The best $16.00 I ever spent

R is also for RICE!

So just what can you do with 50 pounds of rice?

Here’s what I did:

I bagged 10 pounds in Ziplock bags to use in our family’s food supply, and then I put the other 40 pounds (40 pounds is A LOT of rice!) in a shallow under-the-bed storage box.  This has kept my kids busy for three weeks.

It has also kept me busy, sweeping and vacuuming rice out of every nook and cranny in our house.

But it’s so worth it!

The first week it was not unusual to see all six of my kids around the rice box, all playing nicely.

The older kids have moved on, but my Littles are still playing with it.

Every.  Single.  Day.

We threw in everything but the kitchen sink – cups for pouring, spoons for spooning, tongs for transferring, army men, cars, marbles, mini loaf pans, funnels, lego people, ladles and play animals.  The kids played a cute game of hide and seek where one buried their little miniature  animals and the other would dig until they found them all.

I’m wondering how long before bugs appear, but for now I just put the lid on top of it when we’re finished for the day (in other words after I’ve swept for the third or fourth time and am tired of having rice stick to the bottom of my feet).

What’s the best $16.00 you ever spent?

 

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D is For Dog – Pinned It, Did It

I just love it when I find the perfect activity to go along with a book we already own.  That was the case with this activity I found on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/234961305529445433/) to go along with Harry, the Dirty Dog.

First, the DIRT, the DOG, and the DINOSAUR . . .

…plus water = DIRTY, muddy fun.

Wash, wash, wash, and DRY, DRY, DRY.

And now for the real fun!  Forget the plastic animals, just give me a stick!

Coffee Anyone – Delicious Sensory Bin for the Letter C

Honestly, I don’t know if I made this bin more for Noah or myself.  This is my second attempt at a sensory bin, and it was a smashing success (as my Middles are busy cruching coffee beans with my kitchen mallet).   I’ve noticed how popular the scented sensory bins are becomming, and what better scent than coffee beans?  All of the contents are based on the letter C.   If you haven’t caught on by now, the filler for this is coffee beans.  Fortunately I had some ancient coffee beans in my freezer that served as the base, and I just added in one pound of cheap beans for the fresh aroma.

Here are PECs to go with each of the objects; you can pick and choose which ones you want to use and add some of your own.  (Click for a printable version.)

Need some ideas for using the PECs with the bin?  The first thing you need to do is laminate and cut apart the cards.  Here are some ideas for the next step.

1. Create a PEC board with the objects that you have in your bin.  Have your child take out one object at a time from the bin and place it on the matching card.
2. Remove all objects from the bin other than the coffee beans.  Place the objects in a small box between yourself and your child.  Bury the PECs in the bin.  Have your child “find” one PEC at a time and exchange it for the matching object.
3. Bury objects in bin.  Turn over all the PECS and lay them in front of your child.  Have your child turn over one PEC at a time and then find and remove the matching object in the bin.