Indulging Our Senses with Homemade Soap

I finally took the plunge and learned how to make handmade soap. I’ve wanted  to do this for so long, but it seemed too complicated and overwhelming. NOT!!! This was the easiest project ever and A.J. enjoyed it, too!

Trisha at Two Big, Two Little inspired me to “just do it already!” Once I saw there were kits for this with instructions, I knew that I could do this sooner than later.

I ordered my kit from Lorann Oils. The evening it came, I made a test bar before involving A.J. I used a pipe cleaner with alphabet beads to spell his name. It turned out pretty well for my first attempt.

The instructions are simple and they come with the kit. Here is a simple version:

1. Cut glycerine bar into 1/2 inch chunks (You don’t have to cut the whole block, just enough to make the amount of soap that you want.)

2. Place chunks in a microwaveable bowl and heat for 30 seconds.

3. Make sure it melts, you may have to heat and stir for another 10 seconds.

4. Add color (if desired) and essential oil fragrance.

5. Pour into a mold and let set for about 40 minutes and you’re done. (You can add trinkets ect. to the soap by pouring half into the mold, adding your trinket, then pouring more liquid into the mold.)

A.J. helped by choosing what he wanted to add to the soap. I gave him a choice of coins and foam sea creatures. He chose the money. He also placed the cut pieces into the container, added the coloring, and stirred the mixture. Melt and pour soap making requires adult supervision. The soap is really hot when you first remove it from the microwave.

The kit comes with lavender and cucumber melon fragrances. We’ve only used the melon so far and it smells divine.

Have you made homemade soap before? I’d love to see your photos!!

Pray, Persist, & Prosper!

-Asia

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3 Fun Letter Activities

A.J. is continuing to learn his alphabet by identifying lower case and upper case letters. I printed the capital letter heart printout as well as the lower case letter heart printout from Pre-Kinders.com. There are many ways you can use these printables. I chose to laminate both sheets so I can use them later for Amira. I cut out the lowercase letters and glued them to foam hearts so they would be easier for A.J. to handle.

Last month I created a letter board with various shapes and colors. I re-used this board with the lower case hearts to add a different spin on the activity.The last activity I want to share was exciting to make. I think I had more fun than A.J. on this one! There’s a product called Instant Snow that when mixed with two ounces of water makes faux snow. I turned the snow pink in honor of  Valentine’s Day.

What creative ways are you using to help your little one learn letters?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

Sensational Sensory Bags

Contents: pom poms, stars, larger beads, blue glitter, dollar store hair gel. I doubled the plastic bag because they are a bit thin and reinforced the top with clear tape and painters blue tape.

I finally made some homemade sensory bags for the kiddos. I love to squish them and thought the kids would enjoy them, too. Amira kinda, sorta,  liked the bag, although it kept ending up on the floor or squashed in her seat. More so because she is so young and her hand muscles are still developing than the fact that she didn’t like it. A.J. found it interesting and played with it for a while as well.

Ohhh, fun.

All done mommy!

I would ask him about the colors he saw and the textures he felt and had him share his findings with his sister. Now that was funny, because all he said were his friend’s names…ManMan and NuNu which is actually LuLu. We are working on his speech and language development, which we have discovered needs more specialized attention. More on that later…

I made a special sensory bag for A.J. with the letters of the Alphabet and some beads.

Heads up: Do not take the tape from the back of the letters. Doing so will make the letters clump together and stick.

I presented it to him during our evening reading time where we snuggle and read and re-read books. He did enjoy searching for the letters, but as of yet, he has not gotten the bag out on his own to play with it. Meanwhile we will use it during our cozy reading time. This is my sneaky way of bonding and making letter recognition fun.

There are so many ways to use sensory bags as fun learning opportunities. A few are: numbers, shapes, colors, items for books they are reading, ocean animals, farm animals, jungle animals, holiday symbols…etc.

What type of sensory bag does your little one enjoy or you think he or she would enjoy?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!

-Asia

Cornbread as Sensory Play

This buttermilk cornbread smells and feels good!

The other day I needed some time to handle business during the day, but A.J. wanted my full and undivided attention. I had to think of something quickly that would keep his attention while I answered a few e-mails and completed some work for my outside job.

The previous night I made some buttermilk cornbread. I never made buttermilk cornbread before, but after trying it, I don’t plan on making it again. Instead of throwing it away, I left it on the counter. When I was looking for something that would keep A.J.’s attention without me, I turned to the cornbread. I crumbled it up and made it a sensory item for A.J. to explore. Since it’s food, I didn’t mind him putting it into his mouth or eating it! I laid down a tarp covering, which I bought at Big Lots (read the nightmare post about that!) and let A.J. go to town. Melt down averted!

My mouth is full of Buttermilk Cornbread!

Oh my! I put some in my hair, too!

What are some successful ways that you’ve occupied your child in a pinch?

Pray, Persist & Prosper!