August Sensory Tub - The Wizard of Oz

Several of you suggested I make a Wizard of Oz sensory tub, and since that happens to be one of my favorite movies, I was totally up for it!

I only used things I had on hand already (meaning I didn't spend any money on making this tub) and so I had to be a bit creative as a result (meaning some of things in this tub are a bit of a stretch). :)

Here's what's inside:
:: The Yellow Brick Road - yellow Lego bricks. Perfect for my Lego lovin' boy!
:: Poppies - red fabric flowers. Yes, I know these aren't what actual poppies look like. :)
:: Lion(s), Tiger(s), and Bear(s) - one each from our Toob collection.
:: Apples - I made these little knitted apples myself. They, along with the tree in the lower right hand corner, remind me of the scene where Dorothy and the Scarecrow get into a row with the apple trees.
:: OZ - two chipboard letters.
:: Emeralds from Emerald City - a few plastic "gems".
:: Over the Rainbow - colored wooden beads on a string. Surprisingly, James likes this the best! Initially, I thought about making this a lacing activity, but I knew James wouldn't really enjoy that. I spaced the beads out enough that they move a bit on the string, which makes the whole thing really nice to hold. Sort of meditative.

Things to represent Dorothy:
:: Basket - just a cute little basket I found at the thrift store.
:: Toto - a black dog. I didn't have a Terrier on hand, but this Labrador works just fine. :)
:: Farm house - a small wooden house.
:: Heart - I was excited to find this little heart in Dorothy's gingham pattern! It represents the whole "home is where the heart is" theme of the movie.
:: Ruby slippers - I couldn't believe it when I found these Barbie shoes in our toy collection. Years ago, before I had children, I was a nanny and a frequent babysitter. I bought and kept a stash of toys at my house for whenever those kiddos came over. :)
:: Hair bow - I would like to have made two gingham hair bows (one for each of Dorothy's braids) but I didn't have that sort of ribbon on hand. So, glittery red (like the ruby slippers) was the next best thing!
:: Kansas - a puzzle piece from our USA puzzle.

Things to represent the Tinman:
:: The oil can - just a tin cup with a handle. Perfect for scooping, collecting, and pouring all the little things in the tub.
:: Axe - this is from our "x" language box.
:: Heart - one of the small glass hearts used during our Valentine's Day theme.

Things to represent the Scarecrow:
:: Scarecrow - the same small scarecrow button we used in our harvest sensory tub.
:: Hay (Scarecrow's stuffing) - pieces of raffia.
:: Diploma from the Wizard - a tiny piece of paper that has THD written on it, rolled up, and tied with a teeny tiny piece of ribbon. I was racking my brain (ha!) trying to think of what I could use to represent Scarecrow's brain. I remembered the Wizard gave Scarecrow a diploma and in that scene he bestowed the degree of THD (Doctorate of Thinkology) upon him. :)

Things to represent the Lion:
:: Lion - from the lions, tigers, and bears trio as noted above
:: Medal of Courage - like I said, I had to use what I had on hand, and this one really threw me for a challenge! I used a piece of red ribbon and a little lapel pin James received from VSB camp.

Things to represent the witches:
:: Glenda's floating orb - you know, the one she floats down in when she arrives in Munchkin Land. I used a pink reusable ice cube ball thingy.
:: Star from Glenda's wand - a little silver star made of fabric.
:: Wicked Witch's Broom - another item from one of our language boxes.
:: Flying monkey - just a little monkey from our Toob collection. I thought about adding tiny wings to him, but decided against it.

James is 5 now, but he still very much enjoys sensory tubs. However, now that he is a bit older, I've been including some theme-related educational materials to accompany our tubs. For example, for this tub I gathered the Kansas magazine and map from our Which Way USA collection. I also added the Wizard of Oz book, which we've been reading nightly, and "Pet Tornado" - this thing is really cool, you swirl it around and it creates a little tornado inside the container. James loves it!

~Thank you for your comments!~

Sensory Tub - The Human Body

The idea for this tub comes from one of my lovely readers, Mary, who reached out all the way from Thailand! (LOVE how connected we all are!) Mary asked me for some ideas for a human body sensory tub and I thought - why not make one for James? Next to geography and space, James is fascinated with human anatomy. Thank you, Mary for inspiring me!

Now, I know this isn't the prettiest looking thing, but it is all about human insides, so... :)

Here's what's inside: (bear with me, I had to creative on this one! Biology teachers will cringe, I'm sure!)
:: Kidneys - Kidney beans :D
:: Eyes - googly eyes
:: Small intestines - pink yarn (12 feet of it which is, according to Google, the length of a child's small intestine.
:: Heart - wooden heart
:: Veins - red and blue pipe cleaners
:: Blood cells - red and white flat marbles
:: Bladder - balloon loosely filled with water (HUGE hit with James!)
:: Teeth - wind up toy shaped like teeth
:: Hands - buttons shaped like hands
:: Skeleton - plastic skeleton (and book - see below - both from our Halloween mini unit)
:: Chromosomes - LOTS of x's and y's from my scrapbooking embellishments. I included 15 matching sets, each set has only one x and one y. Next to the bladder, these were James' favorites. He really enjoyed searching through all the kidneys for the "croomzooms". :)

A couple things also included, but not pictured (because I added them later and was too lazy to reshoot):
:: Stomach - balloon filled with beads
:: Surgical tools - tweezers, tongs, and a small bowl

In addition to the sensory tub, we've been looking through our favorite anatomy books (this one and this one), and I decided to pull out this felt pack, too. James also received this awesome "squishy human body" for Christmas and so we've been having fun with that as well.

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Summer Sensory Tub - Brave

"I'll be shooting for my own hand!!" My favorite line in my new favorite Disney/Pixar movie, Brave. I took James and his buddy to see it last week and we all three gave it two thumbs up! And I'll admit... I cried a little in certain parts, too. But then, I'm an emotional kind of gal.

Anywho, after seeing the movie I was most inspired to make a Brave sensory tub and on my way home began creating it in my mind. Here's what I came up with...
James was on pins and needles waiting for this tub. He was really cute about helping me design it, too. He was very specific about what he wanted included, the magic cake being at the very top of the list. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Blue/green aquarium rock (the color of Merida's main dress)
:: Orange ribbon (think of Merida's crazy locks) - I "corked" these myself using this tutorial.
:: TONS of teeny tiny arrows - I bought these on Etsy to use in making a Brave hair clip for Juliet to wear during our stay in Disney World. I only needed one, but they came in a pack of 50! Good thing after all!
:: Black bears from Safari Ltd. (supposed to represent the three bear cubs in the movie)
:: Two large wooden bears (representing the two large bears)
:: Pieces from our tree blocks
:: Blue acrylic gems (these are the wisps)
:: A Tiny castle
:: Small trees (in the movie, they spend some time in the forest)
:: Horse (Merida's Angus)
:: A "magic cake" (really just a play food donut with a flat-back gem jammed into the middle!)

I really do love this tub. I suppose that's because I really do love the movie and this is a way to keep the memory alive a little. Can't wait for it to come out on DVD!

To go along with the tub, I made a couple of activities too...
I made an archery target (in Word), punched holes around the outer perimeter, laminated it, punched holes again, and then found some soft (faux) leather string to use for lacing. I also printed out a list of words used in the movies and put some alphabet tiles (in the little green jar) so James could spell out the words.

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

May Sensory Tub - Angry Birds

We recently bought an iPad and Angry Birds was one of the first games we installed. Talk about fun (and addictive)! Within a few days Angry Birds was all the rage in our house and I knew I had to create a sensory tub and mini unit with these birds in mind. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: stone pebbles
:: lots of wooden cubes
:: various pieces from our Lincoln log set
:: plastic (Easter) egg
:: egg shaped gems/sequins (these are hidden under the rocks and inside of the large egg)
:: jumbo pom-pom/puffs in Angry Bird colors
:: feathers
:: acrylic ("glass") cubes
:: metal container with Angry Bird picture
:: glass votive
:: nest (from the pet section at our local pet store)
:: cardboard box with TNT logo

My very manly husband made this slingshot in less than 15 minutes using stuff from around the house/yard and this tutorial as a guide. James has been using it to launch the puffs/birds all over the place!

I won't have time to share the mini unit until (hopefully) later this week. My poor girl is teething BIG TIME and is very snuggly and needy as a result. My arms are happily preoccupied with holding and cuddling her as much as possible. :)

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

March Sensory Tub II - Birthday!

James' birthday is next month (he's going to be FIVE. Omgoodness.) and I plan on making a HUGE deal out of celebrating it, starting with this tub...

Here's what's inside:
:: Red translucent and misc. colored pony beads
:: LOTS of small water balloons
:: One blown-up balloon
:: Wrapping ribbon
:: A strip of crepe paper
:: Lots of candles
:: A bunch of 5's - some of these are beads, others are scrapbooking embellishments from my old stash
:: a few squares of paper and a paper punch - thought James might have fun making his own confetti!
:: Party hat
:: Noise maker
:: "Happy Birthday" confetti
:: Colorful cupcake liners
:: Balloon shaped candles that spell out "Happy Birthday"

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

March Sensory Tub I - Bees

This is the first of two sensory tubs I made for James to use over the next couple of months (I'll share the other one later this month). As always, I had fun making them, but this was especially enjoyable because it's been over 6 months since I last made one! "Designing" and putting together these tubs is such a creative thrill for me - I know that sounds dorky, but it's true!

Anyway, what with spring just around the corner, I thought it befitting to make a tub about bees. :) I adore bees (from a slight distance, of course)!

Here's what's inside:
:: Black beans
:: Yellow porcupine balls
:: Jumbo sorting beads
:: Little bees - these are SO cute and have a nice, supple feel to them. Btw, if you check out the link, please note that I did NOT spend $64 on a ton of these - they were sold separately for 25 cents here at our local toy store.
:: Wind up bee

:: Burt's Bees lip balm - LOVE this stuff and I often find my balm in James' room (sneaky bugger!). Now he can have his own!

:: Fake sunflowers
:: Little porcelain honey pot with honey stick - perfect for scooping and collecting, this thing is so cute and was a surprise find at our local chef shop. It was cheap to begin with, but cost me nothing thanks to a gift certificate I had! Score!
:: Chunk of real beeswax - leftover from our adventure in wax molds.
:: Alphabet beads

I also made him a set of antennae to wear (two black pipe cleaners wrapped around my black headband). :)

I searched the web and came across some bee facts and parts of a bee and added them to the tub. Not so sensory, I know, but since we're not really doing full on themes anymore, I figured I'd toss them in. :) We'll also have a look through these two websites (here and here) to learn more about bees.

And, as an unplanned, but timely tie-in to this tub, we'll soon be visiting our friend's homestead where they keep bees and make their own honey!

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

August Sensory Tub - Back to School!

One last sensory tub for the road. I sure will miss creating these over the next few months!

Since James will still have school with my husband, I decided to go with a 'back to school' theme for this tub. I've been wanting to make this for a while, but opted for a fall/apple theme last year instead.

Here's what's inside:
:: Shredded notebook paper (James, under my supervision, used a shredder machine to make this)
:: Personalized pencil case (I won this in a giveaway. James can pack the supplies in the pouch and I know he'll love using the zipper!)
:: Crayons
:: Pencils
:: Erasers (which can be added to the pencil tops for a fine motor activity)
:: Pencil sharpener (to be used with the pencils, of course)
:: Scissors (James can further cut the shredded paper)
:: Paper clips (these can be used to make chains - see our recent activity involving this)
:: Wooden alphabet tiles with little holes at the top (to be used with the lacing string in the pencil pouch)
:: Number beads, 0-10 (can also be laced)
:: Foldable ruler - no clue where this came from; I've had it for years.
:: Tiny yarn apples knitted by me last year
:: Colorful shapes (they link together)
:: Mini homemade notebook (James can use the pencils he's sharpened or the crayons to draw inside of the notebook)
:: Small alphabet book
:: School bus calendar cards
:: Back to school novelty buttons (found at Joanne's years ago)

James had since grown tired of the transportation tub and the pond tub so this new one was welcomed with opened arms! His favorite thing so far is the foldable ruler. :)

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Transportation Sensory Tub

This is our second tub for the month of July (our other one is a pond theme). James chose a transportation theme, or more specifically, a car theme and we had lots of fun creating it together!

Here's what's inside:
:: Black beans
:: River pebbles
:: Small wooden signs (from our train set)
:: A few die cast cards
:: Plastic trees
:: Red, green, and yellow pony beads (think traffic lights)
:: Some tires from our lego set
:: Cut up pipe cleaners (think of the yellow lines on a street)
:: Small car and truck buttons
:: Cut outs of license plates from various US states

The small buttons and pony beads can be used in conjunction with the pipe cleaners for a great lacing/fine motor/sequencing activity.

I included the license plates because I thought it'd be fun for James to match up them up with the states on a US map. He's always had an interest in the states and I think he'll really enjoy this aspect. Btw, I found the map and the license plates on Google images, but unfortunately the image clip only included a small handful of states.

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

July Sensory Tub - Pond

I've had this one on my "to make" list for well over a year now! One of our mini-units is going to be a pond theme, so I thought I'd make a full size tub for James to enjoy as well.

Here's what's inside:
:: Multi-colored aquarium rocks
:: Flat glass marbles, large and small
:: Fish net
:: Jar (for collecting pond specimens) :)
:: Mini frog and turtle erasers
:: Little green fish (I cut these from felt) - you may need to click on the photo to see them more clearly.
:: Plastic duck, turtle, and dragonfly
:: Multi-colored purler beads
:: Lily pads (cut from fake plant leaves)
:: Letters

These chip board letters are from my scrapbook stash, which I've had for years, but I *think* I purchased them at Archiver's. I added the entire alphabet to the tub and James will need to dig them out. He can use them to spell the following pond-related words:

Duck, dragonfly, fish, pond, water, turtle, net, frog, lily pad, and rocks.

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Candy Sensory Tub

Want to make your kiddo smile from ear to ear? Make them a sensory tub filled with CANDY! (Pretend candy, that is!) :)

Oh my goodness, you'd think I'd given James the moon when I handed over this tub the other day - he explored it for, and I'm not exaggerating here, 45 minutes! And he's returned to it several times since then, too!

Here's what's inside:
:: Lots of pom-poms of various sizes, colors and textures. Some homemade, too!
:: Empty containers from real candy (found in various stores around the island).
:: Mini gumball machine filled with wooden beads (i.e. gumballs) - a fun gift from my bloggy friend, Susan (I *think* she found it at Target).
:: Stretchy worms (i.e gummy worms)
:: Small baggies (see far right side)
:: A purple scoop
:: Little tongs
:: Polka dotted beads (purchased from a local store, Daisy & Mac) - some I left as beads, others I turned into lollipops (see below).
:: Bumpy red beads (i.e. gum drops)
:: Teeny tiny fruit beads (i.e. Runts)
:: Red lacing string (i.e. licorice)

Another fun addition I thought of, but didn't have time to create, was Hershey kisses - you could wrap some tin foil into a little cone shape and, if you're super creative, make personalized tags for them.

I made these little lollipops using the polka dotted beads and some Q-tips. I simply stripped the cotton from the Q-tips and stuck them into the hole of the bead. These are, by far, James' FAVORITE thing in the tub!

I added some baggies and tongs to the tub to simulate what you'd do at an open bin candy store. James had fun collecting various candies and setting them aside to "buy later". :)

This has really been an "all in one" kind of tub. With it James has done lacing, scooping, tonging, pouring, sorting by color/item/shape/texture, counting, adding, subtracting, sharing, pretending, and even spelling (he likes to arrange the puffs into letter shapes and create words). I just love that he gets so much out of these tubs!

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

June Sensory Tub - Dinosaurs

James and I had such fun putting this tub together. Since we really wanted to use water in it, we needed to make sure all of the other materials in the tub were water friendly. Not an easy thing to do, surprisingly!
Here's what's inside:
:: River pebbles (found in the home decor section of Brown & Co., a local department store)
:: Gemstones
:: Fake leaves (taken from one of the decorative plants in our house)
:: Dinosaurs
:: Mini trees
:: A ceramic dish with water
:: A blue plastic egg w/ another dino inside (seeing it hiding behind the leaves?) :)
:: Wooden beads

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Robot Sensory Tub

I am really excited about this tub because it's been in the back of my mind for many months and it has finally come to fruition. The putting together of this tub was a family affair - James, my husband, and my niece all gave their input and here's what we came up with...

It is, admittedly, very cluttered with junk (literally) which isn't my usual preference for sensory tubs, but my husband convinced me that that's what robots are made of - lots of junk. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Translucent blue beads
:: Letter beads
:: Silver pipe cleaners (great for lacing the beads)
:: An old remote control (with the batteries removed!!!)
:: Magnets
:: Bottle caps (from a scrapbooking store)
:: Sparkly poms
:: Sequins mix
:: Toy gears and wheels
:: Google eyes
:: Various bits of computer hardware (e.g. switches, dials, discs, fuses, etc. My husband is a computer geek so we actually had all of this on hand!)
:: Plastic tree lights (from Christmas, with the wires cut off)
:: Wing-nuts, screw plates, springs, and a mini screwdriver
:: Corrugated cardboard
:: Carabiner clip
:: Big flat marbles
:: Buttons (I chose ones that didn't have the usual holes in the front so they'd look like a button you'd push.)
:: A metal scoop

Phew! See - lots of junk. And actually, there's a lot that we thought of that didn't make it into this tub (tin foil, an aluminum pie tin, salt shaker, mini whisk, legos, etc.). Despite all the stuff inside of it, I'm happy to report this tub didn't cost a single dime to make! We had everything on hand, including the blue beads which we used in our Independence Day tub last July.

James couldn't wait to get his mitts on everything and even my husband gave it two thumbs up, saying: "Now this is a boy's tub!!". :)

Click here to see our robot playdough!

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

May Sensory Tub - Farm

This month's tub has a farm theme. It's pretty simple and cost me all of $2 to make! James is having a blast with it and can be heard making up stories and singing songs while playing with it. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Scratch feed - I found this at the grocery store and I think it's meant for chickens. It's comprised of various seeds and corn kernels.
:: Feathers
:: Raffia
:: Farm figurines
:: Wooden cups and little wooden bowls
:: A sugar spoon shaped like a garden spade
:: Mini John Deere tractor
:: Plastic egg (leftover from Easter) :)

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Pirate Sensory Tub

James' birthday is coming up and he's requested a pirate themed party (I'll be sure to share those details next week), so I thought I'd make a pirate sensory tub for him, too. Arrrr and what a lot of fun it's been, maties!!

Here's what's inside:
:: Black beans
:: Mardi Gras necklaces
:: Colored flat marbles
:: Pirate figurines
:: Silver shovel
:: A velvet bag of various gem stones
:: Small (fake) crystal beads
:: A treasure box
:: Plastic coins and gems
:: A few of my old rings
:: Skull patch

And buried under the beans is a skeleton (from our Halloween tub), a few real gold Bermuda dollar coins, and an "X".

I also created a treasure map out of a brown paper bag (I had WAY too much fun making this, btw). James will need to hunt and find the treasures. :)

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

April Sensory Tub - Spring

James helped me put together this month's sensory tub and I have to say it was so much fun to have his input! It made me giggle how seriously he took the "project" (as he called it), and to see the big smile he wore on his face the entire time. I know together is how we'll create our tubs going forward!

James was so proud of the tub and told me to "take a picture right away!". :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Real grass (see note below)
:: Mini clay flower pot
:: A needle felted flower
:: Fabric flowers (cut up from a dollar store lei)
:: A needle felted nest
:: Wooden eggs
:: Plastic ladybugs, butterflies, and a lone caterpillar
:: Scissors (for cutting the grass - James looooves doing this)
:: Carrots (I made these out of orange pipe cleaners and green yarn)
:: Pretty stones
:: Small ceramic flowers (most of them are buried)

You can't see this, but I added a teeny tiny drop of freesia extract from our local perfumery. It gives the tub an added sensory element and makes it smell just sooo lovely! Between that and the fresh cut grass, this tub actually smells like spring!

A note from the trenches: I had a heck of time finding grass for this tub. First I thought I'd buy some quick growing grass seeds and that we'd make a '"project" out of it, but the only seeds on the island come in massive bags suitable for an entire yard. Then I thought maybe I'd just dig up a few squares of our own grass. No go. Apparently, the ants are nesting beneath the grass and I think I may have disrupted a sleeping (and now very angry) colony. Oops! In the end I found a plant that looked an awful lot like grass and seeing as it was so soft and green, it proved to be just the right thing!

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

March Sensory Tub - Weather

Our theme for this month is weather! I'll be sharing our playdough and what's on our shelves later this week, but in the meantime here's our sensory tub...

I can't even begin to express what a HUGE hit this tub has been with James, the lightening bolts in particular. He spends ages with it and all I hear the whole time is "ka-chung, ka-chung!" (which, of course, is the sound of thunder!) :) Today we listened to a thunderstorms CD while he explored the tub. He was on cloud nine about this and acted out a little "play" with the objects as they coincided with whatever was happening on the CD. It was an absolute treat to watch!

Here's what's inside:
:: Blue aquarium rocks (the sky)
:: Cotton balls (clouds)
:: Blue beads (raindrops)
:: Silver pipe cleaners (lightening bolts)
:: A felt sun
:: Small puffs (snow) & snowflake shapes
:: Rainbow pom poms (click here for my tutorial on how to make your own)
:: Plastic cubes (ice/hail)
:: Small silver pitcher and shovel (for scooping & pouring)

Click the button below to see a full list of my sensory tubs or click here to view my slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

February Sensory Tub & Playdough - Valentines Day

Like last February's tub, I created this one with Valentine's Day in mind, except this time around I went with all red.

What's inside: I won't detail everything that's in the tub since, as you can see, there's quite a lot. I pretty much tossed in any red thing I could find!
:: LOTS of pony beads (these were the same I used for our 4th of July tub)
:: Pom-poms
:: Popsicle sticks
:: Fruit erasers
:: Various beads
:: Felted balls
:: Water filled stars (these are reusable ice cubes)
:: Buttons
:: Feathers
:: Silk flowers
:: Knitted apples

I made some I Spy cards to go along with it. We did this same thing in August with our yellow sensory tub and it was a huge success.

Chocoloate Playdough
With some real cocoa added to it, this playdough smells nearly good enough to eat! I made chocolate playdough last year, too, but this year I've added an empty chocolate box for James to make pretend chocolates. I have to confess, my friends, a great sacrifice went into doing this.... I had to eat all of the real chocolates in order to provide this fun extension for my son. Sigh... the things we do for our children. ;)

~Thank you for your comments!~

January Sensory Tub & Playdough - Outer Space

~Happy 2011, Everyone!!~

We're kicking off the year in a fun way - our theme for this month is space! My husband is an astronomy enthusiast and his interest has definitely rubbed off onto James (and me, for that matter!). We used to have a solar system poster and I remember when James was about 18 months old he had memorized all the planets by name and sight. Two years later and he loves to build rockets out of Legos and searches for the moon whenever he's outside at night. Needless to say, I think he's really going to enjoy this tub!

Here's what's inside:
:: Navy blue aquarium rocks - this is my first time using these as a filler and it won't be my last. They are affordable and pleasing to touch. If you plan to use aquarium rocks for your own tub, be sure to rinse them off with water beforehand - they're very dusty otherwise.
:: Small plastic crystals.
:: A variety of glass beads, all colors. I just love glass beads because each bead is so unique. I happened to have a good collection of them on hand (I do a bit of jewelry making from time to time), but you can find a variety pack of these at any good craft store.
:: Marbles - large and small.
:: Superballs - I found these at a toy store here, 6 for $1. They're sort of translucent and VERY bouncy! :)
:: Jacks. These caught my eye as I was contemplating what to put in the tub - they sort of remind me of stars.
:: Pieces of a geode - this is the same geode from our November discovery tray.
:: Crumpled balls of tin foil.
:: Astronauts, a moon buggy, and a rocket - all from this Toob.
:: Silver pitcher and spoon - for pouring and scooping.

:: A variety of rocks and minerals.

Starry Night Playdough

My hands are still blue from making this dough! I wanted to make it a nice, dark blue so I had to use a lot of food coloring. I added silver glitter to it to give the effect of stars against a night sky.

For more solar system fun check out what was on our shelves this month!

~Thank you for your comments!~