As a stay-at-home mom I find myself constantly looking for activities to make the most of my time at home with my son, Howard. When you’re a new parent it is sometimes difficult to find fun, educational activities for your little one and know how to appropriately play with them.
Howard has bilateral hearing loss so my husband and I have been fortunate enough to have services such as Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and speech therapy to serve as a guide for us to help Howard overcome possible learning obstacles that he might face due to his hearing loss. Every week they emphasize the importance of the “parents as teachers” concept, as the foundation of learning is set long before most kids start grade school. This concept and the fear of Howard struggling academically inspired me to become proactive and go the extra mile to work with him, to fill our time with activities, to play with him, one-on-one. Had it not been for his hearing loss and the services we continue to receive I might not have had that extra thirst to find these fun activities and would not have them handed to me on a weekly basis. Luckily, we live in the time of Pinterest and amazing mom blogs like Austin Mom’s Blog & TeachingMama.org (which has excellent ideas for at home preschool, btw!!) that serve as creative guides for those of us that might not be as creative or do not receive special needs services. There is an abundance of resources; we just have to do a little looking.
Well, look no further because today I’m excited to share with you one of Howard’s favorite discovery box themes. We call it our “Swamp Box,” a discovery box full of sensory stimulating things that one might find in a swamp.
Here is what you will need:
1) Clear plastic tub (found at Hobby Lobby/ Wal-Mart/Target or even the Dollar Tree)
2) 1-2 box(es) of green Jell-O
3) Plastic frogs, lily pads, alligators boats, etc. (Hobby Lobby had a tube full of reptiles and lily pads)
4) Plastic cups (some with holes poked through the bottom and some without) Solo cups are great!
5) One large plastic mat to protect your floor from mess.
6) Children’s Tweezers – I found them at Lakeshore Learning Center. You could supplement with cooking tongs if needed.
Preparing your Swamp Box!
Step One:
Prepare green Jell-O a.k.a. swamp sludge! Find a nice open spot, place your plastic tarp or mat on the floor and set your box on top. Pour Jell-O into discovery box. Add water until you reach your desired consistency. I use 3 cups just to loosen the Jell-O up a bit and make it soupy and swamp-like. Depending on the size of your box you might want more or less. Add your swamp creatures to box and set cups close by.
Step Two:
Play!! Talk about how the Jell-O feels, what animals live in the swamp, where swamps are located in United States or anywhere in the world. Use the children’s tongs to pick up things out of the swamp (developing the muscles in the fingers used for writing). Count the frogs and the lily pads. You can even taste the Jell-O! Use the cups to scoop up water and pour into another cup.
Sensory play is so very important in childhood development. When engaged in sensory play children use all of their senses. They are discovering the feel of new and familiar textures, hearing the sound of water dumping from their cups and splashing into the bin. Not only that, it’s an excellent way for us as parents to play and interact with our children …teach them new vocabulary, basic mathematics, even touch a little on science. Besides, what kid doesn’t love mom, dad or their caregiver being on the floor playing with them? There is so much good that comes from sensory play and it’s always a smashing hit in our home.
Try this one and change it up every week. Make it your own and ENJOY!
