Oliver had a snack on this morning, which was unusual. We don't do snacks early in the day, but for some reason (maybe an early breakfast) I let him have some raisins. I let him play with his food later, by putting them on the number 2. He really enjoyed that :).
To start the day though, after our routine things, Oliver worked on the letters Aa with felt.
Today he did excellent! He could tell he got it right took, and when I praised him he just beamed! A little confidence went a long way with him. I could tell his confidence carried through everything that morning.
We moved onto counting afterwards, and like I mentioned earlier, his confidence was high today! After counting 0-5 with the ladybugs (and matching leaves) he wanted to try to keep going and made it ALL the way to 12. This is a tough thing to do, with all the matching and I was so proud of him! He initiated it and did great!
That wrapped up our school time for the morning. Later in the day (at my favorite time of day, the cranky hour) I made this play sand. I had seen a pin with this recipe on it before and I forgot about it. The actual pin calls for baby oil, which I didn't have, and 8 cups of flour, which I was pretty sure I didn't have. I was also afraid of failure (um, has anyone else experienced failed pins before?) so I thought I'd make a small mix using what I did have.
I used regular canola oil mixed into flour. And for the exact ratio, I just started small, maybe a couple cups of flour to oh, 1/4 cup oil? I mixed in oil as I went until I felt like it was a good "sand" consistency. Basically when it was still coming apart but could hold when I squeezed it together. I then added more flour and oil, since as it turns out I had more flour than I thought. I try not to bake with all purpose flour in general because it's just not good for you (we use whole wheat) but every once in a while I do use it for sweets. And it's very handy to have on hand for crafty projects.
Did Oliver like it?
It was such a hit! He loved it! He did want me to sit and play with him which was in between cooking for me, but it was highly successful and highly messy. But it wiped/vacuumed right up. Aleksandr really, really wanted to participate. Looking up at both me and Oliver sitting at the table he couldn't handle being alone on the ground. Poor guy. So I held him while he dug his hands in. And surprisingly he didn't eat it. I think he remembered the sand at Charleston. He LOVED it and sat and played contentedly for quite a while on the beach. After a few mouthfuls of it, he gave up eating it and really just played. I think he may have thought this was similar. So successful pin for both boys! Now this is something worth doing again!
Play Sand
5 cups all purpose flour
1 cup canola oil (or less, just slowly add in)
Mix up, slowly adding in oil until the texture is "sandy" (falls apart, but will still be moldable when you squeeze it). Dump in a big pan and watch your three year old explore, dig, pour and generally make a big, fun mess!
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