Ball Drop

I love it when a friend shows me her creative play idea, so I just had to share! Using a box as the base, tape on some toilet rolls and then let a ball drop (or any small object) from the top! This has been taped to a window for support, it probably took less than a few mins to make but can be played with for hours! 

Cloud Dough

Today we made Cloud Dough - which feels amazing! Simply take 4 cups of flour, add 1/2 a cup of baby oil and mix together. You will have a light fluffy mouldable dough for little hands to explore! Tip: take this messy play outside, the flour goes everywhere! 

Silky Sand

Today we covered sand in dishwashing liquid, added a little water and mixed it together with our hands to make a soapy, silky sand. Silky sand has a soft and frothy texture, it has a lovely feel to it that makes you just want to keep touching it! 

I think next time I will add glitter to make it sparkle! 

Baby Massage

Monnie is now 13 months old and I have the privilege of giving her a massage every night after her bath. We started this at around 2 weeks old. I have always made sure I save 5-10 minutes of her bath time to do this. It was hard when she started to roll and crawl (to keep her still) but her snuggly and a musical mobile (found on trade-me) helped her to focus and relax. It was also my persistence and keeping the routine going that eventually saw us through. 

This is my favourite part, seeing her lay on her tummy in complete relaxation. If you haven't given your baby/toddler a massage lately, give it a try. Through repetition and practice it will become a routine you will both find relaxing and enjoy. I hope it's a routine that will last throughout her childhood and beyond! 

Flower Salad

We went for a short walk and picked some colourful flowers to explore. Dad dressed Monnie today and her floral top inspired this activity, I love flowers and want to share this interest with Monnie. 

We talked about the size, shape and colour of each flower (I need to learn names), we smelt the flowers (Monnie tasted as she pleased), we picked off the petals, tipped the flowers out of tray (and then put them back into the containers), played dress up with the flowers (did you know a pohutakawa makes a good brush?) and let the flowers fall from different heights. 

The result was a colourful flower salad! 

Rainy Day Activity Box

Today I was about to throw a box out but after a scavenge around we made this activity box! 

This box has an envelope full of feathers for posting into hole on top, a ribbon is stapled on so little hands can untie the bow, there is bubble wrap for texture and stickers for colour. 

It's a box of fun for a one year old and I'm sure it will evolve over next few days as we keep adding bits and bobs to it! 

Wibble Wobble Jelly Play

I made the different colour jellies (pink, green, yellow, purple) the night before and let them set in silicon cupcake cups, then using a deep oven tray we explored the different textures of the jelly together. We stirred, tipped, picked and mushed the jelly with utensils & our fingers. We sang: 

"Jelly on a plate, jelly on a plate, wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly on a plate."

It was hard not to lick my fingers as I reminded Monnie "this isn't to eat but for play"! 

Colour Water Play

A couple of drops of pink and blue food colouring, a little water, some bubble bath, a paint brush and a bath toy = today's water play!