Tray Time

Every year around this time, I start freaking out about winter.  The idea of being trapped inside my house for five months (nine when we lived in Duluth  :-P) makes me start frantically coming up with plans to keep the kids and myself occupied.  Thank goodness for Pinterest!  If you haven't checked it out yet, you totally should!  Zillions of amazing ideas.  I spent most of the day today gathering up and shopping for supplies for various craft projects/sensory tubs/fine motor activities.

Speaking of fine motor activities...I've been putting together trays for Liliana to work on.  The challenge with Liliana is that she is so busy and so constant that I don't have time to clean up the first mess she made before she makes three additional messes.  My solution for this lately has been to turn on Barney, but there are so many better ways to keep her occupied and since I'm trying to be the best I can be (backstory here), I've started putting together trays for her.

I prep the activities ahead of time, so I can quickly pull it out at a moment's notice.  I make sure they are things that will:
1.  require her full concentration and/or teach/refine a skill
2.  be easy enough for her to do on her own or with minimal assistance
3.  keep her occupied long enough to make it worth the effort to put together
4.  be fun and exciting!

I keep the trays hidden away in the office, so they are new and interesting when brought out.  The rule is that everything needs to stay on the tray while she plays.  I brought out this one this morning and it kept her busy for almost a full hour!

Orange is her new favorite color.

She figured out what to do on her own and started making necklaces and bracelets for us. 

Check out her concentration!

Here are a couple other trays I had prepped for this morning.  I ended up not needing them since we decided to go shopping instead (mother/daughter shopping...LOVE IT!)

Old strawberry container with a hole cut in the top (masking taped to be safe), cotton balls and a chopstick to push them through the hole.

Bingo dabbers and paper with different lines drawn on them for her to put the dots on (great pre-writing activity).

Just knowing that I have fun and educational activities all ready to go, makes me more patient when she starts getting "busy."