The kidlets, they’re going through a dragon and fairy phase. We’re CLEARLY fans of Raya and the Dragon, because it’s honestly just a really good movie…. And fairies, I feel like this goes without saying. Who doesn’t like fairies?
Yall know by now that I refresh my kids sensory boxes at least once a month. I’ve said it before, but I view sensory boxes as low tech tablets. My kids will play and play and play.
This month, I let them pick what the showcase substance was and my daughter selected kinetic sand. I’ve noticed that she loves the task of sorting, so I painted some dried beans as ‘water’ for her fairy land. Painting dried beans is easy breezy. To do this you’ll need:
- 2 c. dried beans (I used pinto)
- 1 Tablespoon acrylic paint
- 1.5 tsp rubbing alcohol
- A sealable ziploc type bag
Mix all ingredients together and once they’re coated, dump the beans out to dry. Once dry to the touch ‘break up’ the beans and ensure that all the beans are dry. Transfer to your sensory container.
I fully anticipate her beans to get mixed in with the sand, which is where her sorting activity will come in. She will be tasked daily with ‘sorting’ the mixed beans from the sand- which so far she has loved.
She’s a dollhouse girl, and I’ve quickly picked up that I can make her dollhouses, or houses for her creatures, from items that are destined for the landfill. You’ll see in these boxes that I sawed a Coffee Mate creamer bottle in half, painted it, and gave it new life in the way of sensory play.
The fairies and dragons came from Amazon and will be reused many times.
For the Dragon box, we used mint scented play dough. We took a plastic cup, cut it to about 1″, and painted it blue to mimic a pond. We’re talking a lot about letters with my 5 year old, so we added a ‘D’ cookie cutter, becaud D = Dragon.
I’ve been trying to figure out a roller for our sensory kits and I had an AHA moment this time. I took some thick Dowel Rods and puff paint and created designs. This allows the kids to create ‘prints’ as they roll. It’s pretty nifty, and also it’s a $.25 endeavor.
So cute, right?
And now, a fun little story- my almost 8 year old has been lukewarm on the sensory bins lately, so I decided I would skip him this month. BIG MISTAKE. His love is back and so we are making him his very own bin. Accidental denial makes the heart grow fonder, I guess.
Such Pretty Faces 