Themes in Depth: High Holidays Part 1

We've just recently entered the Jewish month of Elul, the final month in the Jewish calendar. This month precedes the month of Tishrei, Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), and the onset of the High Holiday season. I love Elul! Spiritually, it is one of the most special times of year. We are told that the King is in the field--meaning that rather than being hidden away in some lofty palace, G-d, our King, is right here with us, his subjects, close and accessible. It is a time to focus on the special mitzvot of giving extra tzedakah (charity), doing teshuva (apologizing for and correcting past mistakes and working on self-improvement), and tefillah (praying for our needs and desires in the year to come). The High Holiday season is full of meaningful and joyous holidays for Jewish families. It can be a busy time, for sure, but also such a fun and special time together. Including little ones in preparations as well as celebrations can instill a lifelong connection to these beautiful traditions and I am sure that it was activities done at home, school or synagogue as I was growing up during this time of year that fostered my own love of this season.

We're big on countdowns here as we anticipate and prepare for special occasions. Elul comes with its very own countdown in many Jewish homes--the blowing of the shofar each weekday (we do not blow shofar on Shabbos) until Rosh Hashanah. Here's a peek at some of the ways we used play and crafting at home to welcome the month of Elul and the onset of this special season:

In addition to hearing his Tatty blow the shofar, we allow and encourage our son to touch and try it for himself! From prayer books to family heirlooms to a variety of fragile objects used for prayer and holidays, Jewish homes are often filled with things we keep above child level. That said, we try to make time and opportunity for the little hands in our house to learn how to handle things like this with care and respect rather than always keeping them out of reach. In my teaching and parenting experience, children have a natural sense of reverence and awe for "grown-up" materials like this and they learn so much through touching and exploring them. 

We also adapted and laminated a calendar from this wonderful collection of Elul printables to use as we chart how many days this month we hear the shofar being blown. (Incidentally it's also a great reminder for us!)

And because we don't keep my husband's shofar out and about for unsupervised exploration, I did take the opportunity just before Rosh Chodesh Elul to make a cute little shofar craft with my son. We used party blowers found in most party supply sections and covered them with brown construction paper cut to be shaped like a shofar. The staples and tape required a bit of mommy help, but he had a great time using markers and stickers to decorate it--and even more fun exploring how to make some noise!

Themes in Depth: Shabbat Theme & My Five Senses Part I

This is one of my son's favorite Shabbos books. He requests it each week and we have also had a great deal of fun acting out the story as a play activity in our home. He loves to help clean and to use his toy shopping cart and brown paper bag to gather pretend food and challahs for the Shabbos meal. He also loves using his toy Shabbos sets to prepare his own Shabbos table, "light candles," and "make kiddush." We are intended to start each week with its end--Shabbos--in mind. It's a beautiful concept that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle of preparations and chores--yet our youngest household members are often the ones who remind us of the true gift that observing Shabbos is each and every week.

Shabbos is something we observe every week in our house and something my son genuinely looks forward to. In our family, it means the table gets dressed in its most beautiful white tablecloth to sport our Shabbos candles, homemade challahs, kiddush cup and grape juice, and some delicious Shabbos meals prepared by both my husband and myself (sometimes with our son's help). We also dress in our best and enjoy the coziness of intentional, uninterrupted family time together. That may well be the number one reason my son begins asking for Shabbos at the beginning of the week!
This is also a time when we refrain from certain activities that are disallowed on Shabbos, like turning on electronics, using our phones and computers, writing and drawing, cooking and cleaning, driving and working and more. Growing up in a home that did not observe Shabbos in this way, I often felt that it came with a list of "don'ts" that was altogether too long. As an adult, I've come to appreciate quite a few of the items on that list of "don'ts," but I also want to make sure that keeping Shabbos in this way is something my son continues to feel positively about as he grows older and aware of the "outside world" that continues in our temporary absence from it. We make Shabbos a time for having extra special treats and spending time with neighborhood friends and genuinely making sure to really engage with our son and have fun together. I also see that value in him having a part in creating and preparing for the ways we honor Shabbos each week.

In our little homeschool, we are exploring the theme of Shabbos through the lens of our five senses. We are working together on a book incorporating each of the five senses in connection with Shabbos symbols or activities:

• We see the Shabbos candles burning: my son will be painting his own set of wooden candlesticks to use for play. 
• We hear the Shabbos blessings and songs: although we do not use instruments or play music on Shabbos, we sing a lot of fun and beautiful songs together!
• We feel the sticky challah dough: my son will be lending a hand (or two) in shaping some yummy cinnamon raisin challah rolls to freeze and save for the upcoming holidays. We will also be sanding and painting a wooden challah board and decorating a cloth challah cover.
• We taste the delicious Shabbos meal: my son is always eager to take charge of quality control in the kitchen when we are cooking and baking together for Shabbos and making sure everything is delectably up to par.
• We smell the besomim (spices) at Havdalah: we will be decorating and filling a small plastic box for besomim to use at Havdalah.

Since we do not do art projects or cook on Shabbos itself, I wanted to make sure to include some materials and activities my son could use and play with during Shabbos as well as during the week. While we put away electronic and battery operated toys during Shabbos, we also make sure to take out some Shabbos-friendly ones as well to make the day extra special. Here are a couple of new ones I put together at home that he has really enjoyed:

We do have a store-bought plush Shabbos set that my son loves to play with and pretend about setting the table with. I saw this idea done by another Jewish preschool teacher and decided to make my own set of Shabbos photo blocks at home. I used photos found online to print and laminate and hot glued wooden blocks to the back of each. We will be making similar sets for holidays as well. 

This is another adaptation of a printable activity found on the Jewish Homeschool Blog I've previously posted on. I cut out and laminated the pictures as well as the "Shabbat Table" page and added velcro circles to the back of each picture and the table page for a move-able and reusable activity.

Even in weeks that Shabbos is not a theme we are exploring in depth, we have some added family routines to make the day extra special and to help alleviate some of the potential for stress as we cook, clean and prepare:

• TOYS & PLAYTHINGS: I try to keep our "not-Shabbos friendly" toys and materials on our top shelf, leaving extra space for the few battery-operated toys or puzzles that may also need to be moved out of sight over Shabbos. Right before Shabbos, I drape the scarf over the shelf. The idea is if it's out of sight, it's hopefully out of mind!
  
• CREATING A SENSE OF NOVELTY: To counter that, I also keep certain toys and books less visible during the week and am mindful to make them accessible and ready to use over Shabbos. These may be Shabbos themed toys and books or just a puzzle or some blocks we haven't used in a while. I know some families who keep a Shabbos box of just-for-Shabbos toys to use each week and many families before a long holiday will do a toy swap for added excitement. Remember--it doesn't have to be new to be novel!
• ATTITUDE CHECK: My husband and I try very hard to maintain a positive attitude as we get ready and not express frustration or negative feelings about it. That can be hard to do when you are feeling anxious and running out of time! I think my son is my greatest reminder to prepare for Shabbos b'simcha. He genuinely gets joy out of helping to clean and cook! When the going gets tough, we turn up some fun music to help get in the Shabbos spirit.
• ENLISTING HELP: That said, we encourage his help even when it can simultaneously be a hindrance and take more time. Even very little ones can dust and wash a table, help wash veggies and fruits for salads and assist in setting the table.
• "ME DO IT!" We are in the phase of that phrase right now. As much as we can, we like to say "yes," and make it a positive experience. He can't light his own candles now, but he can decorate and have his own candleholders. He wants his own special kiddush cup, so each Friday morning, I give him a plastic disposable cup from the Dollar Tree or party store and he decorates it with stickers to use at the Shabbos table. He wanted to participate in making kiddush the way he sees his Tatty do it, so I made him his own laminated sheet of the Shabbos blessings complete with pictures to help him identify what each is for.
• MAINTAINING ROUTINES Keeping Shabbos and Jewish holidays is an exercise in balancing our need to maintain certain routines for our toddler and allowing for some stretching of the rules to honor the celebratory nature of the day. We try to keep to bed and naptime routines on Shabbos and holidays. Nothing makes for a greater disaster on a long Shabbos day or holiday than a very overtired and unhappy toddler! That said, in the summer when Shabbos begins very late, that means my son is asleep before it even begins. We make him his own little kiddush and Shabbos party to ensure he doesn't feel he has missed out. We also try to make him his own havdalah on Sunday morning, though admittedly this is one we have forgotten repeatedly. On the other end of that, we do allow a bit of lenience when it comes to the start of bedtime or naptimes on occasions when we have guests or are visiting with friends. We are a bit more lenient with the number of tasty treats offered on Shabbos. 

However you honor and celebrate family traditions, know that these are the memories that are forever being etched into your little ones' hearts. One of the greatest ways to foster great memories is through play and time together. Happy playing!

Make it at Home Monday: Counting Apples

We're off to school! As in, down the stairs and into the living room... Yes, we are officially kicking off our Homeschool Preschool adventure tomorrow. We are not glued to a schedule or even a set of goals, but rather taking it a day at a time and continuing to use play and child-led exploration to incorporate Jewish and secular themes into our daily routine. I am very much a planner, but I believe in starting small and expanding rather than backtracking and dealing with feelings of discouragement. For now, I have one small activity specifically planned for most days and then a proverbial bag of goodies we can expand and extend on if we have the time and energy for it.

Whether you teach at home, outside of the home, or just want to incorporate some thematic activities at home to expand on what's happening in your child's classroom or a seasonal event, there is a vast array of educational materials you can access, purchase and make at home to facilitate skill development through play. This is starting to sound complicated and expensive, you are thinking. And you are right--it can be. I've often dreamed of somehow starting a toy lending library in our community, but that particular dream is one I keep on the back burner for now. In the meantime, I make a lot of my own learning and play materials by combining items I have in the house (or can purchase inexpensively from a dollar store or discount store) and free educational materials you can access online from a variety of like-minded bloggers, parents and educators! Additionally, thrift stores are often a great resource for gently used toys, educational materials, books, craft supplies and more.

For this kick-off DIY post, our very first Make it at Home Monday, here's how I made our Counting Apples material:

 I accessed these free printable apple counting cards via  a Jewish Homeschool Blog. This particular blog is one I frequently use for a great deal of wonderful Jewish themed learning materials and ideas for both the classroom and home. Pinterest is another great tool for searching theme related printables and in a pinch, you can create your own using personal photos or images from the internet. I cut and laminated the apple cards, which could be used in a variety of ways on their own (sequencing, counting and saying the number of apples on each card, etc). Nonetheless, I like to combine flashcards with three dimensional objects whenever possible--and as an added bonus, this is no longer just a math material teaching one-to-one correspondence and sequencing skills; it's now a fine-motor activity as well.
I used small tongs from the dollar store party section and some decorative apples I found last September in a craft store. The wooden tray is also one purchased from a craft store and the basket is recycled from a batch of cherry tomatoes. I try to limit any purchases to items I can use in a variety of ways or use again and again. In addition to saving money and on space, repetition of exposure to materials (like tongs for instance) encourages solid development of skills being targeted (in this case, fine motor skills).
The idea of Counting Apples is to use the tongs to pick up the apples corresponding to the number of apples on each card. My toddler has had a lot of success with using the tongs and the size is perfect for his little hands. If that is frustrating for a child, however, I would remove the tongs and have him use his hands directly. You can select a card for the child or have the child select a card and match the number of apples to that on the card. If you don't have toy apples lying around, you could use real ones, cut ones from paper or use red pompoms instead.
As a rule of thumb, I don't "force" my son to use a certain material or to use it for a certain length of time. Many times I just put one on the shelf for him to discover and explore. When he finds it and starts to check out what it is, I might sit and show him how it can be used. At first my son had a lot of fun just using the tongs to pick up and move the apples from place to place and I allowed and encouraged that. I later showed him how he can use them to count and match the number of apples on each card. If a particular toy or material seems to be frustrating a child, I might put it away and try again another day with it. My main goal is for learning to be a positive and child-led experience in our home (as well as when I teach outside of the home). As always, happy playing and learning!

Funday Friday: Tabletop Mural

 Ah, the last Friday before Labor Day. Most schools here begin after the long weekend and we will begin our own homeschool activities as well after squeezing in a quick weekend family trip to celebrate the end of summer. Some days just call for a little low key child-led fun. Fridays tend to be days like that in this and many Jewish homes as we get ready for Shabbat, and when you add packing and preparing for a family trip to that mix, turning on a great children's show or video can seem like the only option to keeping your sanity. It may very well be on our agenda today as well, but first I'm turning to one of my very favorite rainy-day or busy-day fixes: tabletop murals. I first set out this activity early in the summer when an unexpected very rainy day soaked out our plans of visiting the park and pool. Using a roll of white craft paper I keep on hand (this is one of those items on my mommy must-have list), I completely covered our dining room table. I set a different art medium in front of each of the chairs, turned on some music, let my son choose his first seat, have at it and rotate as he felt ready. He had so much fun with this that at dinner time, we set out some placemats on top and kept it up and running for the remainder of the week for him to revisit and add to. I had some fun as well by the end of it and when Friday afternoon rolled around, my husband decided it looked nice enough to cover with a clear vinyl table protector and use as our Shabbos tablecloth! Our son felt so proud that his artwork was decorating the Shabbos table and as a mom who would love to save every little scribble but recognizes the impossibility and impracticality of this, displaying his work in this way for that time felt like a wonderful way to honor the time and effort he spent.
This week rather than setting out specific materials at each spot, I allowed my son to choose a material he wanted to use and bring it to the table to use. Open-ended art activities like this are some of my very favorite. Process art is hugely beneficial for children in developing creativity, confidence and mastery of a variety of skills. What I call "cookie cutter projects," those with a specific goal and purpose, also have their place in my home and classrooms. It is important to develop skills in following directions and there is something quite quaint about a child-created duck that resembles a duck. Still, I feel that the most important art opportunities you can give a young artist--particularly one who may feel reluctant to participate in art projects or insecure in performing them "correctly," is the gift of free art or process art. In these settings, the child is given a specific material or set of materials or even just access to materials he or she can choose. The young artist decides how to use the materials and self-directs the process entirely. I am careful in these settings both as a parent and teacher to limit value-laden observations--even ones of praise, and rather to focus comments on purely objective observation. For example, I might say "I notice you are using the creamy crayons to make long lines" or "I see you're making a lot of brown dots with the dot markers in this area," rather than "what a beautiful picture you're drawing," or "that looks like a flower!" My intention is to validate his experience and process by noticing it rather than applying my own external value to it.
For some alternative extensions to this activity, you might:

• turn on music and play a game of musical artistic chairs! When the music stops, the artist switches spots and begins with a new material or brings the previous material to a new area to continue working
• make your tabletop mural theme related for a holiday or special event by focusing on specific colors, using stickers or gluing on shapes or pictures related to the occasion
• make a special picture in each spot specifically for the family member or guest who will sit there in lieu of place cards
• save your child's finished art to reuse as wrapping paper, book covers, homemade greeting cards, or to cut/tear and reuse in collage

Happy Playing & Creating!

Think Outside the Box Thursday: Making Art Supplies Openly Accessible to Toddlers

If you walk into the very best early childhood classrooms out there, they almost always have an accessible-to-children shelf or area designated to art, drawing and writing materials. I've always had markers, crayons, colored pencils, writing pencils, and a variety of other art supplies at child-height in my classrooms as well as a variety of papers and materials to use them on and with. Why then, in my home, did I keep all of the art supplies I so frequently used with my toddler on a shelf only an adult could reach? That question actually never crossed my mind until I read a blog post (that now for the life of me I cannot find) from a fellow mother who, with 15-month-old twins, decided to keep the crayons where they could reach! It seemed crazy, novel, brilliant even. The author claimed that initially this required a good amount of support from her to remind her little artists where they could color and how to care for their art supplies, but that they learned to handle this special responsibility and now, at the age of 4, had a genuine and creative love of art.
At the time, I was working out of the house and putting the responsibility of helping foster this level of artistic independence in my toddler seemed perhaps like a lot to put on my wonderful babysitter. Nonetheless, I was ready to take the plunge. I took my toddler, who was a few months shy of two at the time, to a discount store and we picked out a plastic pencil case with a lid. We purchased a box of large crayons and a pack of short markers that would be just his. We came home and used some stickers to decorate his art box and I wrote his name on it with permanent marker. I explained to him that these were his special art supplies and he could use them when he wanted to. He needed to keep coloring things at the table and only color on paper. Last of all, I cleared off a shelf at his level and we put his art box along with an old notebook and some coloring books in their new special spot. This venture did indeed require my close proximity and frequent reminders at first. It was not without its snafus, but when they did occur, we reiterated the rules, got a couple of rags together and some homemade diluted castile soap spray cleaner, and wiped up the mistake before continuing to work (or taking a break from coloring if necessary). More and more, I was able to step back, to provide occasional support with a marker cap or a reminder to pick up a fallen crayon. My son gained confidence, self-sufficiency and the opportunities to color and create that nurture so many developmental areas in toddlerhood.

I may not be able to hear you call my name from across the room, but I know the sound of marker on the wall from all the way upstairs--which is exactly where I was when this happened, changing my clothes after work. That book he's holding? It's a decoy for the marker that he hid under his table--the place it was supposed to stay...

Yup, I heard it right. And check out that other marker on the stairs! I didn't see that one over there until just now, nearly 3 months later! I didn't yell or scream...all I had to do was walk down the stairs and he started crying (gotta love toddler guilt). So we walked to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of rags on the way and washed it off together.

And we got back on the proverbial horse. I even let him use my markers--on the paper and at the table. Incidentally, he tried this one again on my very last day of work this past year while the babysitter was with him. Same deal--he helped me wash it off when I got home, only that time, we did close off open access for a few days and offer supervised opportunities to practice using his markers and crayons in their proper space. Art is a work in progress; so is toddlerhood.

Here's a current peek at our art shelf:

 I still do not keep ALL of our arts and crafts materials out and accessible. I do keep a box of markers and crayons that are just his (yes, I admittedly have my own, too). I keep a can stocked with some colored pencils. We have both standard pencils and more toddler-friendly ones available (triangular shape and shorter stature for easier grip and function). When it comes to pre-writing and using writing utensils, there are two main schools of thought. One is that little hands do best with objects designed to be used successfully in them. Generally speaking, writing utensils are wider, sturdier, sometimes triangular in shape to assist with grip and shorter than a standard pen/pencil so that the distance between hand and writing surface is not so substantial. The second school of thought is that if a child is not yet ready to properly hold a standard pencil or marker and use it successfully that he/she is not yet ready to use such a material at all and will be more successful with materials like a crayon. I am an adult who does not properly hold my pencil and I refuse to write only in crayon until I learn. That said, I adhere to both schools of thought and provide opportunities for my son as well as my students to try a variety of coloring and writing instruments. The only time I would withhold one altogether is if it caused genuine frustration to a child or posed a significant safety hazard.
In addition to these common coloring materials, I also keep a set of Do-a-Dot markers accessible and a basket of these ALEX Metallic Creamy Crayons I found on discount at Five & Below (which, incidentally is a great location to find discounted art supplies). I keep a basket of scrap paper, coloring sheets, notebooks and coloring books my son can use as he wishes. Materials could be swapped out and replaced to maintain novelty or opportunity to try new things.

I do keep a large scarf tucked underneath my stash of mommy supplies up top that I can easily drape down to keep supplies out of sight when they are off limits (like over Shabbat or a Jewish holiday or if we are having a lot of company over).

Alternatively if you would like to try to allow for more open access without the potential for coloring on your furniture, walls, or other children, you can use an easel or designated wall space for a pad of paper and use string (not too long as to pose a choking hazard or be able to move far beyond the work space) and tie/duct tape on some markers or crayons to be used in that area.

Happy coloring, writing & creating!

Peanut Butter Playdough

You know those healthy, no-bake, 3-ingredient recipes for little balls of vitamin and nutrient filled goodness your kids are guaranteed to devour you see on Pinterest? Yeah, this isn't one of those. This is your classic 3-not-super-healthy-but-plenty-sweet-and-delicious-ingredients Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe. It's easy to make, fun to play with and fun and easy to eat up! We've had success rolling little balls to dip and roll in toppings of your choice, making no-bake toddler-friendly Peanut Butter Playdough Hamentaschen for Purim and it's a great recipe to whip up on an afternoon at home for playing, snacking and maybe even storing for the next few days if you have any left.

Peanut Butter Playdough 

I use my KitchenAid mixer for quick prep if my son isn't helping in the kitchen

He especially loves rolling little balls!

You will need:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup honey

*This makes a generous amount of dough--I often cut the recipe in half if it's just the two of us playing, but you can also increase the recipe for larger groups

We added some little cookie cutter shapes for added fun

Directions:

I use our stand up mixer to save on time if I'm prepping ahead, but little ones can also join you in the kitchen to pour in ingredients and mix them by hand (both with a spoon and then literally) until a stiff dough is formed. You can enjoy playing, molding, rolling and even using cookie cutters with this one--if it lasts long enough for that. I'd recommend setting out only a small portion of dough to play with--one that won't give a belly ache if completely consumed, and also so that you are not storing and reusing something that has been through and through even the cleanest of toddler fingers. Should you manage to have any left over, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and revisit while your child is napping at your leisure. Happy and tasty playing!

Our Peanut Butter Playdough Hamentaschen made a great toddler-friendly version of the popular Purim treat to eat and share with friends last year!

Some More End of the Summer Play Fun: Rainbow Rice Sensory Play

These are the last dog days of summer. Whether that leaves you feeling wistful or (im)patiently awaiting to hear the familiar rumble of school buses trudging up the street early in the morning--or even a bit of both--let's not reinvent the wheel right now. Whatever this pending change of seasons holds for your family--whether it's school, work, holidays, or just a change in temperature (please let it be SOON), there will be plenty of opportunity for novelty and fresh starts. These are the days, rather, that I choose to revisit old favorites. In our house, we are gearing up for our Mommy & Me Homeschool adventure--something that has plenty of novelty to both me and my son, as I've taught preschool out of the house for the better part of the last decade but not yet taught my own preschooler in the house! But as we excitedly count down the days until we embark on this journey, we're enjoying some low key favorite play activities. Ideally these are activities that require minimal prep or prep that my son can help with and enjoy. Ideally they are activities he can sustain with an age appropriate level of independence as I alternate between playing along, being a spectator and preparing materials for the weeks to come. One such activity we've enjoyed these days is this rainbow rice sensory bin:

 Dry rice makes for a fabulous sensory material. Although many moms and teachers (sometimes myself included) have mixed feelings about food items being used for sensory play as opposed to eating and whether this is wasteful, I feel like dry rice is a material that can be used repeatedly and in a variety of ways even if being served on the dinner table isn't one of them. You can use it as it and add cups and scoops for pouring and exploring. You can add cardboard tubes and other recyclables. You can create a small world using small toys and figurines related to a theme for fabulous story telling and dramatic play. You can turn it into a game of I-Spy using magnetic letters or other small objects. You can have plenty of fun (trust me on this one) even adding nothing at all and just enjoying the sensation of scooping and pouring with your hands (or feet if your little one decides to climb right in).

Dry rice is great fun on its own and requires no additives. However, dying it can be a fun activity in and of itself and make for a very colorful result! We dyed this batch of rice late last winter. You can choose one color or make a variety of colors. The best part--little ones can help and it's pretty mess free! Here's how:

You will need:

• dry white rice, you can decide how much
• ziplock bags
• food coloring
• hand sanitizer

What to do:

• Decide how many colors you will make and designate a portion of rice in one ziplock bag per color
• Add a generous amount of food color (I used about 15-20 drops in each bag--the more color, the brighter the shade, so you can experiment with this to reach your desired effect)
• Add a good squirt of hand sanitzer to the bag--this, believe it or not, helps the color to spread and permanently set in
• Tightly seal the bag and shake, shake, shake to spread the color and coat the rice--this is the part the little ones will especially enjoy. As an added educational bonus, if you are mixing primary colors to create a secondary color, it's a hands-on visual for teaching this process to little ones!
• Pour the dyed rice into a foil pan or shallow dish to dry completely before you play to avoid your hands taking on new colors

Fun extension activities:

• You can use a few drops of a favorite essential oil to add a pleasant aroma to your rice
• You can use this in a lot of ways for sensory play, but it also makes a great craft material for gluing and making collages
• We also used some rainbow rice inside an empty plastic bottle to make a great shaker/sensory bottle. I am partial to the small Gatorade bottles and I always duct tape or hot glue the lid on to prevent unwanted emptying of the contents inside
• You can also dye dried white beans, lentils, popping corn or pasta in the same manner. I've found that larger items require a bit more drying time before being ready for playing.

You can store unused rainbow rice in a ziplock bag or plastic container between play sessions. A drop mat or outdoor work space prevents massive cleanup efforts for the inevitable spills and splashes. Even very little ones can appreciate and help with the task of using a dust brush and pan to help with the sweep up when you're done. Have fun and happy playing!

Here's a peek at our first play sessions with our rainbow rice last spring. I added a variety of small world objects and even a sweet orange scent to relate it to the story of Purim since it was coming up at the time.