Super Easy Valentine Heart Sensory Table Invitation: Dollar Tree Materials

 

Valentine's Day is almost here!  Add these easy Dollar Tree Materials to your sensory table for an open-ended play invitation.

Materials: 

Pink table scatter hearts

Red table scatter hearts

Foam conversation heart stickers

Red felt hearts

Pink felt hearts

Plastic tongs

Cardboard heart box

I also included the lid from a popcorn tin and 2 heart cake pans.

Sensory table invitations are so easy!  

All you do is present the materials and see what children do with them!

Brickston was very interested in counting out the hearts and making arrays.  He also sorted by color.  

Go here to see the video!

How Much Time Should You Devote to Playing with your Children?

 

I have been asked this question several times, so I thought I would make a video about it!  You can watch it by going to this link or watching below.  

We all know that I am an advocate for play!

But that also does not mean that you have to be the sole entertainer for your child.  When I visited the preschool classrooms in Reggio Emilia, I was a little shocked at how little the teachers played WITH the children.  The children were definitely engaged in very sophisticated play.  But they were engaged in play with other children. That is what we want, right?  Social skills is one of the greatest benefits of preschool and play.  The teachers in that setting were acting as the facilitators.  

Did children need items or materials for their play?  The teachers were there to make it happen.  

It is okay for children to be bored. 

Boredom creates the necessity for creativity.  Boredom is a good thing.  Often children ask us, as parents, to play with them because they are bored.  We can help children create a list of things they like to play.  The next time they come to us and say they are bored, we can have them choose something from their list. 

Play with other children is more important than play with an adult.

I know in our world right now, playdates are not happening as frequently.  You may not have access to preschool, either.  But if you are able to arrange for play with similar aged peers, do it!  Playing with other children gives your child the opportunity to practice important social emotional skills.  When you are playing Barbies with your child, you may not insist that YOU get to be the mom or you are "not playing anymore." The friend next door may do this.  And it presents a wonderful opportunity for children to problem solve and fix social conflicts on their own.  

You can't quit cold turkey.

If you have been devoting entire days to playing Calico Critters with your child, you won't be able to stop overnight.  Instead the next time you play, find ways to exit and re-enter the play episode.  
Start with small increments at first.  Just take 2 minutes away, and then check back in.  Over time you can increase the time you step out of play.

Exiting during car play:

Take a car and tell the child "I have to drive to the next town to pick up some materials.  I'll be back in a few minutes."

You can even set a timer for the child if they are anxious about you leaving.  When the timer goes off, drive your car back over to check in.

If the child is having trouble sustaining play, give them an item to EXTEND the play episode.  Give the child a toilet paper roll and ask them what they could use it for.  The child may decide to use it as a tunnel.  They may pretend it is a tree.  The options are endless, but let them do the thinking. 

Journal it!

At first it may seem like you are not making any progress getting your child to play with peers or play independently.  Stay the course!  I encourage you to jot down some notes about how your child is doing.  I think over time you will begin to see the progress!

Among Us in Real Life

 Do your children play Among Us? 

Be honest, did you even know what the game is? I didn't for the longest time.  It is an game app that seems to be all the rage right now.  My middle schooler is playing it, but so is my kindergartener.  The premise is to prepare your spaceship to launch by completing tasks.  But among the crew is an imposter who goes around killing the crewmates.  I know it sounds dark.  It reminds me of that winking game we used to play at slumber parties.  Remember you all sat in a circle, if you got winked at...you fell backwards.

Well, all of that to say my children created their very own Among Us game to play in real life.  The cool kids call this IRL.  

I honestly have no idea on the REAL Among Us rules, but this is how my children had us play.  It was so much fun.  Encourage your kids to put down the device and play IRL with you.

What you need: 

-Slip of paper for each player. All the slips should say 'crewmate' except one.  The one should say imposter.

-List of tasks that each person must complete

-Tasks set up around the house

The kids set up random things like: Pick up all the trash, push in all the chairs, memory matching game, etc.

-Flashlight (this is optional, but added to fun to play in the dark).

How to play: 

1. Give everyone a list of which number of tasks they must complete.

2. Have everyone draw a slip of paper.  No one can tell who the imposter is.  

3. Begin completing the tasks around the house.

4. The imposter slowly and quietly taps crewmates.  The crewmate who is tapped has to lay down where they are tapped. 

5. When crewmates suspect the imposter, they can say "I call a meeting!" and everyone meets up in the kitchen.  The crewmate states the case and everyone votes.  If they are right, and vote for the imposter...the game is over!

6. OR the game is over when the imposter gets everyone.