The Lion King Week - Day 5

Back in the summer last year Boris was mad on The Lion King film so I thought it would be fun to do a Lion King themed week for him with lots of sensory activities and fun things to do.  I didn't get round to posting about it at the time because it was a big project and I just never seemed to find the time to gather and edit all the photos. 

I have finally found the motivation to share it with you, (probably because I have been really lacking in activities for the boys recently so have nothing else activity-wise to share)  so here is it.  7 days of our activities to take you through the week.

So today we used the bug mould that I got from ASDA again.  This time I filled them with water and popped it into the freezer.  The icy bugs on their own were fascinating enough but we than added a dropper with food colouring the enhance the shapes and improve fine motor skills.  It gace us an opportunity to talk about colour mixing, and the qualities of materials (i.e. ice is frozen water, melts at room temperature etc). 

I put the food colouring into a mince pie tin, Boris found the dropper a bit tricky to fill, he struggles with coordinating squeezing the dropper and putting it into the food colouring, then letting go to suck it up.  

It was fascinating watching the colours mix on the ice and in the dish. 

The colour ran into the grooves in the bugs making their shape stand out. 

At the end we added some baby oil for an extra bit of interest, it was fascinating seeing it resist the food colouring and float on top.

Join me again for another Lion King themes activity tomorrow evening. Don't forget you can subscribe by email to my posts (on the right had side) and you can like my facebook page to keep up to date with posts.

Lion King Week - Day 4

Back in the summer last year Boris was mad on The Lion King film so I thought it would be fun to do a Lion King themed week for him with lots of sensory activities and fun things to do.  I didn't get round to posting about it at the time because it was a big project and I just never seemed to find the time to gather and edit all the photos. 

I have finally found the motivation to share it with you, (probably because I have been really lacking in activities for the boys recently so have nothing else activity-wise to share)  so here is it.  7 days of our activities to take you through the week.

Today I created an invitation to play using corn meal for edible sand, coconut shells, dried laves and feathers.  I had in my mind the scene from The Lion King when the Baboon Rafiki realises that Simba is alive.  He gathers dust leaves and feathers from the wind and swishes them around in a tortoise shell. He breaks open some fruit which has a coconut type shell.  I put everything into a large under-the-bed storage box in the garden. 

The main purpose of this task, apart from, of course, having fun, was as a sensory experience.  Running the sand through their fingers, scooping with with the coconut shells, exploring the way the sand and the feathers feel, crunching the leaves, feeling the softness of the feathers etc. 

There is also the fine motor skills development potential, with picking up the feathers and leaves and moving things around.

Boris spent a long time running the sand through his fingers and pouring it with the coconut shells.

It was a very calming and relaxing activity. 

Join me again for another Lion King themes activity tomorrow evening. Don't forget you can subscribe by email to my posts (on the right had side) and you can like my facebook page to keep up to date with posts.

Lion King Week - Day 3

Back in the summer last year Boris was mad on The Lion King film so I thought it would be fun to do a Lion King themed week for him with lots of sensory activities and fun things to do.  I didn't get round to posting about it at the time because it was a big project and I just never seemed to find the time to gather and edit all the photos. 

I have finally found the motivation to share it with you, (probably because I have been really lacking in activities for the boys recently so have nothing else activity-wise to share)  so here is it.  7 days of our activities to take you through the week.

Ah the joys of play dough, these days every themed week I do must involve play dough in some shape or form.  For our Lion King week I made some jungle/safari coloured play dough. 

I went with a brown, orange, yellow and a lovely bright green.  I followed a no-cook recipe and left out the cream or tartar because I didn't have any.  The dough was lovely and soft, but didn't keep. 

He had lots of fun squishing the dough in his hands, rolling it and using the cutters, lots of scope for fine motor skill development, imagination and stimulation of the senses.

It's also important not the forget the boost in confidence a toddler can get from a simple action like rolling dough and using a cutter to create an animal shape.  He was very proud. 

Of course the dough ended up in one big lump, but that was fine by me. 

Join me again for another Lion King themes activity tomorrow evening. Don't forget you can subscribe by email to my posts (on the right had side) and you can like my facebook page to keep up to date with posts.

Lion King Week - Day 2

Back in the summer last year Boris was mad on The Lion King film so I thought it would be fun to do a Lion King themed week for him with lots of sensory activities and fun things to do.  I didn't get round to posting about it at the time because it was a big project and I just never seemed to find the time to gather and edit all the photos. 

I have finally found the motivation to share it with you, (probably because I have been really lacking in activities for the boys recently so have nothing else activity-wise to share)  so here is it.  7 days of our activities to take you through the week.

So you know the scene from the Lion King where Timon and Pumbaa are showing Simba how he could eat bugs, well I went to town with this idea with the bugs.  Today I used a really cool cake mould that I got from the ASDA which features several bug shapes, beetles, butterflies, bees etc.  They still sell it I think.  So I mixed two different colours of jelly to make the bugs two-tone, and some separately in a bowl which I mashed up to give them something to sit in.

The boys used some kitchen utensils to squash, mash and generally break up the jelly bugs.

Of course they got their fingers stuck in and enjoyed the sensory experience. 

As well as giving it a taste.

A hammer always comes in handy for smashing up jelly bugs!

I bought these plastic bugs in advance and we put them in the jelly once it was all turned to mush,

Boris used a water squirter bottle to squirt the jelly with water which dissolved it.  This not only added a further sensory element, and helped improve fine motor skills, but also added a scientific element, and we briefly touched on the concept of dissolving. 

More fine motor skills by lifting the bugs out of the jelly with tongs. 

This activity lasted for ages and both boys got really stuck it, but Boris really engaged with the activity and was very memorised by feeling the jelly in his hands and experiencing its qualities. 

Join me again for another Lion King themes activity tomorrow evening. Don't forget you can subscribe by email to my posts (on the right had side) and you can like my facebook page to keep up to date with posts.

Lion King Week - Day 1

Back in the summer last year Boris was mad on The Lion King film so I thought it would be fun to do a Lion King themed week for him with lots of sensory activities and fun things to do.  I didn't get round to posting about it at the time because it was a big project and I just never seemed to find the time to gather and edit all the photos. 

I have finally found the motivation to share it with you, (probably because I have been really lacking in activities for the boys recently so have nothing else activity-wise to share)  so here is it.  7 days of our activities to take you through the week.

I started the week by laying out all of Boris' jungle/safari related toys and a lion costume that my mum bought especially for him from Amazon.  

As they came into the room  had my Lion King CD playing the first song from the film, it felt very theatrical and exciting. 

They explored some jungle/safari themes books that I had and some I borrowed from the library.  We read the books together throughout the week. 

And then they ate a Lion King themed breakfast I prepared for them.  Zebra stripe toast made with Marmite and marshmallow fluff, and a coconut shell filled with fruit. 

Our first activity of the week was an invitation to play which I created with a large under-bed storage box filled with different natural materials and plastic jungle/safari animals.  I used sand, wood chips, soil, water and some leaves.

Boris had a little look at the scene but didn't fully engage (I think because he was a bit young at the time) but I had fun setting it up and it did get a bit of a look in later in the week. Definitely something I should try again now he is a bit older. 

I hope you can join me tomorrow for another Lion King themed activity, don't forget you can subscribe by email to my posts (on the right had side) and you can like my facebook page to keep up to date with posts.