Beads

Why does a 2 year old need spring break? What exactly is she burnt out on, coloring? *sigh* As you can probably guess Bentobaby is enjoying a spring break. While Mama is burnt out city. I'm not one of those moms who can parent 24/7 with out getting burnt out. I think those of you who can are great, not me. I'm going to the movies tomorrow for a much needed break. Plus our family has been under a great deal of continuing stress for the past week. Fun. My nerves are raw and bentobaby is deep into wanting to do everything herself. We encourage this as much as possible, but there are things she simply can't do. Enter fireworks.

ANYWAYS, I needed a new activity to keep her occupied. She's bored with our toys. (i hid a bag in the closet to bring out next week, old toys new again) I had an empty sensory box (used to hold Orbeez) but no idea what I was going to use in the box. Sand is an outside toy at my house, she already has a cotton, dress up, rice, and popcorn box. I did consider dry beans but those are for dinner in a few days. Then I remembered the cheap plastic beads from the dollar store. USE CAUTION when giving your child small objects. Bentobaby doesn't put things in her mouth and i stayed with her the whole time. I gave her a kitchen scoop, scraps of ribbon, an empty cream cheese container, and an empty spice shaker. She spent a good 20 minutes happily scooping and dumping beads while i enjoyed some blessed peace. Ahhhh.

(yes, her hair is being re-done today. She keeps pulling off her sleep cap and not using her satin pillow)

Free sensory play

Today Bentobaby showed me a new sensory idea. I hadn't thought of this! I was pouring cereal on her highchair for her to eat. I like for her to practice her gross motor skills by picking up each piece. We were at the end of the cereal. A bunch of soft cereal dust landed on her tray. I'm thinking 'great! How do I get this off here so she can eat?' While bentobaby is thinking 'fun!' She starts running her fingers through the soft edible dust. She builds little piles, pinches some and sprinkles it over her tray. She's having a great time! Cereal dust is fun and edible, not to mention free. Perfect!

Free sensory activity

If you are lucky enough to live somewhere cold, snow can be a great sensory activity. We get very little snow. When we did, Bentobaby was not pleased with the crunchy white stuff. It took her a while to come around to it. Even so she wanted a scoop to play in the snow, she didn't want to touch it with her glove. The crunch from walking was a problem for her but eventually she became able to handle it. We scooped it, crunched it, threw it, and poked it! She had fun and it didn't cost a penny.

$6 sensory rice toy.

When I knew BentoBaby was going to need at home sensory activities I had to think about how I was going to present them to her. The sensory table was out. And our big ball pit box works great for large, easily cleaned up items. Small items, like rice would be a major pain to clean. I decided to put her smaller items in individual boxes.

Empty herb shaker $0

Measuring toy spoons we already had $0

Snack cup we already had $0

Toy spoon we already had $0

Toy truck we already had $0

Fake spider rings huge pack for $1

Sparkles we already had $0

Rice we already had and we don't like $0 (this is brown rice, with a little dyed green rice mixed in. I like short grain rice)

Plastic box to hold everything $5

Total $6

What if you do not have toy spoons or a toy truck no one is using? Thrift store. I picked up a TON on small toys at the thrift store. A sandwich bag full was .45. But I should tell you, Bentobaby's favorite toy is the shaker. She loves it.

Sand and Water table $60

We had to purchase Bentobaby's sand and water table new. I could not find any used ones. Since 'sensory' tables are far outside of our budget (but man they have some cool ones!) we went for a toy store's version. BentoBaby LOVES her table. She giggles and laughs while playing with it. When we walk past it she yells 'Splash!' trying to pull us over to it. And she can't use the extra features yet. She's too short to play with the toys that attach to the lid. Here is our sand and water table. Some brave souls keep their tables inside, I am not that soul. I did place it on our covered porch so Bentobaby can play even when its raining. The day hubby and I were heading to the store to purchase her table we received a coupon for $10 off a $75 purchase. Since I was planning to buy her a bunch of my favorite on the go fruit snack anyways we used the coupon to get our two koosh balls ($8) for her ball pit for free. Awesome!

Variety ball pit for less then $45

This is Bentobaby's ball pit. The container sells for $14 at Walmart. It is designed to slide under a bed. Since the sides are low my toddler can climb into it and sit to play. When she caught her first glimpse of the ball pit Bentobaby laughed and yelled 'fun!' We purchased a big pack of regular plastic balls, designed for a ball pit. $9. This was my incentive for bentobaby. She loves plain plastic balls. (i used less then 1/4 of the big bag, this could be easily split with another family) At first we didn't have such a variety of balls in the pit, i've slowly added them. Mainly from the dollar store or the dollar section of bigger stores.

She has a soft squishy dog ball (with squeaker) $1, a 3 pack of water bombs $1, a loofa $1, a 3 pack of waffle balls $1, an orange squeezie ball $1, purple spikey ball $3, two Koosh balls $4 each $8 total, 3 pack tacky balls, $1. I gave her a shoe box $0, a halloween bowl $1, and a plastic box $1 for scooping and dumping. $28 in play supplies plus the $14 for the box. $42 total. Am I done adding things? Nope. I could be, Bentobaby loves her ball pit the way it is. But like to challenge her.

Sensory toys on the cheap

My daughter has sensory processing disorder. A relatively mild form of it, thankfully. She does have tactile defensiveness. It took her forever to touch stuffed animals, and she rarely chooses to play with them. She is in a playgroup for kids with special needs. Its wonderful to have access to occupational therapists. However they only devote 15 minutes a week to sensory activities. 15 minutes. That will not do, its not nearly enough time. I had believed the playgroup would devote more time to sensory and was not working (specifically, sensory is everywhere though) on sensory activities with her. Its time for Mom to step up. There are many wonderful products designed for kids with SPD. I may even purchase some of them. Like our sand and water table that is now stationed on the porch. (allowing Bentobaby some playtime even when its raining) My goodness she loves that thing. But she also loves some of my homemade toys. I'm going to share my ideas with you. I'm not an occupational therapist, a teacher, or an expert. I'm just a mom, who wants my sweet daughter to learn and have fun without breaking the bank.