March Sensory Tub

In March we are "visiting" India and taking in all the beautiful colors and shapes the country has to offer.  Our sensory tub this month is full of rainbow colors and shapes.  I found the pack of 3D shapes here and the flat shapes are meant for overhead projectors back from my teaching days (similar to these).

I was so excited to make this tub but really hadn't thought about what Eva could do with it.  No worries! I gave it to her and she created her own activities.  I forget sometimes that not everything needs a plan- I'm still working on doing more following, less guiding!  Eva used the shapes to make things.  This one is a penguin:

And she experimented with how many toys she could cram into a tiny zipper bag:

She has also used the bin as a place for her dinosaurs to romp (yes, we are still a bit dino-obsessed!) and many a "downtown" has been constructed with the blocks.  Sorting by color and shape are also options but chances are if I suggest them, they will be vetoed.  Three is a very independent age!

Everybody's Irish This Week

This week will be about all things Irish- leprechauns, pots of gold, rainbows and lots of green!  We will be celebrating St. Patrick and our Irish roots through crafts, stories, treats and even some jigs.

Books
Tomie De Paola has written and illustrated some of the great legends of Ireland.  The books are little wordy for the toddler crowd but the illustrations are great and can keep some two year olds absorbed in the story.

(Image source- Barnes and Noble)

Some other fun books celebrating the spirit of the Irish include:

(Image source- Barnes and Noble)

And some books about things that are green:

(Image source- Barnes and Noble)

Let's not forget about rainbows!

(Image source- Barnes and Noble)

Small Motor Activities

Green play dough-  we made a fresh batch of play dough in anticipation of the this week using this recipe. 

Shamrock Transfer- we will be using tweezers to transfer tissue paper shamrocks from one bowl to another

Green Sensory Tub- what treasures will we find buried within a tub filled with split peas?

Large Motor Activities

Dance Party- we will be dancing an Irish jig to some Celtic music that you can download free here

Crafts

Potato Painting- we will be using potatoes to stamp out some neat Irish designs

Coffee Filter Shamrocks- Did you know that if you color on a coffee filter with markers and then spritz it with water you can make a neat watercolor painting?  We will be showing you how this week.

Shamrock Headband- we will be making a festive Irish headband to wear on St. Patrick's Day

Rainbow- using half-circles of construction paper we will be working on sorting items from biggest to smallest to form a beautiful rainbow

Green Collage- we will hunt through old magazines for pictures of green things to create a lovely collage

Cooking

Green Rice Krispy Treats- yum

Rainbow Fruit Salad

On St. Patrick's Day we will have a green menu- what foods can you think of that are green?

Other Activities

Five Green and Speckled Frogs- we will be bringing out the felt board to help us sing this fun song about our little green friends