Dress Up

Pull up a seat. It's story time!

I had just finished some light house cleaning and snack time was approaching as I decided to check in on Kailynn in her play room. She was playing quietly and making a mess of toys as usual, so I set off to prepare her snack. As I'm cutting the grapes in half, I hear Kailynn singing the clean up song followed by the sounds of her rummaging through her toy bins. I was walking out of the kitchen and into the hallway when I noticed a trail of plastic bracelets and beaded necklaces. I followed the trail of jewelry into the play room and noticed that Kailynn had decided to play dress up. She looked at me with a big smile and said, "pretty." I ran to grab my camera and the smile disappeared as soon as she saw it. I had to take a picture regardless just to remember this moment.

This is how I found her dressed...

Travel Packs

In my last post, I mentioned travel packs that I made to keep Kailynn entertained on our trip. Now that we are in season, back-to-school sales are everywhere and these items will be fairly easy to find. I had a few items at home and I found what ever else I needed in the back-to-school and dollar sections at Target. I used clear pencil cases to hold the items in so it would be easier to identify which bag held what.

Bag number one contains a small coloring book and pack of crayons (Kailynn's favorite). The second bag holds finger puppets. Even at home these little buddies keep her entertained for hours! The third bag is home to miniature safari animals. Last but not least, I attached velcro pieces to the ends of colored popsicle sticks. The sticks serve dual purposes. One activity is to attach the ends of the sticks to form shapes. Another activity is color matching or sorting since there are two sticks of each color. 

As simple as they may seem, these were life savers! Kailynn loves these bags so much that they now stay in her diaper bag. They come in handy for trips to the grocery store and restaurants. 

Squishy Sensory Bag

How many of you remember those water snake wigglies (a clear plastic tube filled with water and little toys)? Well, Kailynn was playing with one a few days ago and was so frustrated that it kept falling. I was determined to find a toy similar to the water wigglies that wasn’t so slippery. My mission to find this toy was a total fail! But not to worry, Super Mom is here! I decided to make one from scratch. I looked online to see if there were any suggested instructions on how to make one at home. I came across a few and to my surprise they’re referred to as sensory bags or squishy bags. The instructions were pretty similar. The only major difference was what was put inside the bag. Here is how Kailynn and I made our “squishy sensory bag”:

Supplies:

1- quart size plastic storage bag (Ziploc bag)

1- bottle of hair gel

Clear packaging tape

Beads or any other small toys

Step 1: Fill plastic bag with hair gel

Step 2: Put beads or toys into bag

Step 3: "Zip" plastic bag and wrap with tape to strengthen it

That’s it! It’s pretty simple to make and everything can be purchased at the dollar store if you don’t already have the items lying around the house. Your little one can even help make it. Kailynn and I will surely be making more soon!

Here are some other suggestions for filling your own “squishy sensory bag”: Use body wash, shaving cream, rice, or pasta instead of hair gel. Substitute the beads for marbles, plastic bugs or animals, foam stickers, plastic army men, glitter, or just about anything you can fit in the bag.