Sensory Bowl

Fill a container with beans, rice, corn kernels, beads... whatever you have, or a mixture of these.

Gather little objects/ toys to "bury." Either take a picture or write down what you are hiding.

I hid 10 objects.

(Note: My objects are small, and could be choking hazards. I used them simply because I was sitting next to him the entire time. Luckily, this child does not have a habit of putting things in his mouth. Please use your own judgment on this one.)

Toys out:

Toys buried:

Right away, it became obvious that either my bowl was too full, or we needed a larger one!

I love love love this picture, of his precious little hand reaching for the bowl, with his toddler toes curled up in anticipation. Oh my goodness, I am in love with these kids.

This kiddo, like his brother Dash, goes 90+mph until he crashes.

They are hands-on, rough-and-tumble, loud little boys. Nature Man and the Artist have very different personalities; They are usually calm and pretty quiet, so I rarely had to focus on finding ways to settle them down.

(Nature Man was a rascally, stubborn little 2-year old, but that is different than a non-stop-activity child!)

At any rate, I've put myself "back in school" to find ways of successfully teaching, calming, and helping my two little ones learn. I want them to be active and able to express themselves, but have calming activities available when they need help settling down.

By the way, do you see that puzzle next to him? By numbering the pieces and corresponding spaces, Little Lad was easily able to put together 25+ piece puzzles when he was 2-years old. It worked for my little niece, too.