? 

 

Rainbow Bead Bracelets DIY Dress Up Accessory

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Do your kids dress up in play clothes as much as mine do?  Any given day we’ve got knights, princesses, dancing stars, ninjas, superheroes, doctors, fancy ladies…the list of pretend play scenes go on and on!  And it is SO much fun to watch the scenes develop.  Oh yeah, there are fights and arguments that happen when someone wants to be the “star”.  And a lot of times the 6 year old, 4 year old, and 2 year old are just running around in total mishmash of costumes.  (Or totally naked in the 2 year olds case!)  But it is so much fun to see what character comes up from the playroom. 

These Rainbow Bead Bracelets are the perfect dress up accessories.  They started out as our Fine Motor Rainbow Pipe Cleaner craft and easily turned into colorful bracelets.

Fine motor craft with beads and pipe cleaners to make these rainbow bracelets.

 

Rainbow Bead Bracelets

Beading on pipe cleaners is a great fine motor activity for toddlers.
Beading the bracelets is a great fine motor activity that even toddlers can do.  Love those chubby little knuckles!

When we were done with our rainbow craft and pretend play, we just pulled them out of the Styrofoam and twisted the arches into bracelets.  Done!

Bead bracelets made with rainbow colors

There’s a color for everyone!  These bracelets are coming in handy for lots of dress-up fun! 

Creative Art Ideas for Kids

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Looking for creative art ideas to add to an art planning session? We’ve shared creative painting ideas before but the ones below are more general art activities you can add to the mix. Need some creative painting activities or fun ways to incorporate out of the box art materials? These art activities are fun ways to add a bit of creativity to process art!

Creative Art Ideas

 
Is there anything more fun than creating art projects with the kids?  Using unique materials to create, creative ways to paint, and fun ways to explore textures are just fun! 
There are so many ways to learn and explore with creative art projects.  Exploring nature, gravity, textures, and science all while making unique and gorgeous art…now that is cool! 
 
Check out these ideas:


Creative Art Projects for Kids

Creative Art Ideas
 

 

Fantastic Fun and Learning  used   Yarn Stamp Art
 to paint into pretty patterns and colors.  Kids can explore patterns and textures while stamping away with their own DIY stamps.  Now that is fun art!
 
How can you get crafty with nature?  Buggy and Buddy shares a super cool way that Using Sticks in Art for Kids can make fun art.  It’s time to get outside and get crafty.
 
 
Have a car lover in your house?  Why not foster that love into a gorgeous work of art with Racing Rainbow Painting Cars from Fantastic Fun and Learning.
 
 
 Mama to 5 Blessings shows us how to make art based on the stars!  Love those Construction Paper Art projects!
 
Make your own DIY Shape Stamps with Styrofoam and stamp away with shapes, patterns…or just be creative with that stamping! 
 
For more stamping fun, try this Goop Stamp Painting.  This was seriously a fun and different way to paint.  Super sensory and very messy, but it was totally worth the mess!
 

 Sensory Creative Art for Kids!

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Recycled Artwork Spring Flower Craft

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We do LOADS and loads of kid’s crafts around here.  So what do you do with all of those paintings and artwork and beautiful one-of-a-kind pictures?  You save some, give some to family, and the stacks of the rest…you can’t save it all!
Why not recycle the artwork into more fun crafts?  This Spring Flower craft uses some of those special paintings in recycled art!


Use recycled art projects to create a flower craft.

Recycled Artwork Spring Flower Craft

Baby Girl is big time into painting.  She could paint every day and be more than happy.  (And she does.  And she is.) 
We’ve got lots of paintings ready to be used for recycled art.  This Spring flower used a finger painting she made.
Spring flower craft using recycled art materials.
We started with her blue finger painting and cut it up into strips.  This would be a great scissor activity for young scissor users.  Cutting strait lines is a great way to develop accuracy with cutting lines and self-confidence with the scissors.  Draw strait lines on the backside of the painting and let your little one start snipping!  Line accuracy doesn’t matter, this flower will look great however strait (or not strait) the strips of painting.
We used a yellow egg carton section from our painted rainbow egg cartons. 
Tape strips of recycled art projects into an egg carton to create a spring flower craft.

Tape or glue the strips to the inside of the egg carton section.

Preschoolers and toddlers love to see their old art projects come to new light in a spring flower craft.

Add glue to the edge of the egg carton.  Press it onto a sheet of construction paper.  Add a little curve to the petals by rolling up the ends of the painting strips just a little.

display chidlrens' artwork along a string.
We added green strips of construction paper for a stem and leaves for our flower craft.  Hang it up and enjoy the artwork for a second time around!
Looking for more flower crafts?  These are some of our favorites:
Spring Nature Hunt Collage Flowers

Spring Time Egg Carton Tulip Craft
Earth Day Recycle Bin Flower Craft

St. Patrick’s Day Small World for Pretend Play

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St. Patrick’s Day fun is all around!    We created a SUPER fun small world and imagination play activity and have been loving all of the rainbows, leprechauns, and pretending.
Maybe the best part of this small world was creating all of the little parts that went into it.  Our  rainbow cardboard tube craft came into play for some good imagination.    Picture overload coming up here… the fun was just too much!


 

Pretend Play with a St. Patrick’s Day Small World

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Small world pretend play for St. Patrick's Day with leprechaun peg dolls.

Our cute little leprechauns were made with assorted felt sheets, attached with fabric glue.  We used peg dolls and acrylic paints that we received for free from www.craftprojectideas.com. 


They turned out very cute and have been part of our play for a few days now.  These cute little guys have made their way into the Little People house, into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle lair, and even hung out with a few Lego guys!  They’ve been well accepted into our toy collection 😉

This St. Patrick's Day craft for kids is perfect for leprchaun small world play.
The leprechauns needed a place to call their own, so Baby Girl and I painted a few leprechaun houses.  Baby Girl is my little artist and always up for a painting project, so this was big time fun for her!  Baby Girl’s leprechaun house is perfectly rainbow-y!  I think the leprechauns are happy with their new homes.
Small world pretend play with this St. Patrick's Day sensory Bin.

 

He looks pretty pleased with his new home…

Leprechaun Sensory Small World


Adding in our rainbow cardboard tube and some rocks as a base, we had a pretty cute tray for sensory play.  This was an invitation for imagination, pretend play, and fun!

Small world for St. Patrick's Day

Little Guy got right in there and had the leprechauns visiting each other’s houses, building a rock side walk, and chatting it up!
Use a small world for imagination and pretend play
Baby Girl baaaadly wanted her leprechaun to get into his house.  She tried. Repeatedly.
The leprechauns made a few trips under the rainbow and just had good St. Patrick’s Day fun!
Play with imagination and pretend play with these leprachaun homes

Looking for more rainbow or St. Patrick’s day ideas?  Stop by and follow along on our Pinterest board: