OAT FLOUR PLAY DOUGH

Beckett's Infant Stimulation therapist suggested play dough as a good sensory activity.  A quick search on Pinterist and Google proves there is no shortage or recipes, but most are not suitable for Beckett.  He puts everything in his mouth!  Plus he has to be gluten, dairy, soy, and nut free.  So many of the edible play dough recipes have peanut butter in them (sad face).

I did find a simple recipe for oatmeal play dough, so thought I would start with this today.  I had some oatmeal and oat flour, and thought I would be smart to use some icing coloring to make it bright blue.  What baby doesn't love bright colors?  This was not a good idea!

The blue doesn't really stain your hands, but my hands were totally blue.  I wasn't looking for that big of a mess.  And sadly, I used all my oatmeal for this mixture.  So next I improvised.  I think it worked pretty well.  Beckett ate some of it.  It smelled like yummy cinnamon after all.  And clean up was super easy.

 1. Oat Flour Play Dough  . . . . .
Combine the ingredients into bowl, and with your hand mix and kneed them.  Just that simple.

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups oat flour (or desired)
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

 2. Stage Play Area  . . . . .
I wasn't sure how messy this was going to be, so I set up a play area on the kitchen floor.  I taped parchment paper to the floor using shipping tape.  I also had some pillows near by in case he feel backwards from sitting.

 3. Let the Fun Begin  . . . . .

This doesn't taste so good

Beckett immediately put the big ball of dough into his mouth and took a bite.  So glad I made something that was edible for him.  Not sure he liked it, but he did try to eat it a few more times.

NOTE:  A few weeks later we gave Beckett a dash of cinnamon in his morning oatmeal.  He had a slight allergic reaction (got red around his mouth).  So if this is your first time giving your little one a spice, be on the look out for allergy signs.

It's very helpful to have extra help if this is your first time.  I was lucky to have my husband help out.  Beckett was just learning to sit up unassisted, and so he still fell over (sometimes backwards which isn't good).

Beckett did both sitting & tummy time during this activity.

The play dough seemed somewhat interesting to Beckett, but not as interesting as the parchment paper taped to the floor.  He hit it and rubbed his hands on it.  The parchment paper was the big hit for this activity!

 4. Clean Up  . . . . .
Clean up was super duper easy.  We wiped the dough off the parchment paper with a paper towel, and then used a broom & dust pan on the floor.  We could have just picked up the parchment paper and tossed it, but Beckett loved it so much, we are keeping it there for the day.

I didn't plan on keeping the play dough.  It wasn't hard when we threw it away, but I would think it would turn hard.  Since Beckett does like to eat it, I wouldn't reuse it even if it stayed pliable.

BRF: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

 BOOK REVIEW FRIDAY:  
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?



Beckett has so many great books.  Just like his mama, he loves books.  He rolls, grabs his favorite, and rolls to us to read it.  Sometimes he looks at them on his own.  And if they have buttons it's a big BONUS!

Every Friday I thought I would share some of Beckett's favorite books.  So here goes....

A must have for every child is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle.  Truly a classic that works for so many ages.  It's fun to read, and Beckett loves the rhyming and pace.  Here's why every kid should have this book.

 1. The Illustrations Are Beautiful 
Not girly or too boyish, so it is great for both boys and girls.  Coming from the creative world of fashion design, the illustrations in a book are important to me.  There is just one per page (of the animal) making it so easy to understand.  Eric Carle is known for his fabulous illustrations.

 2. Simple. Simple. Simple. 
The words are fun to read, but you can also just say the name of the animal and the sounds they make.  With just one animal per page, it can be used basically as flash cards.

 3. The Rhyme is Fun! 
I think most kids are like Beckett:  repetition... repetition.... repetition!  So it better be a story I like to read.  This one never gets old.  I know it by heart!  I often recite it to him when we are out and he's getting restless like at the grocery store.  It always gets his attention and brings a smile to his face.

 4. Making It Your Own Story 
I change up the story when I'm reciting it.  Such an easy formula to memorize, you can do it anywhere. Since Beckett knows the story so well, he responds right away.  I often substitute whatever is in our eye sight.

At the end of the story, the teacher says that she sees children.  I add my own ending with "Children, children what do you see?".  Of course the answer is "Beckett looking at us!"

 5. Slide & Find Format 
Our edition of the book has a Slide and Find window on each page.  Beckett is just starting to try to open them.  They are a little hard for babies, but toddlers have no problem.  So as he gets older, the book will provide something new.  There are several different formats for the book, so not all have this feature.

 6. Teaches Color 
Besides learning the animals, each animal is a different color.  When Beckett was about 6-8 months, sometimes we would just use it to talk about colors.  When you read it 10-15 times a day, every day, you get creative in how you can tell the story.

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 Other favorites from Eric Carle 
These are books that we read every week.  We have some of his other books like the famous The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but Beckett doesn't respond to it the way he does to the list below.  I think when he is older, there will be more Eric Carle books that he will enjoy.  

     

     

     

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?

1, 2, 3 to the Zoo Train Flash Cards

Baby Animals

The World of Eric Carle 3 Book Play-a-Sound Set

Colors Colors

Around the Farm

Big Friend, Little Friend

Oh, and My Very First App is also great for iPad

with all of Eric Carle's illustrations.  

COTTON BALL GHOST SENSORY PLAY

Wanted to do something seasonal with what we had on hand, Beckett and I made a ghost out of cotton balls and a paper plate.  This was Beckett's very first craft project!

I've always been a little hesitant to do a craft project with Beckett.  Everything ends up in his mouth.  Sure most kids taste glue at some point, but I'd rather not have that in Beckett's diet.  But this day I thought why not try?  And Beckett never put the glue in his mouth.  He was too busy being dazzled by the cotton balls.

 1. Ghost Supplies  . . . . .
This is what we used.  If you don't have this exactly, just use what you have.  No right or wrong, and who says that your ghost has to be white?

• 1 paper plate (we used round, but square will also work)
• felt or construction paper for eyes (we used green & black)
• cotton balls (we only used about 15 total)
• glue

 2. Stage Craft Area  . . . . .
I sat Beckett in his high chair since he can't sit at a table on his own just yet (we also don't have a table for him right now... later on we'll get him one).  With the high chair next to the dinning table, I spread out all of the supplies on the dinning table.  I let him watch me do all of the prep work while he had a small snack.

 3. Craft Prep  . . . . .
Draw out the shape of ghost on the paper plate, and cut.  I kept it simple.

Create eyes, and glue on to ghost plate.  I let them dry a bit before giving to Beckett to be sure they stuck.

 4. Craft Away  . . . . .
First I held up a cotton ball to show Beckett, and then I gave one to him.  I was sure to watch him as I didn't know what he would do.  Didn't want him to stick it into his mouth.  To my surprise, he was so interested in studying it and breaking it apart.  He didn't even try to put it in his mouth.

I let Beckett pull apart the cotton balls, and I glued them to the plate.  He's only one, so he can't glue them on himself.  Maybe next year.

While I glued the cotton balls down, I did this in front of him.  The ghost was always within his reach so that he could touch it.  A few times, he did rip up the cotton balls I had glued (glue was not dry).  I would just take out of his hand, and restick to the plate.  I also was sure to give him a cotton ball so he didn't get upset that I took something from him.

 5. Clean It Up  . . . . .
Clean up was easy.  And Beckett was treated to splashing his hands under the faucet with some bubbly soap.

 6. More Sensory Play  . . . . .
After the glue completely dries, Beckett gets something to touch.