Fall Sensory Box

I put together a fall sensory box for my little guy. I found some cool things from Target for cheap that worked wonderfully! Little acorns, sparkly foam pumpkins, foam leaves (some sparkled and some didn't), a few of the sparkly, fuzzy pom poms, and then I threw in a real pumpkin and one stalk of Indian corn. I hid the corn under the rice except for the part with the dry husks. Just to make him curious. ;-)

Doesn't it look pretty?! Turned out better than I thought it would. :-)

He went for the corn right away. :-D

Digging out the leaves.

Haha Don't think that tastes too good....

Pulling out the foam pumpkins.

What now???

More leaves!

I think the real pumpkin is a hit. :-)

It needs a train, Mommy!! :-D

This has been one of the best sensory boxes for him. I left it out for a few days, and he has been playing with it every day. Several times a day! He added in new things, sorted everything and placed them in individual containers, made his own mini sensory box (!!!), and used the tongs perfectly! I wasn't surprised about the tongs because he has been able to use scissors correctly for about a month, but still... it was exciting! :-)

Whenever I can, I'm going to leave a sensory box out for about a week. I usually just do it for that one day, but now I'm like hmmm. This is a good idea... Since I have a new water table to put the sensory stuff in, I can keep it out longer for him. Well, it's not really "new". I got it at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago for a buck! It's the one I've been wanting since the beginning. :-)

As I've been writing this post my son has been playing with his rice and containers. Too funny. :-D Next time I think I'll use beans.

If you've never tried a sensory box, please do! You'll be surprised at how much your kids will love it. :-)

Bug Small World

I decided to do a bug small world because Josiah loves them. He is a boy after all. haha So on our walk to get the mail (we always take the long scenic route back) we picked up some colorful leaves and a few twigs. Once home we picked some grass and shoveled up a little bit of dirt and voila! A world for our little bugs.  

He was so excited and dove right in.

Kaylee looks like a queen in the background. :-D

Uh-oh it's the scorpion! I love how real the bugs look! 

He had a blast and I just kept it in the house for him to play in for a couple days. He didn't want me to throw it away. :-D But it's easy enough to make another one. :-)

I've been looking for small farm animals to do a farm small world. But all I can find is cowboys and Indians... Sounds fun, doesn't it?!

I hope these small worlds inspires you to make one for your little ones!

Ocean Small World

I decided to make Josiah an ocean sensory box. It was the first time I've ever done a small world, and I can't wait to do more. Josiah loved it! His imagination was going to town. :-)

I used fake moss for the grass. I got it awhile ago during an Easter clearance. :-) I picked up a packet of mixed beans for the rocks and rounded some blue felt for the water. Then I made some trees from the spiky, sparkly pipe cleaners, and I was all set to add in the animals!

He was so excited when I told him I had something for him. He knows what that means! Some kind of sensory or craft thing is about to happen. haha It was the first time he saw the real looking animals. I got a tube of them for two bucks at the PX. I've had my eye on them for awhile and just couldn't resist it anymore. :-D

Investigating it.

He was telling them something... So cute!

The tree that came in the tube has to go, Mom. haha

Why didn't I think of that? The tree looks much better in the water.

One posed pic for Mommy.

My favorite picture. He just looks so happy. :-)

Some of the moss stuck to the felt, but I don't think Josiah will care so I'm going to bring it out again soon. :-)