Five Open-ended Play Stocking Stuffer Ideas

 Are you looking for the perfect stocking stuffers that will actually be used after the holidays are over?  I have a perfect list of open-ended materials that are budget friendly AND will fit in a stocking! These 5 gifts are perfect for almost every age (watch small parts with really little ones).

You can use my affiliate links below to fill those stockings!

Perfect for Art Play: 

Kwik Stix

Have you tried these yet?  If you want to give your kids a chance to paint, but are nervous about the mess...you have to get these! They look like colored glue sticks, but are made with tempera paint.  That means they are washable.  And even better, they dry in 90 seconds!

Perfect for Science Play: 

Magnifying Glass

This is perfect for your nature observations. Encourage your children to take a closer look at bugs and flowers when making representational drawings. All great scientists need a magnifying glass!

Perfect for Dramatic Play:

Play Scarves

Last Christmas I dyed my own play silks. This would have been much easier.  Some day I want to indulge in Sarah's Silks, but these are much more budget friendly.  We use our play scarves as capes, canopies for our block buildings, blankets for dolls, and settings for small world play.  These are the ultimate open-ended toy.  Children can use their imaginations and find a ton of uses for these. 

Perfect for Small World Play:

Wood Peg Dolls

These peg dolls are are perfect for small world play.  Because they are blank and unfinished, your child's imagination can run wild. The doll can be a superhero, a princess, a farmer, or a nursery rhyme character!

Animal Figures

Choose from several different TOOBS of animals on Amazon.  These animal babies are sure to be a favorite.  Children can build a zoo using Legos or blocks.  You can put these in the sensory bin for a fun addition.

These stocking stuffers are sure to be used over and over long after Christmas has passed.  They are great investments for your play centers, too!

DIY Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Having your children help make this sidewalk chalk paint is half the fun! Chalk paint gives a whole new experience to drawing on the sidewalk, yet it washes away easily with a good rain.

What you need: 

• corn starch
• water
• food coloring
• bowls and spoons
• paintbrushes

How to Play: 

1. Mix equal parts corn starch and water together.
2. Drop one drop of food coloring into the mixture.
3. Repeat for each color.
4. Go outside and paint!

You may want to do the mixing outdoors!

Watch your artists create!  Even better, join in the fun!

 

Christmas Tree Counting Activity with Dollar Tree Materials

 I love all the Christmas selection that Dollar Tree has to offer this year.  You can leave the materials as they are and let your children interact for loose parts play.  Or, you can make a few simple alterations to guide the play into numeracy and counting practice. 

What you need: 

• 2 packages of felt trees
• 1 package of small bottle brush trees
• 1 package of pom poms (in normal craft aisle)
• permanent marker
• masking tape
• tongs or tweezers
• scissors
• container to hold the pom poms

2 Ways to Play

Version 1: 

1. Using a permanent marker, write the numerals 1-12 on each Christmas tree.

2. Have child put the appropriate number of pom poms onto the tree. 

BONUS points if the child uses the tongs!  This improves fine motor skills!

Your child may also be interested in putting the trees in number order.

Version 2:

1. Flip the trees over, so they are blank.

2. On small pieces of masking tape, write the numerals.  Stick these on the bottom of the bottle brush trees. (I found that permanent marker did not adhere, this is why I used tape)

3. Children choose a bottle brush tree from the "forest." Then they match that number of pompoms onto their tree.  The person with the most pompoms at the end, wins!!

Want to see the video?  Go here!

Preparing Your Child for Outpatient Surgery

Things I wish I would have done!

As most of you know, my 5-year-old son recently had outpatient surgery to correct what ended up being double hernias.  Before the surgery, I was worried about the best way to prepare him.  Looking back, I don't think we did the best job.  You can watch my Facebook Live video to see what I mean. 

We did however do one thing right...well actually Brickston's sweet aunt and uncle did.  They sent him an adorable care package right before his surgery with a social story and bear that plays music.  The story perfectly describes what the child should expect from surgery, while leaving out the scary details. You can get your own copy here. 

This was the same approach that the child life specialist took when she talked to Brickston.  She told him, he had one job. It was to breathe through his special mask.  She let him pick out the flavor.  She also showed him a choice board of what he could have to eat/drink after surgery. He chose an orange popsicle.  She told him he could pick if his hospital bed went SLOW, MEDIUM, or FAST down the hallway.  Of course, he chose FAST!  I love how she gave him a sense of control over the situation.

Brickston brought his singing bear with him to the hospital, and loved showing all the nurses and doctors how it played music.  They let him keep the bear with him the entire time.  The child life specialist brought a doctor kit for Brickston to use with his bear. 

Having these materials to play and act out "his one job" was very calming for both Brickston and me.

In hindsight, I wish we would have told Brickston just the bare minimum details, and let the child life specialist answer the questions that he had.  I decided to make a visual schedule that you are welcome to use if your child is scheduled for outpatient surgery. 

Suggestions: 

Contact the doctor office to find out what to expect.  Read your child a book like this or use the visual schedule.  Pack toys and a favorite stuffed animal.  Bonus points if he sings and dances.  Pack comfy clothes for the ride home and bring a bucket!

My little guy is recovering and enjoying some extra attention.  Thank you all for your kind messages!

My Favorite Fall Books for October

 What are your favorite fall books?  

Here are just a few of mine!  These are the books that I will be using for the October Atelier@Home read-alouds! 

Are you interested in joining our Atelier@Home program?  Visit this link for more info!

You can get your own copies of these books below!  See my referral links: 

Dollar Tree ABC Banner

 Isn't this alphabet banner the perfect addition to our art and writing center in our home atelier?

As part of the Atelier @ Home program, I have six play based learning centers set up in our home.  I hung this banner above the art and writing center so that my children can reference the alphabet when making projects.  

Materials: 

• 2 Felt banners from Dollar Tree
• 1 paint pen

How to Make: 

1. Write both the capital and lower case letter on each felt banner strip.  
2. Then thread the string provided through each letter strip.  I put all 26 onto one string.  
3. You should have 10 leftover strips!  You can make a number line.  I on the other hand made a mistake on 2 letters, so I didn't have 10 left over :)

Hang in your space!

I would love to know if you tried this project!  Have your children referenced it while working?  

Are you looking for other letter learning activities? Check this out: 

As grownups, we often forget what the world looks like from a child's vantage point.

 

This is true in so many forms.

I ask my pre-service teachers to actually sit on their knees in their classroom space. What do they see? What is at eye level to the children they are serving? What does the environment show the child?

 What interests the child? What is he really good at doing? How can you use these to build his confidence and motivate him to learn?

What developmental stage classifies the child the best? Is the child in the preoperational stage where everything relates back to her?

The next time your child is encountering a new experience, literally get done on their level. What do you see, hear, smell, taste, feel? And then, think about your child as an individual. How do you think they are uniquely experiencing this experience? You might just experience something brand new