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.

Washable Nappies

One of the questions I get asked most when talking about parenting is about what washable nappies I use.

There are so many different types of nappies out there that it can be very difficult to choose which ones to go with and the websites of the companies don't always give you a really good idea of how they work.

So I decided to do a little video of the two types of washable nappies that we have been using so it's clear to see what they look (although I am not sure exactly how clear they are from this rather poor quality video, but hey)

This is the first video I have ever done and let me tell you, I felt like a right goon!!  I do want to do more of this but need to sort out the video quality first.

I realise I did leave a lot of stuff out, but I can save that for another video ;)

Hope you have a good giggle!