Fish Cove Invitations

Spin Art

Got a “Lazy Susan” lying around? Not anymore, you don’t- its a SPIN ART TABLE!!! Tape some paper to it, provide some writing utensils and let the fun begin! You may either spin it for your child or let them spin. They can experiment with how fast or slowly they should spin it to get it to work, and learn what shape it creates.

Throw in some jar lids for different circle-drawing experiences! Keep an eye on that drawing utensil grip. It can be difficult to maintain a firm and productive grip when tracing around an object. Their fingers should be pinching the bottom of the utensil for solid control.

Multi-Perspective Magnet Play

Get two metal trays. Tape on to a box to get it to stand up. Provide magnets and metal. You and your kid can search together around the house for metal objects. Test each object with magnets to see if they will work!

This is a great activity to test the weight of objects. Older kids can even go as far as making a chart. Experiment with thing such as “How many paper clips can one column of magnets hold up before it falls off the pan?” “Why don’t these two magnets attatch?” “Does the height of my magnet columns affect how many objects it can hold?”

No-Mess Color Mixing

Let your child explore color mixing, uninterrupted, with this no-mess color-mixing invitation!

Materials:

• A Tray/Plate
• Paint
• Cellophane
• Tape
• Optional Sensory items ( rice, cooked pasta,etc)

Place paint on a tray. Choose whatever colors you or your child want. Start basic with colors you know will mix well. 

Tips:

• I find this works better when the cellophane is taped tight around the tray

• If you have black and/or white paint, add some in so they can experiment with light and dark shades of the same color
• Provide a paint brush or some utensil that won’t rip the cellophane
• Change it up by adding in a sensory item, such as rice or cooked pasta
• An alternative to paint is shaving cream and food coloring. It may go a longer way since the shaving cream expands!

Clean-Up:

• These can be kept around as long as they’re not torn! 
• Clean-up is a breeze…scrape off any sensory items you may have added, squirt some soap on there and let your kid go ham cleaning it with a sponge and water
• Another option is to line the tray with cellophane or foil before putting the paint on
• Avoid clean-up altogether by using a disposable plate

Open-ended Material Play

Challenge your young-one’s mind with this open-ended materials invitation. Give them the time and space to count, sort and experiment with weight using toothpicks in styrofoam.

*I have my styrofoam taped to a box to prop it up. This serves as a bonus since the other side of the box can host another invitation!* 

Poke toothpicks into the styrofoam at a downward angle so they can hold more, to start. Provide an array of items that can “hook” on the toothpicks (rubber bands, bobbins, shower curtain hooks, mason jar lids, clothespins, etc). String is also a good item for this invitation.

*you may also provide more toothpicks for your child to experiment with*

Damp Stamping

Damp sand made for perfect stamping. Lay out different toys or natural objects (shells, leaves, pinecones etc) and a bowl of water in dry sand/mud. You can also take advantage of some already wet mud/sand from after some rain!