Sensational Spaghetti

As I am trying to come to terms with "B's" Sensory Processing Disorder diagnosis I am trying to find ways to get his sensory fix and be safe at the same time. He is still sticks everything in his mouth and due to the diagnosis I don't think this will change any time soon. His therapist recommended edible play dough, finger paints, and painting with pudding to name a few (look forward to posts about these fun things later). When they listed some of the options dyed spaghetti came to mind (after all noodles are one thing he actually likes to eat).Here is "B's" spaghetti sensory bin:

Boil the noodles, drain, and oil & food dye, play! 

And this is why I made noodles

Hide the banana ;0)

Spaghetti sensory noodles aren't just for kiddos with SPD either. All kiddos love messy play. Also if you are a parent to a tot and want to do sensory bins, but are afraid they will put little things in their mouth- there are other options out there. Happy sensory play everyone!

Tot School-Farm

I have been wanting to do Tot School through 1+1+1=1 since "B" was born. I keep waiting for when he would be ready to do some of the typical Tot School things...and it never arrives. My older son was doing Tot School activities (all though I didn't know it at the time) around 15 months but "B" is just different. At almost 19 months he still says ZERO words, won't play traditionally, won't let me read to him, isn't safe in a seat, constantly puts things in his mouth, and does thrill-seeking (AND DANGEROUS) activities. This week we had him evaluated for speech and it turns out he most likely has Sensory Processing Disorder. Evidently my little guy's brain doesn't feel some of his senses as strongly as most people, which leads to him sensory seeking. This sensory imbalance is effecting him learning things like speech. We are meeting with an occupational therapist and coming up with an Individualized Family Service Plan next week. I am overwhelmed to say the least (but at least I know what to focus on). Before the diagnosis I was focusing more on speech. I learned to focus on farm animals for early intervention speech because farm animal noises correspond with the first sounds babies make (B, W, M, N, D, and P). Here was our first week of Tot school (actually 2 weeks) on farm animals:

18 months/3 weeks

Farm Animals and Blocks Play

Rice Pouring (he LOVES pouring)- he still puts things in his mouth  though  ;0(

This was one of the best ideas I did this week (put mini farm animals in his snack cup). He really has to work to get them in and out which was fun for him. Great tool to use for play !!! Each time he pulled one out I would say the name and make the sound. With speech it is important to only focus on ONE word then add more once they get it.

Farm Animal Bowling. He liked to hit them with the ball still in his hand. Pretty Funny!

They can go in the corral too!

Baby App voted one of the best for Early Speech Intervention (Peek-a-boo Barn) We love it.

He just started coloring recently. I added farm stickers (oh MAN did he love the stickers). Had a fit when they were gone. Putting stickers on what actually a difficult task

More pouring and transferring-this time with porcupine balls

Putting pipecleaners in a Parmesan Shaker. He actually did great sticking them in the hole, but had difficulty pushing them down. It kept him busy for a bit.

A very SIMPLE farm puzzle because his attention span is so low!

"B" just started to show an interest into books. He still won't let me read to him for long but he will sit through one book. I pulled out a lot of the same books I read during my 5-A-Day  books quite awhile back. You can see the five books I read and learn more about  5-A-Day from this post. I would like to get back into doing the 5-A-Day challenge, but was getting so discouraged with "B's" disinterest in reading. Considering my focus has been in libraries it was pretty devastating because I know how valuable reading is. In addition to the five books from the post we also read this Little People's book called Baby Animal Sounds. I can't find it on amazon but is cloth with a button that babies can push that make farm animal sounds. If you can find it I highly recommend it.

Black & White Sensory Bin

We bought some beanbag chairs recently and I took some of the filling out to make them a little more comfy. Instance lightbulb moment: beanbag filling would be a great sensory bin filler. I didn't have an idea in mind to begin with but  just stared at it hoping ideas would flow. I think it would make great snow and first thought snowmen (have some really cute ones pinned) but winter is OVER in my book. Then I thought Arctic since we just moved to Anchorage, but I don't have enough goodies yet. Trying to find things around the house I decided to go with a black and white theme.Here is the finished product:

What is included:

Measuring cups and spoons

Black Poms (very large to small)

PVC pipe cut to make a tunnel

Buttons

Police Car & wooden train engine

Animals: lamb, zebra, dalmation dog, cow, orca

White knobbily sensory  ball

Pipecleaners

Dupblo Blocks

Googly Eyes

BeanBag Filler

"B" actually played with it successfully without putting any in his month (SHOCKING)! He doesn't "play" very much---something that concerns me greatly. I was more than elated to see him playing with the sensory bin for over 20mins and having a hot fit when I put it away finally. 

Big Brother had to get in on the action.

 

I am so proud of his scooping abilities.

Black Snowman---it works (sort of)

Babies First Sensory Bin

This past summer I was busy making sensory bins for my five year old and sensory baskets for my baby. The baskets were designed towards larger items for safety sake. Some previous tot sensory baskets were: color theme, letter theme, shape theme, and nature theme. To see all the previous tot baskets click here. Sensory bins on the other hand were filled with more miniature items and fillers. Sensory bins for my oldest ranged from back to school, construction, beach, holidays, and more. You can see those here. I have gotten away from making them lately because I am in the midst of a huge move. I am eagerly anticipating making sensory bins and baskets later this Spring.

As I was busy making a craft with my 5 year old I realized I needed to keep my 15 month old occupied. He is too young for many craft supplies and I had no sensory baskets on hand. What I did have was beans, poms, two cups, heart containers from the Dollar Tree, a heart ice-cube tray, and a casserole dish to put everything in. Yes, it did end up with a Valentine's Day theme, but it was unintentional. Honestly, I was frantically throwing things in for him to stay quiet. It took me about three minutes to put it together. I was sweating bullets handing it to my little monster. He loves to shove everything in his mouth or throw items across the floor. Suprisingly, he used it just like a sensory bin is intended to be used. He got busy pouring and transporting, he even put beans in the containers to make shakers! I was blown away. Now about 8 minutes later it did end up on the floor, but I take my successes when I can get them.

Brother had to get in on the action and show him how it is done.

I am looking forward to trusting him with smaller items, but I think the majority of his sensory experiences will still be similar to baskets I have put together in the past. Look for more ideas of sensory play in the next few months.

"B" Turns ONE!

This Monday my youngest turned one. He is such a sweet love and I can't imagine my life without him in it. The weekend was filled with festivities as my husband flew in from Alaska to celebrate. On Saturday, I threw a super cute Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party for "B". Then, like all good hosts I got hardly any good pictures or even had a chance to eat any of the yummy food I made. Argh! I wanted to share some of what I could capture though.

The Decorations

I wish I got a better pic of my hungry caterpillar balloons ;0(. The pic of "B" with Daddy is good though.

I got the idea for a photo montage of the 12months of his life as the caterpillar body from Pinterest.

The Food

I incorporated all the foods the caterpillar ate in the Eric Carle book.

I got the awesome printable labels from Polkadots and Puppies. Her party was way cuter so check it out!

I am super proud of my mini cherry pies (so easy to make). Mini muffin tin, refrigerated pie dough, and cherry filling.

Some other food I didn't get a photo of: veggie platter with dip in a lettuce bowl, fruit in waffle cones, PB&J cut into circles and shaped like a caterpillar and the same done with turkey wraps.

 The Cake

White cake cupcakes and chocolate cake face (to match two things caterpillar ate). Antennas are Dum-Dum suckers and face is Skittles.

He kept moaning! Yummo

Keepsake Table

Since I didn't have a baby shower with "B" I asked people to fill out these "Wishes for Baby" cards. Then people were instructed to pick one wish that they wrote and then write it with a black Sharpie in a keepsake Very Hungry Caterpillar book. I had two art pieces of the character with "B's" handprints and gummy worms near by.

You can find these free printables at Lauren Makes Wordpress. She has different colors too.

The cards and book turned out PERFECT. I can't wait for him to read it when he gets a little older.

5 A Day Books: Real Babies

I was just reading a great article about reading books to babies by KidsHealth. They highlight the fact that reading to your infant will do the following:

• teaches a baby about communication
• introduces concepts such as stories, numbers, letters, colors, and shapes in a fun way
• builds listening, memory, and vocabulary skills
• gives babies information about the world around them

The article goes on to say that by the first year your child will have learned all the sounds they need to speak in their native language. WOW! You can read or listen to the article here. This article was so in tune to the 5 A Day challenge started over at The Imagination Tree. I encourage you to go over to her sight and learn more about the challenge and the benefits. For us we chose the theme of books with photographs of real babies. Babies can build text-to-self connections by looking at books of recognizable things, even if they can communicate it.

A side note about the books chosen this week: The majority of them I received in a Hello, Baby! tote bag that my community library hands out to women who are pregnant or recently had a child. Each tote has baby story time hours (which we LOVE), two board books, growth chart, milestone information, and an infant library card application. It is wonderful that libraries also are encouraging reading to infants as well!

This week we are reading:

Green Tot Sensory Basket

It is time for a new sensory basket for my little one. I change out the tot sensory basket faster then the older kiddos sensory bin because the attention span is so short. I am going back to work on colors. I loved the letter B and fully plan to continue with the alphabet when "B" is older. Honesty, he doesn't need to know that concept quite yet. I think I will focus on shapes and colors. The red basket was a huge hit so I thought I would try green. I tried something new so I hope you like it (I am still on the fence).

The Basket:

The Items:

Shapes: cookie cutters, plastic bendable bracelet, ring, and tubberware lid

Bow & Beads (from last basket), cardboard lacing card, and wooden beads strung onto a pipecleaner

Things that go: metal tractor, hard plastic truck, train, boat, soft plastic garbage truck, and wind-up dino (he loves it)

Trees: Felt and plastic. The palms rotate so that is fun

Blocks: Wood and Plastic

Stuffed frog, teether, plastic horse, Mr. Potato head hat, and binkey

Noise Makers: whistle, ball snapper, snake that rotates, and a pretend level (makes a rattle sound)

Sensory bag: shaving cream and food dye (taped shut) I put green confetti items as a search and find option. Not sure if I like this or not. We will see! Definitely provides a different texture than he is use to.

Playtime:

Wooden beads were his favorite

Exploring the sensory bag

Trying to figure out how the beads got into the level (see brother on his head in the back ;0)

Obviously the train needs to go on the garbage truck

Ball snapper being used as yet another oral toy.