The Chaos and the Clutter

Valentine’s Day Playdough Station

Create a sensory station at home or in your classroom with this open-ended Valentine’s Day playdough invitation to create. Kids are free to explore and use their imaginations as they engage their senses.

One year to celebrate Valentine’s Day, we made Chocolate and Strawberry Playdough for the kids to create with, but this year, we stuck to something a bit more basic.

Valentine’s Day Playdough Recipe:

Supplies:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 Tbsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. oil
pink food gel
1 cup water (boiling if making with KitchenAid)
red glitter
optional: a few drops of essential oil in rose or lavender*

*a note about choosing scents: Some scents are calming while others are alerting. If you want this activity to be a calming one, be sure to choose a calming scent as opposed to choosing a more alerting scent if you are wanting to create an activity that helps keeps kids focused.

KitchenAid Directions:

Put the dry ingredients in a KitchenAid mixer.
Add the oil and colour and begin mixing with the flat beater.
As it is mixing on the lowest setting, pour in the boiling water.
Add in the red glitter. If you want to scent the playdough, add a few drops of essential oils. Mix until the playdough texture you want is achieved.
Store in an airtight container or resealable bag when not being played with.

Stovetop Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients together in a pot and stir in the oil, water and the food colouring.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, being sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the pot.
Cook until the dough forms a ball. Remove from heat.
Place it on a piece of wax paper. Knead. Add glitter in at this point and if you want, a few drops of essential oils for scent.
Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container or in a resealable bag.

Valentine’s Playdough Sensory Station:

Supplies:

tray with separated compartments
playdough (recipe above)
plastic hearts of various sizes
pink Easter grass
heart confetti
heart shaped erasers
cookie cutters in various sized hearts
small plastic heart containers

I found most of my supplies at the Dollar Store.

Directions:

Set the playdough in the center of the tray.
Place the other items in the compartments all around it.
Invite your child to use their imagination to explore and play.

When kids interact with this playdough station, they engage their visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems as they push, knead, gather, roll, squish, and pull. If you use essential oils in the recipe, then their olfactory (smell) system is also involved.

Are you looking for other easy sensory play recipes? Join us for a free five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

You may want to see some of our most popular playdough recipes:

Frozen Inspired Microwave Elsa Playdough

White Snow Playdough

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough

Valentine’s Day Fluffy Slime

By Sharla Kostelyk

If you’re looking for an easy sensory play activity for February, you’re in luck. This Valentine’s Day Fluffy Slime recipe is simple to make and provides hours of fun.

What is fluffy slime?

I seem to go in phases when it comes to slime. I’m currently in a bit of a fluffy slime craze. Fluffy slime is just basically regular slime with shaving cream added. I like the texture and the stretch of it. If you like your slime fluffier, you can simply add more shaving cream.

Valentine’s Day Fluffy Slime:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of Elmer’s white School Glue
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup water
2 1/2 cups shaving cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. contact lens solution
pink glitter
pink food paste
tiny red heart confetti
red plastic hearts

Directions:

Add glue to a bowl.
Mix in water and baking soda.
Add shaving cream and mix.
Stir in food colour.
Slowly add contact solution. Mix.
Knead.
If it’s still too sticky, add a drop more of contact solution and knead some more.

Fluffy Slime Troubleshooting Tips:

You’ll need to use contact solution as the activator to create your slime. Otherwise, the glue and shaving cream will just be a blob of goo.

If your slime isn’t fluffy enough, fold in some additional shaving cream. When the slime isn’t stretchy after a few days of play, you can add a bit of hot tap water or a small amount of lotion.

If the slime is too sticky, add a drop or two more contact solution or a small bit of baby oil and knead.

Looking for more easy sensory play recipes to inspire creativity? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

You might also be interested in these other Valentine’s activities:

Valentine’s Emotion Game for Kids

Valentine’s Pluffle Sensory Bin

Valentine’s Day Sensory Bottle

Sea Turtle Life Cycle Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

This Sea Turtle Life Cycle Sensory Bin is an easy hands-on way to study these remarkable creatures. Kids can explore science with their senses while they learn how sea turtles are born and live.

My friend Jamie who lives in Florida volunteers to check on nests and make protected trenches for the baby sea turtles in her area. It’s been so interesting to see her pictures and videos and hear about her experiences. While we may not live anywhere near the ocean, that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn about this amazing phenomenon ourselves.

A few facts to get you started:

The mother turtles dig holes in the sand or mud to create a nest which they lay their eggs in. They then bury the eggs to protect them.

Less than 1% of the eggs survive and make it to the sea. Some do not fully develop, but most fall victim to predators. Once the hatchlings emerge from their shell, they must dig their way out of the hole and make it to the ocean.

Racoons, crabs, birds, fish, fire ants, dogs, lizards, and coyotes are among the main predators of the eggs and young offspring.

Sea Turtle Life Cycle Sensory Bin:

We saw sea turtles at the Monterey Bay Aquarium on a road trip and our kids were fascinated. We also had the opportunity to see protected areas of sea turtle nests on the beach in Florida on another trip. There, we attended an information evening teaching us about conservation efforts. Education is always the first step towards conservation so the more you teach your kids, the better.

This sensory bin may spark the beginning of an interest for them in learning more.

Supplies needed:

Directions:

Fill a small container with sand or kinetic sand.
Add some rocks.
Place the figures from the Sea Turtle Life Cycle pack in the sand.
Encourage play.

This sensory bin is great for use at home or in the classroom while doing a unit study. It enables kids to reenact what they are learning. Using more of their senses and learning through play allows for better retention. What may seem like a simple activity can allow kids to cement their knowledge and make it more real.

This sensory play activity includes small parts. As with any children’s activity, adult supervision is required.

Resources for Learning about Sea Turtles:

If you want to further your study, here are some resources to delve deeper and expand your knowledge about sea turtles.

Life Cycle of a Green Sea Turtle Sea Life Green Sea Turtle Kinetic Sand Realistic Sea Turtle Plastic Figurines Sea Turtle with Babies Building Set Sea Turtle Life Cycle Guide Laminated Card The Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle From Egg to Sea Turtle The Life of a Sea Turtle

Sea Turtle Life Cycle and Nesting Locations
Sea Turtle Lifecycle Interactive Diagram
Green Sea Turtle Facts (includes an open sea cam)
A Sea Turtle’s Life Cycle Explained Video (short, but quite informative)
Sea Turtle Life Cycle Video (animated – Australia)
Make a Sea Turtle Life Cycle Craft out of WikkiSticks
Sea Turtle Life Cycle Worksheets (free)
Sea Turtle Life Cycle Printable Pack (free)

Looking for more easy sensory play ideas to inspire learning? Join for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out some of our other life cycle sensory bins that can be used for science unit studies:

Bee Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Valentine’s Day Slime

By Sharla Kostelyk

Create this Valentine’s Day Slime for your friends, child, or classroom. It’s super stretchy. This contact solution recipe is an easy one to master. If you’re looking for a homemade Valentine’s gift, this slime recipe and/or our Valentine’s Fluffy Slime recipe can be put in a small container or resealable bag.

Valentine’s Day Slime:

Supplies needed:

1 cup Elmer’s Clear School glue
2-3 Tbsp. contact lens saline solution
1/2 tsp. baking soda
unicorn glitter
heart confetti
small plastic hearts
optional: heart shaped cookie cutters and plastic heart containers for extended play

Directions:

Pour the glue into a large mixing bowl and stir the baking soda into it.
Begin to add the contact lens solution a few drops at a time as you stir.
When you find that the mixture begins to pull away from the bowl, it’s time to begin kneading.
Add the glitter, hearts, and confetti. Continue kneading.
If the slime is still too sticky to play with, add one or two more drops of contact solution and knead.

Sensory and Learning Opportunities:

Set out heart shaped cookies cutters, additional plastic hearts, and plastic heart containers to allow your child the chance to engage in imaginative sensory play. You can also set up a sensory station in your classroom with this as one of the activities.

The visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems are involved during slime play.

Looking for more great sensory play recipes to inspire imagination? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Find other sensory play opportunities for February:

Valentine’s Day Fluffy Slime

Chocolate and Strawberry Playdough Station

Scented Valentine’s Sensory Bin

Human Body Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

I know this one is a bit gross at first glance, but bear with me. Kids are able to retain more information when they incorporate their senses and learn through play. That’s how I came up with the idea for this Human Body Sensory Bin.

As kids learn about the human body, they can explore through sensory play. This can lead them to asking more questions and finding new discoveries.

What I love about this sensory play activity is that there are so many ways you can use it to expand learning. Suggestions for how to use this as part of a human body unit study:

set out books on the human body, handouts, diagrams, and worksheets near the bin.
kids can match the organs and body parts in the bin to the ones in the books.
print out cards with the names of the organs and ask kids to place the cards in the sensory bin next to the corresponding organ.
invite students to talk about what each of the organs does in the body.

Human Body Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

Directions:

Place the water beads in a plastic tub and add water. Wait for them to expand.
Toss in the plastic human organs and stretchy body parts. (Even typing that makes me laugh because it sounds so gross!)
Set the bin out in your home or classroom for students to explore.

Body Parts Stretchy Fidgets – Ear, Hand, Foot Nose – Anatomy Human Organs TOOB Red Water Beads

Some other resources to accompany your human body unit study:

Human Body! (Knowledge Encyclopedias)The Human Body: A Pop-Up Guide to Anatomy Human Body Activity Book for Kids My First Human Body Book The Fantastic Body: What Makes You Tick & How You Get Sick Look Inside: Your Body Learning Resources Human Body Model 3D Organ Apron

Expand your study further with these free printable human body worksheets:

Setting out corresponding worksheets near the sensory bin station encourages learning.

Anatomy Notebooking Pages
Human Body Dot Marker Pages (good introduction to the unit or for younger students to get involved)
Human Body 3 Part Cards
Human Body Printables for Kids

More hands-on learning activities for the human body:

Check out some of our other sensory science ideas:

Colour Mixing Sensory Bag

Sensory Smell Bottles

Melting Ice Experiment

Let’s Talk Childhood Mental Illness

By Sharla Kostelyk

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Childhood mental illness is on the rise. A 2010 study by The National Institute on Mental Health found that one in five youth are affected by at least one type of mental disorder. There is a lot of speculation about why that is. Is it the rise in technology, the decrease in time spent outdoors, reduced face to face interactions, environmental toxins, social media, sleep, or economic downturn? Or is it just that there is more awareness and therefore an increase in diagnosis?

I am not an expert in psychiatry, science, or medicine. Therefore, I am not going to attempt to tackle those questions.

What I am is a parent. A parent whose life has been deeply affected by childhood mental illness.

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article entitled Admitting Your Child to a Mental Health Hospital. The words and experience resonated with other parents. Some even used the article to reach out to their circles for sometimes the first time to share with them what they had been going through.

That article was shared tens of thousands of times.

Since then, the flood of emails and private messages has been overwhelming. I’m honoured that people chose to share their personal stories and emotions with me and I carry them close to my heart. It is for those people and others like them that I am writing this follow-up article.

Some of the stories were so heavy that they were hard to carry. I had to step away from my computer for two days that first week as the weight of it became too much.

Children with anxiety so debilitating they no longer attend school, teens lost to addiction or suicide, parents signing over their rights as the only way to keep their child safe, families torn apart.

I tell you this because I need you to understand that there are so many families walking this road. Their stories are all different and yet, there are choruses that ring the same.

They all love their children fiercely.
They are weary.
Worry keeps them up at night.
They fear for how this is affecting their other children.
They worry that they are not enough.
Their whole family is suffering.
They don’t know where to turn or what steps they should take to help their child. This sometimes paralyzes them.
There are not enough supports or programs available in their area.
Parents carry with them the additional burdens of guilt and shame as they keep the secret of what is really going on in their homes.

Can we rise up and make our voices heard? Mental illness in children is becoming an epidemic.

The demand for qualified professionals and effective treatments is rising faster than it seems the nation can keep up with it. While I can’t solve that, I know that silence is what perpetuates this.

Join me in erasing the stigma of mental illness by sharing your story.

Know that you are not alone. There are so many who are also walking this road.

Let’s talk about childhood mental illness and the effect it’s having on our society, our schools, our young people, and our homes. Just as we would share with friends and family if our child were suffering from a cold or the flu or had been diagnosed with a more serious physical disease such as asthma, we need to be sharing about how our kids are doing from a mental health perspective.

What if you didn’t have to carry this burden alone?

The magical thing about when we share our truth is that it allows others to share theirs.

Last week, when I shared about our decision to admit our daughter to a mental health treatment facility, it gave others the courage to tell their stories too. I’m not suggesting that you need to do as I did and announce it to the world. I’m not even saying that you have to announce it on Facebook.

But what if instead of being isolated and feeling like no one understands, you chose one or two trusted people to share with?

When I was debating whether or not I should write our experience, my friend said to me “Feeling alone is the cancer that fuels this. We worry about judgement, blame, and carry so much guilt. Which isolates us more. Are we perpetuating the stigma against mental health issues by being quiet about it?” So I put my thoughts to paper in the hopes that I could help others share their stories and feel less alone.

I’ll share with you the power of choosing the share your story. In my article about our daughter going to a mental health hospital, I shared this:

This kind of life can be so isolating. There are things that have happened in our home that unless you are also walking this path of mental health disease in your children would shock you. My husband and I have literally said to each other, “who could we ever tell this to?”

Last Sunday night, my husband and I sat around our friends’ kitchen table. We found the answer to the question “who could we ever tell this to?”. Because they had walked this road too. They understood. By the end of the evening, we were even laughing about the fact that none of us would ever have thought we could share our calling 9-1-1 experiences with others!

It felt so good to be around others who “get it”. To be able to be real and not worry about judgment. I want that for you too.

But for us to be able to get to that place, we first had to take a deep breath and say “my child struggles with mental health issues”.

Help me end the stigma. Not just for our kids who are suffering. But for us. I want you to be able to sit around your friend’s kitchen table and be real and raw and still know that you are loved.

Join me for a free 5 part email series, Little Hearts, Big Worries offering resources and hope for parents.

You might also be interested in reading:

Admitting Your Child to a Mental Health Hospital