Spring Sensory Fun

 

Here is a pretty simple activity I like to play with my 2-3 year old speech kiddos.  This looks like a random crazy mess, and it pretty much is...but the kiddos love it. (Be careful, some kids still like to put EVERYTHING in their little mouths).

 



I put pinto beans and toy bugs inside a small storage container. You can make it more fun for the older kids by having them find the bugs with a shovel or play tweasers, then they can put them inside a "bug collection jar". 

After we get all the bugs/snakes out, we "plant flowers" (cut fake flowers and place them into the beans).

There are also butterflies in there...but this kiddo wanted to put them inside the container, instead of throw them in the air to catch them with a play net. 

This kiddo also put two cut paper towel rolls inside, and began sticking things down and pouring beans in them to see what would happen. 

Sometimes if you just supply a whole bunch of random stuff and sit back...this is the awesomeness that happens. Child creativity, pretend play, and a whole lot of speech fun!

DIY HE safe powder laundry detergent

I created this blog so I would remember activities I that I do..arts and crafts for speech, themed activities, and things for the house.  This is also so I remember how to make this laundry detergent! It's awesome, and I'm not sure why I waited so long to try this.

I've already used used it on several loads, and our clothes actually seem cleaner..whites are whiter...towels seem cleaner etc. Plus we are saving tons of $$! There are several recipes for this stuff,  but I wanted a powder laundry detergent for our new washer that is also HE safe. I watched several videos, read lots of reviews and researched this recipe to make sure it was HE safe.

INGREDIENTS (this is to make a little at a time, not for 6 months).
1 bar Fels Naptha or Zote soap (I use 1 bar ivory soap-it's great for sensitive skin)
1 cup Arm&Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
3/4 cup Oxi Clean
1/2 cup Purex Crystals
cheese grader
container with lid
blender

1. grade the entire bar of ivory soap or fels naptha/Zote soap
2. you need to blend the soap in blender (make sure the blender is dry!) until it is a fine powder
3. mix in large bowl with spoon the rest of the ingredients (super washing soda, borax, oxi clean, purex crystals)
4. pour into container and keep lid on. 

 

(Don't mind the lint covered washer I was too lazy to clean before taking this picture)

 

I keep one of the scoopers from one of the boxes in with my homemade laundry detergent.  Once you use it all, just make more! :)  I guess you could figure out how to make months worth of this, but I chose to make a little at a time since I don't have a huge container to store it in.  It will save you so much money, and it's HE washer safe.  I also prefer to use this laundry detergent because it seems to work better as well.