Rice Table, Writing Books, New Chalk, OH MY!

I'm really happy with my decision to NOT have a specific theme this week. I had some new toys and activities to introduce to the kids for the "school" year so I chose to do that throughout the week instead on focusing on a topic.

If you live in SW Florida & ESPECIALLY if you are at home with young toddlers, it is vital to have cool and "new" activities to do indoors when the daily storms come.

I was excited to turn our water table into a rice table, but since I didn't have that much spare rice and I wanted to use old stuff and not waste new food; I went ahead and added old wacky shaped pasta (Christmas Trees & Snowflakes) and old elbow macaroni. I gave the kids all sorts of spoons, spatulas, and ingredients to imagine our way into a  FULL Restaurant. I added things from they play kitchen to really get their imagination running!

the Water Table goes DRY!

These pictures were taken the first morning I did this. Later that day (and still currently) we have moved the table into the house where clean up is easy and moisture wont mess with the pasta! The kids have added using my pots and pans today as well as serving each other. haha. I always like that towards the end of the playtime they add the chairs bc they want to keep playing but are over standing.

Writing Books
I found these $1 write & wipe writing booklets in Target and couldn't resist getting them for the kids. I don't at all expect them to know what they are doing but pre-writing & literacy skills are all about introducing the kids to it.
Id say just in the past 4 months or so the boys have began enjoying siting down to draw or color. Before they would do it for a few minutes, bore quickly and run off. Now they can spend  at least 15-20 minutes easy playing with the different writing and coloring materials I have been incorporating in our day.  Which if you know my son, or if you know toddlers in general is a LONG time to work on an activity.

The girls however have been into crafts and art here at the playhouse since they each started! Possibly because they are girls, but also because they are older. They loved the new writing books. They already get the concept of tracing the lines and they are doing so well! I was majorly impressed!!

New Chalk:

Chalk along with bubbles and water play are everyday activities here at the playhouse. But no matter what we do on a regular basis, if we get a new or better version the kids are always more into it. And it never ceases to amaze me how they always know what is new and what has changed! In my opinion Crayola makes the BEST sidewalk chalk. Its writes really good (dry or wet) There are so many colors & they are are so vibrant!