Moon Sand Discovery

We've been wanting to make Moon Sand for a while and we finally did.  Making Moon Sand is a great way to rediscover your play sand.

To create Moon Sand you'll need:

6 cups of Play Sand

3 cups of cornstarch (or corn flour)

1 1/2 cups of cold water

We mixed all the ingredients in a big plastic tub.  We added a little more water and each day it was played with it more water was added.  It was fun to make.

It was fun to add plastic creatures and rocks to the Moon Sand.  It had a nice texture that my daughter enjoyed.  A great new sensory experience.

Moon sand formed into little rock shapes very easily.  I think it is called "Moon Sand" because of this quality.  We will need to get some toy aliens, astronauts, and space ships to add to the fun.

It is always enjoyable to make something new with things you already have on hand.  Moon Sand is definitely one of those experiences.  Hope you have fun making Moon Sand!

Soap Bubbles and Colored Ice Play

My daughter loves ice....eating ice, making ice, and playing with ice.  We have had a really hot summer here and any ice project has been well received.  So we continue to play with ice every now and then. We've done a few Ice Play Ideas  the past couple years and you can check them all out here. We've also done a couple soap bubble projects that you can check out here and here. We decided to combine two loves: Ice and Bubbles for some fantastic play. Keep reading to find out more.

To create the colored ice we filled an ice cube tray with water and added food color to each section. Then we froze the water to make the ice. My daughter played with the colored ice for a little bit in a huge rectangular tub, but then decided to add water and then soap bubbles.

She had fun fishing the ice out of the soapy water. A great sensory experience: Cold Colored ice and fun bubbly soap! My daughter always enjoys playing in the sink with the kitchen soap and bathroom soap so it was the perfect combination for her.

I had fun creating an ice circle. Mom always has to involve art into every project. (Big Surprise!)

My daughter had a blast with just the bubbles and observing their formations in her hands.

Then the ice began to melt and make some beautiful colored water on the pavement.

My daughter continued to play with the soapy green water that the melted ice created in the plastic tub. It is amazing what can occupy a child.

What simple things occupy your children?

Glow Sticks + Bath Time = FUN

Want to make bath time more exciting? Add some glow sticks and turn off the lights.  My daughter had a blast taking a bath with glow sticks for a couple nights in a row.

We bought our glow sticks in the party section at Target and they were the best kind I've tried so far and they lasted the longest of any that we have purchased.  They kind of just bobbed around in the water at first.

They were just fun to look at and swish around in the water. My daughter had races with glow sticks and pretended that they were fish too.  All I know is that she had loads of fun! Such a cheap and easy way to add fun to bath time.

The fantastic blog: Growing a Jeweled Rose inspired us to have some glow in the dark fun in the bath!
If you want to have some more glow in the dark fun be sure to check out these posts from Growing a Jeweled Rose:

Glowing Water- Uses and How to Make it

Outer Space Themed Bath

Glowing Bath Treasure Dive

Glowing Bath Play Ideas

Glowing Homemade Bath Paint

Halloween Slime Exploration

We made Halloween Slime!  Some people call it Gak, but since Halloween is coming up we thought Slime would be a more appropriate name!  We also colored it orange by mixing red and yellow food coloring!  Maybe next we'll make some Black Slime! Keep reading to find out the recipe for slime and all the other FUN C had with it!

Recipe for Slime:

(we got the recipe from Family Fun Magazine here)

Mix together 3/4 cup of warm water, 1 cup of white glue and few drops of food coloring (we used red and yellow) in one bowl.  In another bowl, combine 1 1/3 cups of warm water and 4 teaspoons of Borax (this is usually in the laundry detergent section of the grocery store).  Note: Borax should not be ingested and can cause skin reactions with some----so be careful---use your discretion! Pour the contents of the first bowl into the other bowl and let sit for 1 minute without stirring.  Now you are ready to EXPLORE!

C enjoyed mixing it up!

C enjoyed just kneading it pushing into it!

She had FUN feeling it with her feet and stomping on it (making pancakes)!!! (her idea!)

C added her Water Beads and creatures to it!  She played with this combination a long time!  Be sure to check out our Water Bead Fun post here if you want to know more about these AMAZING sensory Gems!

Lastly, she tried out cutting the slime with scissors and that was a Big Hit too!

Wouldn't it be FUN to have a batch of water beads and slime out for kids to feel for a Halloween Party?

Have some Slimy Halloween Fun!!!

This post is linked to: It's Playtime, No TIme For Flashcards, Monday Madness