I've been making and using these in my classroom for years and years. They are so much fun and talk about cheap entertainment. I just recently thought Emmett would dig it and decided to make some for him! It has become his new favorite toy. They are so stimulating for young children! Here is a pic of the ones I recently made:
Exploration Bottles
Exploration Bottles
All you need to get started is a clear bottle with a tight fitting cap. I used a Juicy Juice bottle for the big one, and two different size Victoria Secret/Bath and Body works bottles for the other two. Small pop bottles work wonderfully too! You just add interesting colorful things and make very sure to seal the cap very tightly. Because I want to be extra safe about choking hazards, and to avoid leaks, I also tape mine off with masking tape.
I added things to the dry bottle (the big one) like popsicle sticks, ribbon and raffia, a pencil, beads, and even fake doll hair! Yes, I have that laying around. LOL! The dry bottles are alot of fun because they are full of neat sounds, so if you do more than one, make sure to try one without adding water so your little one can be fascinated by the rolling and clacking sounds of things inside.
On the water bottles, I added food coloring, glitter, beads and foam shapes.
So there you have it! Cheap entertainment in a bottle!
Other ideas for the liquid filled ones:
--Oil, food coloring, water
--dish soap, food coloring (gets all neat and sudsy when shaken!)
--action figures, small cars, etc.
Pretty much anything you can think of!
PS--Bigger kids can use two liter bottles for the water exploration ones, but the smaller sizes just seem to fit better in small hands.
Hope you enjoy!
Ideas to help kids clean up
When you are caring for young children at home or in preschool for years as I did, one of the biggest struggles can be getting them to clean up and pick up. The self help skills are really hard to start late, and it's always a good idea to start them as early as possible to create great habits.
For that reason I thought I'd share something I recently did to help Emmett start to learn how to pick up and some other tips I have based on my experience.
Shelf Labels--This really, really helps young children. You take a picture of your toys, and tape the picture to the shelf or near the wall where it goes! For starters, they can SEE where the toy's place is. Also, now cleanup isn't just a chore, it's a matching game! Make sure you laminate or cover in packing tape well. Here are the ones that I made for Emmett's room--trust me, it's never to soon. I also included the name of the toy so he can be exposed to letters/words while he picks up!
You also might find these helpful:
Clean Up Songs:
They really work. Children hear the song and switch into working mode. It makes it more fun ofcourse, but music is a very powerful form of conditioning as well, and it helps cement the focus for the task at hand. I've used this one for years, and yes....(roll eyes) it's from Barney! LOL. It goes like this:
"Clean Up, Clean Up
Everybody Everywhere
Clean up, Clean Up
Everybody Do Your Share"
and this one:
"It's time to put things back where they belong
Clean Up, Clean Up, Clean Up Song
Let's Clean them up by the end of this song!
Clean Up, Clean Up, Clean Up Song!"
Either can be sang to any tune or simply chanted while you clap. Also effective is clean up "music" which can be anything you want it to be!
Other ideas:-You can make it a game by having a clean up "race" or only cleaning as long as the music is playing, which can help younger children who dread the task. They foresee a tangible "end" to the task which makes it much more tolerable.
-You can count items as you pick them up, or tell the child to pick up things by category, like "Find all the blue toys".
-Give kids a choice, "You may pick up the cars or the blocks today. I will help you. What do you choose?"
-Last but not least, the best tool you can ever use for clean up with a young child is a kitchen timer! Once they learn to understand it's meaning, the timer is SUCH a powerful tool. Always stick to a short amount of time with young children.
A Home Made Water and Sand Table
I am SO excited to share this idea!
I don't know if anyone here is aware of this, but water and sand tables for toddlers and children are VERY VERY expensive.
I was racking my brain, trying to think of how I could re-create one at home for cheap...when it hit me!
CHANNY'S HOME MADE WATER TABLE!!!
Take a medium to large sized rubber maid or plastic tub. Find a small plastic bin, and trace it's shape on the top of your lid. Using heavy duty scissors or a "Sawsall", cut the hole out of the lid and place the bin snugly inside. Fill with water or sand and replace lid on bin.
Now you have an activity table that doubles as a storage bin for the water/sand toys!!!!! Wahoo!!!!
To make it an even more stable structure that kids will have a hard time
tipping or dumping, put a bag or two of sand in the bottom. Then it becomes nice and sturdy.
Ofcourse never leave your child unattended with one of these.
Here it is!!!!!!:
