Список из самых популярных хештегов по теме #EXPLOREPLAYLEARN

• Nature Noisemakers • who loves diy projects? ‍♀️ We’ve got a bin of nature finds collected over some time from our walks that we dig into for various crafts and activities I had some bells left over from our holiday crafts and activities so I decided to turn some of our nature pieces into fun little noisemakers to add to our collection of instruments . . What are some diy projects you’ve been up to lately? Tag @exploreplaylearn - I’d love to see them!

• Colour Sort • it was our first time giving quinoa a chance for our sensory base...never again it gets e v e r y w h e r e ! Honestly we probably will bring it out again eventually...maybe for outdoor play I set up this invitation to colour sort using magnetic chips, wooden tweezers and colour coded jars (that I made using foam sheets and Callum had a great time peeling off towards the end ) Colour sorting has been a really big hit lately at our house and so I try and incorporate it into play as much as I can to keep Callum’s interest at peak Happy Monday, Friends! ☀️

• Jingle Bell Drop • Jingle bell time it’s a swell time to keep your toddler busy so that you could get some Christmas wrapping done (thank you thank you ) Okay so here’s a super fancy, very expensive way to have fun...you’ll need: 1️⃣ paper towel rolls and 2️⃣ masking tape ‍♀️Now don’t be fooled or intimidated by the look of intense engineering and physics skills needed for this intricate activity .....okay I’m done with the lame mom jokes . . . ✂️ This marble run was so easily created, it engaged Callum for HOURS and it lasted a TWO whole days before he tore it off the wall Are you a cardboard tube hoarder like me? Try it now ! I just cut the tubes in half and taped them to the wall. They could be left without cutting (other than a hole on each end for the bells to drop through), but I thought it would be fun for my toddler to be able to actually see the bells in action okay fine, I will admit it took a few attempts in trial-and-error and tube placement modification to make sure the bells stayed on course The bells by the way were a fun and festive alternative to marbles- I am almost positive that the “jingle” of the bells running down the maze was one of the main reasons Callum was engaged for so long Oddly satisfying to watch and hear the bells drop into the container at the bottom . . . Scroll for videos of bells in action two perspectives because I’m artsy like that

• Nature Suncatchers • ☀️ a fun little throwback to last summer when we created these beauties using bits of nature on contact paper, framed in a simple paper plate window- these made for beautiful and natural sun catchers we are patiently waiting for warm spring weather over here! Looking forward to all the spring and summer crafts and activities we’ll be doing soon

• Tooth Brushing • Okay so the mouth I drew is not exactly what sweet dreams are made of but it didn’t alarm Callum in any way so hey- if it works, it works right? So simple- take a drawing of a mouth (I’ve even seen a single large tooth used) and pop under a laminate sheet You could also print out a picture instead if you’re afraid of your mouth looking as creepy as mine I’ve seen templates on Pinterest where I got this idea Colour in some stains and cavities with dry erase markers (I think regular washable markers would work as well) , hand over an old tooth brush and voila! A fine motor activity and teaching tool you can use over and over again! . . . #exploreplaylearn #sensory #earlylearning #invitationtoplay #teachablemoments #toddlerplay #sensorylearning #sensoryplay #learningthroughplay #playmatters #letthemplay #handsonlearning #creativelearning #creativeplay #everydayplayhacks #earlyyears #dailyparenting #momlife #momsofinstagram #momsofig #preschoolteacher #teachermom #toddlerlife #toddlersofig #earlylearning101 #earlychildhoodeducation

• Busy Bin • one of our busy bins for when I need to get dinner started or enjoy my coffee while it’s hot ☕️ This one is a simple one filled with dried lentils and magnetic chips, but it does the job of keeping Callum busy and engaged for some time We love using lentils as a sensory base! What are your favourite sensory materials?

• Trapped PomPoms • Here we go again with the pompoms and tongs! Callum really enjoyed our sticky wall activity (2 posts back) where he exercised fine motor skills using tongs to pick the pompoms off of the sticky surface, so I decided to support his interest and enhance his experience with a slightly more challenging activity I covered the bottom of a deep dish with packaging tape, sticky side up and scattered pompoms over top. I used yarn to create a web over the dish to “trap” the pompoms in and then offered Callum tongs to try and “free” the pompoms He loved being able to use the tongs, which I have to say again that he is just so amazing at It made for a bit of a more challenging task than the open wall as he had to maneuver around the yarn to try and get to the pompoms There would be moments where he’d have the tongs squeezing a pompom but also split over top a section of yarn preventing him from being able to bring up the pompom- so he’d resort to using his free hand to retrieve it instead Still using problem solving skills! We currently still have this activity out for play and I’ve instead substituted the pompoms with plastic magnet letters to again up the challenge

• Sensory Walk • you can totally do this activity right now! Perfect for active little toddlers who are always on the go Callum loves this one! I created this track using various textured items found around the house and painters tape This honestly kept him more engaged than I’d expected. And it miraculously has not been ripped off the floor yet . . . 2️⃣ The second pic is the materials I used for this sensory track: bubble wrap, furry scrap pieces (that I saved from making Callum’s “Jon Snow” Halloween costume last year ), purple felt, plastic straws, popsicle sticks and foil. Oh and an overload of tape because ..well, toddlers Callum seemed to especially love the fur pieces and straws . . Last post is a video of Callum pretending to be a “fug” (frog) This really cracked me up because he caught me off guard when he said “fug” and started hopping around like one...like woahhhh where is my baby? I can’t even remember the last time we talked about frogs ‍♀️ My clever little boy He’s turning 2 in just 9 days by the way ❤️

• DIY Bird Feeder • if you’re a long time follower of our page then you’ll know how much we love making bird feeders for our feathery friends, especially in the spring time to welcome them all back for this one we used a cardboard roll, covered it in a generous amount of peanut butter, and then made sure to press on as much bird seeds as we could we added a piece of string so that it could hang, and some popsicle sticks for the birds to rest on while they eat I popped it into the freezer for a bit while we got ready to go outside so that the peanut butter would harden a little and the seeds would cling on a little better we took it with us to the park and hung it up on a high branch...Callum wasn’t too excited about that, he cried and kept yelling “mine”