Set up a simple sensory bin with sand and a handful of treasures. Add some dragons or just pretend to be a dragon and you’ll have a dragon treasure sensory bin that kids will love. I get commissions for purchases made through the affiliate links in this post.

Baby Dragon, Baby Dragon! is fun read about a little dragon who likes to fly through the kingdom getting into all sorts of trouble. Penguin Kids sent us a copy of the book for review. Baby dragon is constantly on the go. A little girl decides to keep up with dragon. She narrates the story. Each scene begins with her saying “Baby dragon, baby dragon…” and then describing what she sees. This line feels like it should lead the book in rhythm and rhyme but it doesn’t. The book doesn’t lose anything by not rhyming though.

The book reminds me of a young child’s adventures. They often do everything full speed ahead and sometimes end up with a mess in their wake. The little girl praises the dragon for its accomplishments and ignores the rest.

Dragon Treasure Sensory Bin

In the book Baby Dragon, Baby Dragon! the dragon has a cave full of treasures. There are stacks of crowns, sea shells, colorful sticks, gems, and more. Inspired by the dragon’s treasure, I created a dragon treasure sensory bin.

The simple sensory bin is made with colored sand and treasures.

I like to use the Crayola colored play sand. It comes in a variety of colors – blue, green, pink, and purple. I’ve included an Amazon link so you can check out the product. It’s available in the spring/summer at Walmart for about $7 while supplies last. Amazon usually sells it for over $20 plus shipping.

I used a shoe size storage bin and a slightly larger bin for my two kids (ages 5 and 3).

For our treasures, I used a combination of gold coins, treasure chests, polished rocks, and toy dragons. Be sure to use age appropriate treasures and watch out for items that are too small as they can be a choking hazard for kids who like to put things in their mouths.

Add a layer of sand. Add the treasure. Then, bury the treasure.

Then, it’s time to dig for the treasure. Use your hands, a shovel, or a small cup. I also gave my kids a bowl to place their found treasures in.

Sensory bins are great for encouraging pretend play. My kids had the dragons bury and uncover their treasures over and over again. They had some fun dialogue going as well.

Source: inspirationlaboratories

Dust in cereal is actually quite easy to get rid of, and so are flies that fly around your food during the summer months. Finding unusual yet helpful tools in ordinary things is always a good idea, especially when it comes to handling certain products so that they keep bringing you tasty joy for longer. These hacks are cheap, uncomplicated, mess-free, and fun!

To enjoy your cherries without pits, use a funnel. Simply put cherries on top of the piece of fruit, push down, and voilà — your treat is ready!

source: brightside

During the Summer Olympics there are mens and womens field hockey teams. They play with a stick that has a shepherd's crook on it and hit a small ball.  

For our pool noodle hockey game I created goals and sticks using pool noodles. Scroll down for more details.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR POOL NOODLE HOCKEY:

• fat pool noodle
• knife
• two thin long pool noodles
• large ball
• 4 lawn stakes

HOW TO SET UP FOR POOL NOODLE HOCKEY:

Set up is super easy! Start by putting two yard stakes in the ground about 2ft away from one another. Put them in the ground deep enough to stay but leave them high enough out of the ground that several inches are visible.

Arch one pool noodle from one yard stake to the other and slip the yard stakes into the centers of the pool noodle ends. The pool noodle should make an arch and stay pretty secure, unless it is super windy. Repeat with another pool noodle maybe 10-15 ft away (depending on how large of a field you want).

Next, cut the fat pool noodle in half lengthwise. The cut side of the pool noodle is a bit easier to hold on to and it is easier to hit balls with the fat pool noodle pieces. 

Now you are ready to play!

HOW TO PLAY POOL NOODLE HOCKEY:

We made small teams of one and worked hard to get the ball in the other goal before it was stolen! Using the pool noodle half we hit the large ball again and again. My son was so proud of himself once he figured out how to "dribble" the ball up the field using his pool noodle. 

It is fun to get the entire body into pool noodle hockey, which was why we set some ground rules to begin with. We encouraged kids to keep their sticks on the ground or close to it when they were hitting the ball (no high sticking) and to keep their bodies to themselves (no fouls)!

This activity is great for working on hand-eye coordination, aiming, swinging, and working together.

source: toddlerapproved