EASTER SENSORY IDEAS

Kinley and I have been getting super egg-cited for Easter. I bought her Easter basket on sale at Michael's a few weeks ago, and we have been using it and her eggs from last year to practice egg hunting so she will know what to do on the big day. I just hide the empty eggs all over the house, put her basket on her arm like a purse and march around with her clapping and telling her how cool she is every time she finds one. She's getting really good at spotting them, so good luck to all the rookies she may be competing against! Haha.

When I worked at daycare, we had a big Ziplock baggie full of egg shakers that we would only let the kids play with once in awhile so they were a big treat. They were just plastic eggs filled with rice or sunflower seeds that we closed up and sealed with clear packing tape. There was only one problem with that. We didn't think to seal the little holes on the tips of the eggs. Over the years, every baby who came through that room chewed on those eggs, and even though I wiped them down with a bleach-soaked washcloth, I couldn't get down inside the eggs. 

One day, I noticed one of the eggs smelled kinda funny and didn't sound quite right, so I peeled the tape off, popped the egg open, and gagged. It happened to be one of the eggs filled with sunflower seeds and they had melded into a couple of green fuzzy hunks of mold and smelled like death. So sick. And the thought that all of those baby spit germs were in there too...ugh I'm gagging right now.

I knew I wanted to make Kinley some egg shakers, cause they really are fun and the perfect sized instrument for tiny hands, but seeds and rice were out. Even though I plugged all the holes in SuperBaby's eggs, I couldn't bear the thought of seeing and, more importantly, smelling that rotting seed smell ever again. I just figured out a different way to do it a couple of days ago.

Instead of a bunch of teeny tiny things, like rice (which is a giant pain to clean up when the eggs do eventually bust open,) I decided to use Kinley's Mardi Gras beads from Dollar Tree. They make the perfect shaker sound, you don't have to seal the eggs because it's extra fun to pop them open and find a pretty necklace, they are extremely easy to pick up, and best of all, they don't rot

For sensory time today, we did an Easter Extravaganza--Easter grass, lambs and bunnies and chicks, egg shakers and empty plastic eggs, and of course, Kinley's Easter basket. She had so much fun. She absolutely loves playing with that pretty iridescent grass and popping open all of the eggs.

After sensory time, Kinley was ready for her nap. So in keeping with our spring theme, I decided for her sleepy time story, we should read...

We both totally love this story! The pictures are so cute, and the words rhyme, which I happen to adore. It's about baby animals and their mommies and homes, and if you don't already own it, you definitely need to put this one on your library list. Bonus--at the end, you even get a kiss from your own little baby animal. :)

We definitely had a busy day today! Even though it was rainy and miserable outside we kept it happy and bright inside. 

If you think of something else that's fun and easy and can't rot to stick inside plastic egg shakers, pass it on. I love trying new ideas! 

Happy Friday!