Get Outside ANYWAY: It's Pouring, It's Raining and We're Not Complaining!

In the three years I have run my outdoor playgroup, I have preached the importance of getting outside ANYWAY. There's no bad weather, the old Scandinavian proverb boasts--there's only inappropriate clothing. And for my own little brood, we are pretty all-weather players. We go out in warm, in cold, in sun, in rain, in wind, dark, you name it, we've played in it (barring dangerously inclement conditions). Puddle jumping is not an activity reserved for "special occasions;" a puddle is already call for a special occasion! Children, like their clothing, can be washed and dried. But when it comes to my outdoor events, I've always cancelled, postponed or relocated indoors for rainy weather because--gasp--what if nobody comes?!

S named this our "Rain Forest"

But yesterday was Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish celebration of the "new year" of the trees. And it was raining. Not even just a little. A lot. No one says, celebrate the trees only if it's sunny! In fact, in the dead of winter here, very rarely is it going to be a "beautiful day in the neighborhood" on Tu B'Shevat. And do you want to know what was happening in Jerusalem yesterday on Tu B'Shevat? SNOW! I had some great activities planned for my playgroup and it would have been very easy to just postpone or cancel--but yesterday I decided to walk my talk. Yesterday I decided the show must go on! And instead of changing the date, I changed the activity and decided that if nobody else came, at least I could stop being afraid of nobody else coming. Spoiler alert: people still came! And we had the whole park to ourselves...well, us and the trees and a lone squirrel.

I have written a slew of articles here on rainy day activities to do indoors, but today I am starting the first in what I hope will be a slew of articles on playing outdoors in the rain. Rain play is so incredibly fun. Instantly, your space is filled with two of children's very favorite loose parts: mud and water! As adults, we can have a lot of rainy day baggage. My best advice on rain play is to travel light, so let's unpack some of those bags today and get you on your way outside ANYWAY.

Fiction: Playing in the rain will make you sick.
Fact: Playing outdoors in the rain or cold will not, in fact make a person sick. Adequate clothing and protection is necessary for comfort. Keeping an eye on younger children who may not be able to communicate if they are cold or uncomfortable as well is important. But children and clothing dry. Healthy habits indoors and outside are the best way to stay healthy. With some planning and preparation, everyone (even you) can be comfortable and have fun--even while you're wet!

New favorite location to read Tap The Magic Tree by Christie Matheson--so great to see older siblings reading to the younger ones and this book is fabulous for that!

Fiction: The children will not like playing in the rain.
Fact: It might be time that I gently hold up a mirror. A mirror to you and a mirror to me. Children often respond to what the adult reflects. What are your feelings about the rain? Now I want you to think of a time you liked the rain. If you are like me and many others, that time was in your youth! If you were berated for jumping in a puddle or getting muddy, your feelings likely changed. If you were around other people who complained about getting wet or rainy days, your feelings likely changed. If you continuously heard and associated rain with "bad weather" or "not a good day to go outside," your feelings likely changed. What if you reflected a different attitude toward rain play? I will honestly say that for me this involved some "faking it till making it" on my part, because like so many others, I have some rainy day baggage. It is true that some children will have hesitance and/or discomfort in rain play for a variety of reasons--physical, sensory, intuited from others, etc.--and with planning, patience, sensitivity and creativity, these can be overcome! (So can yours.)

testing the trajectory of a stick dropped in a puddle

definitely a fan of rain play

Fiction: The parents of the children in my care will not want them to play outside in the rain.
Fact: Some parents may have hesitance and concerns about this. It is important to know your why and to be ready to defend it! For sure, you want to adhere to best practices and also be respectful of the families you work with if you are in a care-giving or teaching role. Engaging parents in preparing for all-weather outdoor play so that the children are set up with everything they need and explaining how your program will work in regard to outdoor play goes a long way in supporting the effort to get outside ANYWAY.

Here are some tips for that planning and preparation, whether it is for your own family or other children in your care:

• Have a dry change of clothes ready in your car, home or classroom. In a classroom, I'd suggest 2 or more. Include yourself here!
• Have dry towels and blankets available in your car, home or classroom.
• Waterproof rain gear can really aid in everyone's comfort. I'd suggest some or all of the following: rain boots/shoes, waterproof pants or suits, raincoats, ponchos, rain hats and/or umbrellas. If you are running a program or working in a school/daycare, it can be helpful to have parents bring/send these in ahead of time to remain on site. In my mobile program, I come with some child sized and adult sized "disposable" rain ponchos just in case. Plastic bags go a long way in a pinch--honestly, some recycled grocery bags over your shoes and a trash bag with a hole cut for a head to go through really will keep someone dry! It's not a fashion contest, folks.
• Areas of "shelter" can be helpful in the rain. Your shelter can be permanent (like a covered deck) or temporary (like a pop up tent or tunnel) or even mobile (like umbrellas or a rain fort!). Trees are great shelter from the elements, so think like an animal, bird or bug, and seek your shelter there!
• Travel light and travel waterproof. If you are mobile like I am or even just headed out to the yard or playground with stuff in tow, for once, plastic is your friend. I use a collapsible wagon to haul my load. For my activities and materials, 2 gallon ziplock bags are great. The activities done outdoors in the rain are also going to be different than usual, as they, too, will need to be waterproof. Paper activities and resources can be laminated. Books or other weather sensitive materials that will be used under covered areas can be stored and carried in plastic bins or bags that seal.

Fiction: There's nothing to do outside in the rain!
Fact: There's a LOT you can do outside in the rain. In fact, if it's your first time exploring rain play, I encourage you not to plan too much. Get to know your environment. Let the children get to know it. This is a whole new world of play and wonder!

For our event yesterday, I wanted to keep the theme tree related. Trees are such amazing sources of shelter in the rain that I decided building and using shelters would be a great take-along. I brought a pop-up tunnel and play tent. I also brought a few dollar store plastic shower curtains, bungee cords and clothes pins. We built a makeshift rain fort using these materials and some very helpful trees. The children helped as well. Older ones liked the designing aspect and connecting materials with bungee cords and clothespins. Younger ones enjoyed handing off supplies as needed. And everyone enjoyed playing, hiding and reading inside!

Y is determined to find everything in our scavenger hunt game...

We also had a fun Parts of a Tree Scavenger Hunt Game I made and brought. To make the game fun and accessible for all ages (pre-readers included) i used photos of leaves, bark, seeds/cones/pods/nuts, twigs and branches, animals and birds who live in/near trees, fruits/berries that grow on trees and roots. I laminated the photos and punched a hole in the corner of each one to store it on a metal ring. The kids ranging in age from 2-tween all had a great time searching for and finding just about everything! We didn't see any fruits or berries at our park and it took a while before S discovered our lone squirrel running for shelter under a tree.

I honestly did not know how my own kids would do in the rain. The boys are almost always game to jump in a puddle, but intentionally going outside and staying outside in the rain is somewhat novel and especially so in the cooler months of the year (although yesterday was quite mild here). I was sure to keep my own attitude and outlook positive. I took it slow and took my time. There was no need to rush and no need to push. And you know what? The only whining was when it was time to leave! (Well, except a few extra whines from Y about sharing the tunnel, wanting help to climb up a bouncy toy on the playground and umbrella frustrations...) And C? She was a pig in mud! Literally at some points!

I'll have more rain play activities for you soon. In the meantime, here's a great resource from The Empowered Educator on encouraging outdoor rain play.  I travel light in the rain, but I definitely still made room for a copy of the free e-book and my laminated poster! Got rain? Get outside ANYWAY! And as always...

An amazing view of roots. Can you spot a stick in Y's favorite letter?

Happy Playing!

Get Outside And...Have a Fairy Tea Party

At the most recent meetup of my nature-based playgroup, we hosted a Fairy Tea Party at a local park and sprayground and it was such a hit that I had to share it here. Traveling with my three kids plus materials means that my activities have to be easily transportable. In an effort to preserve the financial accessibility of nature play and parks to families and children of all ages, I keep my events free of charge, so I also have a steadfast rule to use materials I have on hand. And the Fairy Tea Party has it all: the perfect combination of arts & crafts and water play with a fairy-tale theme. It's the perfect way to spend an afternoon in the sprinkler park or to do in your own backyard.

 When I do make & take projects at playgroup meetups, I like to keep them as open-ended (re: low maintenance and minimal directing on my part) as possible. Some activities do require more instruction or involvement, but with three of my own little ones on hand and a park full of attractions, I need to be able to tend to my group and my kids. I found this setup to be one of my most successful in that a certain little Y was feeling quite needy that day and C really wanted to be held, fed or worn the entire time (in 90 degree temps), and at one point I came back to our shaded picnic area to find a group of kids and adults having a great time making peg doll fairies and magic wands! Dream. Come. True!

I had set materials out on the table, a few "examples," for inspiration and our Little Traveling Nature Library was stocked with some themed reading for young readers some nature based resources for the grown ups.

We tested out Y's magic wand to see if it
could get him to stop whining that
afternoon; it didn't work...but I
think he made up for it in cuteness...

Keeping materials at a minimum and able to be used in a multitude of ways allowed for our art activities to be very open ended and independently implemented. To make your own wooden peg doll fairies and magic wands, you might include:

• wooden clothes pins (the old fashioned type, not the type with the spring)
• wooden dowels (I had very thin, short ones, you can choose any size, but I liked these for little hands)
• foam star stickers (easiest to stick onto each other or even layer)
• curling ribbon
• deconstructed artificial flowers & leaves (we have a lot of dollar tree flowers leftover from other crafts and play activities)
• tacky glue or school glue
• floral tape
• markers
• scissors
• masking tape/marker for labeling names 
• sectioned serving tray for displaying materials*

*These items are helpful if you're running a group or party. Most of the items on this list are available at Dollar Tree stores and the rest can be found inexpensively at Walmart or on Amazon.

In my examples, I used leaves as fairy wings on my peg doll and added details with marker and stickers. It was fun to see how the children and other adults got creative with flowers and stickers, etc. Wands were easily constructed with stickers and ribbons or flowers and floral tape or even combinations thereof.

And while the title of my event indicates that we had tea, I keep my public events on a BYO food/drink basis. Nonetheless, a fabulous tea party occurred in the sprinkler pad with children of all ages both from our group and just visiting the park preparing, pouring and playing with toy dishes from our collection at home. All of our play dishes were purchased secondhand at a thrift shop. These types of things make a great take-along to the pool, sprinkler park or even your bathtub. I cannot stress enough the value in having something little hands can hold (fill and pour from) when it comes to waterplay, particularly for those who may be reluctant to get wet. And I found this to be a versatile add in as well in terms of age-range. Children ranging from several months to 7 years old were having a blast!

So, whether you're planning a summer birthday party, a playdate at the park or even your own backyard, consider a Fairy Tea Party of your own. You might even take along a jug of sun tea or brew some homemade peppermint tea from your herb garden to serve along with it. We'll be back with more summer fun in the days to come.

Until then...

Happy Playing!

Beyond the Book: "Fairy Houses" by Tracy Kane

S is a longtime participant of Story Stretchers here and pairing fun and creative activities with literacy in our home and on the go has truly, I believe, ignited his love for reading. He often makes his own Story Stretcher activities and, of late, has requested that I plan for more of these. One of my very favorite things to do is take our Story Stretchers outside or on the road, and even better if we can do both!

Tracy Kane's first book, Fairy Houses has inspired a tiny world of wonder for children and adults alike. Fairy gardens cropped up around the nation and even internationally, forcing us all to crouch down, become small again and look more closely at the wondrous world around us. It sparked a simultaneous reverence for nature and fantasy. And woven in between these two worlds and beautiful illustrations on each page is the story of Kristen, a little girl on a family vacation, who creates her own tiny world of wonder in the woods.

We love small world and fairy play in our own yard and garden, but we also are fortunate enough to live nearby some great outdoor spaces and places. A visit to our local botanical garden center was the perfect venue for us to get outside and read! Anytime I'm taking a Story Stretcher on the road, I carry it with a grain of salt--knowing that my kids may be interested in the activities or may be more interested in other aspects of our location. Our botanical gardens is a paradise for kids of all ages (and their grownups, too), so I was not entirely sure how the boys would respond. I never take it personally if they have no desire to stop and read or do a take-along activity. It's just as easy to tow it back home as it is to take it with us in the first place. I also keep it short and simple when I bring a Story Stretcher on the go. Here are a few tried a true trips for traveling beyond the book, both literally and figuratively:

• Keep it light: don't pack a ton of materials or activities you may or may not use. Keep in mind you'll be shlepping it around!
• Keep it short: this may not be the time for a long and detailed book and activities.
• Keep it familiar: this is a GREAT time to bring out a book you've already read and know well. A new location can add new life and interest to an old favorite. It's also OK to not read the book at all and just verbally correlate it with the activity.
• Multitask: reading a book when there's a playground nearby may not be your kids' first choice. Reading a book while they're stopped and snacking might very well be right up their alley and spark an interest in an activity to follow. FYI, this is a great tip for home as well.

So, I packed along our book, and some tiny drawstring canvas pouches I DIYed into necklaces for the boys. I stuffed a few of our tiny fairies and gnomes into each pouch and when we got to the gardens, I pulled them out of my backpack. The boys were thrilled! Right away, each of them got very busy holding one fairy, wearing the other two in their pouches and showing them around as we walked toward the children's garden.

And while I did not give a whole lot of verbal direction or input, I did play along with them as they explored the spaces around them. Some of the time they enjoyed exploring from their own size perspective (as you can see with Y who is pleased whenever there is a broom in every room). And some of the time, they crouched down low to explore and create worlds from a smaller size perspective, that of their fairies and gnomes.

It is from this crouched position that a worm is found on the sidewalk and then a shadow is discovered. It is from this perspective that the outdoors that is so often a means to get to a destination becomes a destination. S and Y are not the fastest pair to travel with in these instances because the notice so much and stop so often. I calculate time for that in our trips when I can; these are qualities I want to nurture and not discourage. There are times we do need to get from A to B before noon and in those instances, I ask for "all hands on deck" to get the boys to join me in pushing C's stroller. However, on days we can manage to stop and smell the roses or look for worms or pick up rocks and sticks of all shapes and sizes, I am just as pleased as they are. It slows me down as well, and goodness knows I need that.

And as I stand, stopped in the amazement that these kids who can't see to pick up the toy they dropped right in front of their two little feet can somehow find a dragonfly on the sidewalk with his wings folded together, I am brought back to my own little world of slow and steady observation. I, too, can find a tiny weed poking through the crack in the sidewalk or a bumblebee basking in the pollen of a purple coneflower. And I am grateful to Tracy Kane for weaving a little bit of magic into the pages of her books so that children and adults alike could have their own sense of wonder in nature sparked again or even for the very first time.

As we stopped to snack and read, so did the fairies and gnomes. S found a large chunk of wood that looked like a perfect slide to him and his fairies. Y contributed a couple of tree circle tables and some bark chips for snacking. I found a loose weed on the ground that fit just inside a small hole on the second table and made for a lovely picnic umbrella. And when it was time to get up and play and walk some more, the fairies and gnomes returned to their pouches and the journey continued. But S stopped by a fountain to stop and look some more. "Mommy, a frog!" he shouted and I thought he was looking toward the other fountain nearby, one that has four sculptures of frogs spitting water into the pond. S has even remarked that this is not very nice of the frogs because spitting is a "not good choice," but on this day, he was not talking about those frogs, he was talking about this one:

Somehow, he managed to peek inside of one of many plants like this one, surrounded by dozens of other plants and flowers and people and fountains and excitement of all kinds. Somehow, he stopped and looked in just the right place to see this little green tree frog, crouched deep at the base of a leaf in exactly the same color as his skin, staring just as observantly back up at us from his own little world of wonder. And I wonder, if it were not for the whimsy and magic and possibility of fairies just maybe coming around when we are gone, would we have overlooked our little amphibious friend?

Happy Playing!

Get Outside And...Roll! With Ramps, Tunnels & Balls

Scrap wood meets cardboard tubes meets ping pong balls in this fun and simple to set up outdoor activity and it's truly a match made in heaven (or at least a match made in the recycling bin)! Building and constructing larger scale marble runs outdoors is a great way to encourage STEM related skills in kids (and adults) of all ages using simple to attain and inexpensive loose parts.

We used a collection of recycled hard cardboard tubes a friend gifted us, some scraps of wood and broken down boxes and a basket of ping pong balls from inside. I told the boys they could also use whatever they wanted from outside and they both got busy right away.

Quite quickly, S discovered that our sidewalk is on a downward slope to the parking lot. He skillfully found things to use (with a little help with heavier lifting) to blockade the sidewalk...

Y loved throwing and rolling the balls down and even built some smaller scale ball runs. S worked on a larger scale, including a maze like setup that almost turned our walkway into a pinball machine!

The photos truly don't do justice to this activity, although I did get some video footage. It was so beloved by both boys that S spent most of the morning outside even while Y took a nap building, launching and building some more. They both had fun doing this again inside later on and with such a simple to set up activity at our fingertips, it's likely one we will repeat again and expand upon.

What else might you include? Water? Other materials? Different surfaces? The options are as vast as the imagination and as much as it's tempting to quickly join in and demonstrate, I learned a lot by watching what the kids were doing!

So this spring and summer, grab your recyclables and some ping pong balls and get ready to roll!

We'll be back soon and until then...

Happy Playing!

Get Outside And...Paint & Wash The Fence!

The dust is slowly settling here as a family of 5 now and we've even started up our garden plus some great additions to our outdoor space to get everyone busy playing and learning outside this season. And while I haven't quite gotten back to new activities outside yet, here's a peek back at a great one we did a while back!

When this white fencing was put up in our shared grassy area out back, I was perplexed. It created a semi-private space in our yard and our neighbor's. It didn't completely block off our own yard or even any part of the big field. But more important than the function and aesthetics to me was what we could do with it... And the bell went off in my head over one Shabbos! While other mothers nest toward the end of pregnancy, I head to the hardware store. On this occasion, I picked up some large utility buckets, some squeegees and some big sponges from the automotive department. Meanwhile, at home I grabbed some paint trays and brushes and filled them up with washable tempera paints. I filled the bucket with soapy water (dish detergent is great).

And we all got busy painting the world red...and orange, and yellow, green, blue and purple... Even my more reluctant painter, S, was enthralled with the novelty of this unique vertical surface! But the fun wasn't over after painting alone--next it was time to wash the fence clean again--and this proved to be just as much fun, if not more fun than painting it in the first place.

I was asked if this activity is one that might confuse children and encourage graffiti. To touch on that topic, I did actually discuss this with my boys when we began--that the artwork we did in this space was to be temporary and only done with permission/supervision from myself or my husband. We talked about the fence being shared property that belongs to the apartment complex and only using the space in our yard. I don't feel giving children a space like this to work with is any differently than teaching them to use an easel indoors and not the walls or drawing with sidewalk chalk in designated areas outside, etc. However, you must also know the personalities of the children you're working with and decide accordingly. Alternatively if this feels uncomfortable you could use plexi-glass outdoors for a vertical work space that is also washable.

I will say that I think the fence came out cleaner when we were done than it was when it was put up in the first place! This is definitely an activity we will be repeating and modifying throughout the months to come. Stay tuned and until then...

Happy Playing!

Get Outside And Play with Loose Parts: The Pesach Edition!

Pesach is ever so near and it is a holiday laden with opportunities for play and learning for children. S has been busy crafting, learning, storytelling, reading, building, tasting and singing at school. Y has been working on his own Hagadah with me at home. Their free play at home has been infused with Pesach themes and one afternoon last week, I decided to roll with that in an "out-of-the-box" and outdoors way--playing about Pesach with loose parts.

There are plenty of loose parts purists out there--folks who use only the strictest adherence to loose parts play theory in their classrooms and homes. These spaces can be amazing for children and adults of all ages. I am more eclectic here. I like to add it in, like a nutritional supplement, as opposed to rigidly adhering (like a restrictive diet). One challenge I often have with loose parts play indoors is the restriction of space. We make it work and have done some amazing play and exploration with a variety of different loose parts. Heading outside allows us a bit more space (particularly in our backyard space, even though, like our front yard it is semi-public and shared with neighbors) and a novel backdrop. One in which the environment itself can serve as a loose part (or multiple loose parts).
In setting up our provocation, I wanted to include the Pesach story and elements for retelling it. I also wanted to incorporate items large and small, natural and man-made, living and nonliving, some even musical! There was a basket with a baby Moshe and a picture book with the Pesach story. There was a basket full of play silks and scarves. Perhaps the boys would dress up or add them to the scene. Silks laid across the ground to resemble the river were lined with rocks (and a basket of those were set along the side as well) and plants. There was a tray of frogs and glass gems (gotta throw in your favorite plague), and a small dish of glass gems and mosaic tiles and interesting stones as well. Another metal tray held our fearless leader, Moshe Rabeinu, and a selection of wooden peg dolls representing the Jewish people behind him on their journey out of Mitzrayim. The end of the Nile was marked with a basket of tambourines played by Miriam and the Jewish women and along the sides were some baskets of cardboard tubes and assorted window blocks. Beyond that were the items already out in our backyard space.
I gave very little introduction other than to say there were toys and materials for playing about the story of Pesach. The boys could use what they wished as they felt they wanted to. They could act out the story, play about it, build about it or come up with their own ideas.

Many times, when something is new, it is met with a bit of trepidation. Some children will flock toward the familiar. Some will dip their pinky toe in and then slowly enter. Others jump in, full body and immerse. Still others will go to another space or activity altogether and enter only when ready. This is why I always remind myself and others of the most important "loose part," TIME. Children need time to engage, immerse and remain in creative play. We tend to pour a lot of energy and time ourselves into provocations or activity setups and then we can feel frustrated or concerned when they are not met with a response we expected. One thing I have almost always found to be true is that given the space of time and silence, children do engage and explore--each in their own way and at their own pace.

Y went immediately to the baby Moshe in the basket. He loves babies right now and this felt familiar and soothing.

S gave everything the once over and walked away to the sensory bin, still filled with desert sand dough from our Digging in the Desert STEM challenge. A repeated activity has the component of familiarity that is comforting to him and served as a base for later emerging into the play scene across the yard... Sand, dough and sensory materials are a wonderful loose part to use in play! He also enjoys using other loose parts and tools in the sensory table, taking them out into other play areas and adding in others from other play areas as well. 

Both boys slowly moved into their play experience and I really invited myself to sit back and observe. At one point, I asked S and Y if they would like me to read the story in the book while they played. S's response was incredible! "Mommy, I'm worried that if you are reading it will stop us from playing!" I love that he advocated for ownership in his play space and experience. I completely respected his response and continued to watch as they played, responding to questions or remarks as I was invited to.

Play begets play and sometimes there are requests for additional components to support the process, like when S asked if I could build the tee-pee for them again. We stopped into the house to grab our old sheet and I re-planted the garden stakes and fastened on the sheet for the boys. He busily took to building a bonfire again using silks and stones and then needed to go to the front yard to pick a couple of sticks from our play garden. That, of course, meant he'd need some playdough from our STEAM drawer cart inside to make them marshmallows for roasting. Perhaps the part about roasting marshmallows over a bonfire during the original exodus from Egypt didn't make the story line in our liturgy, but it did in play!

 Large riding toys, push toys and other outdoor materials make for great loose parts as well. Here, S lay himself in our big red wagon and declared that he was "baby Moshe in his basket."

It took the boys a while to fully engage in our provocation and they were completely immersed for quite a while as well. Long enough for Tatty to get home and make the grown-ups some dinner which we happily ate up outside watching the boys in wonder and play.


Once two, somewhat reluctant but very tired boys were hauled up for a bath and bedtime, I decided to set up a smaller scale Pesach provocation on our kids' table. This would greet them in the morning and kept them busy throughout the weekend that followed. While they start at the table, the pieces rarely remain there. Some are incorporated into block buildings. Some find their way to other areas or other uses and part of encouraging the boys to engage in this type of play is allowing for that (and working on skills to return objects appropriately when we are done). One of the best components of encouraging loose parts play before a big holiday is the fact that it is so independently led and run by the children. We can get a lot done while they are engaged in their play. There's still a lot to do to prepare for the holiday but for now, everyone is keeping pleasantly busy (most of the time) and, as always, happily playing!

Mad Science Monday, Pesach Edition: Digging in the Desert STEM Challenge

 The days preceding Pesach are a time of cleaning out cupboards, kitchens, refrigerators and freezers in many Jewish homes around the world. My boys have eaten more cereal and french fries in the past week than they have over the course of the entire year! They are quite pleased with this. I have such a pet peeve for food waste and it is painful to just "throw things out" that we won't use. I did, admittedly, throw out the boys' snow balls that I rediscovered in the back of the freezer from January! And while many are hesitant toward using food products in play for a variety of personal, cultural and/or allergy reasons, I think there are times when a shot at life in a sensory table is better than a shot across the room into the trash barrel. So the good news? We used up the flour and the bottle of baby oil that had been in our medicine cabinet since Y was born so I could get the sticky goo off my skin from the bandage over my c-Section wound! And, we made our own sand dough. 
I would admonish that this is a messy activity more suited for outdoor use (which is what we did) or indoor use when you are not trying to clean your homes of chametz before Pesach. The recipe for sand dough is incredibly simple:

Ingredients:
8 cups all purpose flour
1 cup baby oil

I will say that I did not measure my ingredients at all even given the ratio of the original recipe. I honestly just dumped 2 opened bags of flour into our sensory table bin and subsequently emptied the remaining contents of the bottle of baby oil we had. On its own, the dough was a bit crumbly and powdery but when squeezed between the hands or molded into ice cube trays, cups and even mega blocks, it held together to make shapes and bricks that the boys could use to build.

It is perfect for sand castles, igloos and even pyramids. Why, oh why, do we still teach our children that the Jewish people enslaved in Egypt were forced to build the pyramids?! Oh gosh, I don't know. Historical timelines show this to be impossible and the liturgy itself states that the Jewish people were building warehouses for Pharoah, not pyramids. Nonetheless, pyramid building brings forth a fascinating geometrical and engineering challenge for little ones and so we continue...

S and Y were so excited to get outside and dig in our desert! They have grown accustomed to a new routine of waking up from afternoon rest time, eating a quick dinner and bolting out the front or back door. They both ran right over to the sensory table and began to dig, fill, shape and mold the dough. I set up the bin quite simply at first, with just a couple of shovels, ice cube trays, some mega blocks and a little fisher price construction worker. We have added some less played with toys from indoors into our backyard setup so that they can take on new life and function while I try to function at keeping our garden alive this season. The boys LOVE using mega blocks, construction trucks, dinosaurs and little people outside now! And they had just as much fun using them in our sand dough table as well.

I overheard S singing a popular Pesach children's song as he played:
Dig, dig, dig, dig your shovel deep
Dig, dig, dig, there's no time for sleep
For it's work, work, work,
Every day and every night
For it's work, work, work
When it's dark and when it's light.

He added that he was very "happy to be working." And then he took to calling me Pharoah instead of Mommy. I'm taking this as an overall compliment, I think...

This was such a fun activity that since the weather was predicted to remain dry, I decided to cover our sensory bin with a trash bag overnight and leave it for the boys to play with again.

Getting outside is such a natural way to incorporate science into your play and learning routine. STEM challenges, sensory play and nature exploration in and of itself all promote skills in engineering, observation, experimentation and critical thinking. The boys? Well, they mostly think they're playing and they are having a great time! So whether you are looking to empty those last bags of flour (and I'm banking that you could probably also use another type of oil) or whether you will save this one in the vault for after Pesach and build a backyard beach and sand castle, homemade sand dough is an easy and cost effective way to build, learn and play before Pesach and all year round!

Happy Working Playing!

Get Outside And...Build a Fort!

I think just about everyone I know has a childhood memory of some sort of secret outdoor hideout or fort. Whether it was an actual playhouse, tree house, cardboard box, hollowed out willow tree, climbing tree, cardboard box, tent or tee-pee, there was something particularly magical and special about having a special space to play in, read in or hide out in outdoors. And in an effort to make sure my own kids are no exception to the rule that everyone I know has a childhood memory of some sort of secret outdoor hideout or fort, I decided to help facilitate their first exposure to this longtime beloved activity.

The outdoors is HUGE. A small space, a special space, a secret even a sacred space is a childhood must! In these spaces, little ones can be big. Magic can happen. Play can expand to new heights even as you are crouched down low to fit beneath a low hanging rooftop. What is it about little children seeking little spaces? I believe that they are drawn to the wonder of feeling big in them. And seeing young children at play in settings like this is such a good reminder that while fresh air and open space are so important for exercise, large spaces are not a necessity all of the time. Plenty of incredible things can happen (and developmental goals can be met) in spaces that are quite tiny.

There are some amazing structures on the market these days. We've seen beautiful playgrounds with quaint little tree houses, hobbit houses, child sized cottages and even pergolas or gazebos. But to build our own backyard fort, one we would keep a temporary structure given our space and setting, all I needed was three plastic plant stakes from the hardware store, some rubber bands, an old sheet and some clothespins. While the boys were napping in the afternoon, I set up shop in the back. I finagled the supplies into a tee-pee and decided to add in our basket of playsilks, some extra clothespins, a small basket of our favorite Spring themed books, some sticks and some rocks and stones.

S and Y both saw the tee-pee from their bedroom window when they woke up from their naps and were eager to get and play! We had a quick bite to eat and headed out back! And then, I was quite surprised that S looked at the tee-pee, but then played with the mega blocks and trucks. Y walked around the back and lifted one side of the sheet, playing peek-a-boo underneath and then took to playing inside of our parked red wagon. What was going on here? Then I realized neither of them had ever seen a tee-pee and they didn't know they could go inside!

Once I showed them they could go inside and sit or build or play or imagine, a whole scene emerged. They needed to build a bonfire to roast marshmallows. What could they use as marshmallows? S had an idea! We could use playdough! He went inside and brought out our leftover bag of peppermint playdough. He rolled himself a marshmallow and stuck it upon one end of a pussy willow branch rubbed clean of its fuzzy little blossoms. Y was very jealous. S rolled him an even bigger peppermint playdough marshmallow and stuck it on the end of an even bigger stick (all the while having me heavily guard the one he'd made for himself from his very eager little brother).

Then it was time to build the fire, but it wasn't quite hot enough yet to cook the marshmallows, S explained. They needed some help. Help from dinosaurs and little Fisher Price people and construction trucks to haul over some stones. They needed to add more scarves to the fire to "make it hotter." And then it was finally time to roast their marshmallows!

And just as they got to roasting, I heard the loud whir of lawn mowers. Oh dear, they were coming to mow our lawn! Never have you seen a crew of backyardloving marshmallow roasting tee-pee dwelling nature babies clean up so quickly and cooperatively and hurry inside! We dismantled and gathered things back to their spots and into baskets as fast as we could and went inside. It was a bummer, for sure, but easy enough to rebuild and revisit another day. Who knows what adventures will happen in the Brothers' Top Secret Hideout the next time? And, the lawnmowers were a blessing in disguise as well. Besides for trimming our grass forest back into a sizable lawn, they preempted a massive storm of thunder, a few inches of torrential rains and even hail. We had certainly been spared a soggy surprise!

So grab what you have on hand, maybe some old sheets and lawn furniture, maybe a few plant stakes or some upcycled trellises. Maybe a large cardboard box or a few medium sized ones. Get outside and build your own fort. You don't need an enormous amount of materials and space to build enormously magical childhood memories. We can't wait to build our next outdoor fort, but until then....

Happy Playing!