Do I have an insider’s tip for you?! I just got off the phone with J.Crew at Tice’s Corner in Woodcliff Lake and found out they will be hosting a storytime on the first Wednesday of every month, starting March 7th. We plan on going and hope you do too. It will show up on our March Events post and of course we’ll post about our experience after we check it out. This insider’s tip is from Dana (see her posts on The Little Gym and Musical Munchkins) so we should be thankful for her J.Crew addiction! As always let us know if you hear of anything you think we should post about…we LOVE hearing from you!
Bean Construction Site: All you need is uncooked beans, a tray and some trucks. I first read about this inside activity in the Toddler’s Busy by Trish Kuffner. I got the book from Borders on 17 North. Borders has since closed so I called Barnes & Noble and all of the local stores had just one in stock (so call first before you make a trip in case the one copy has sold). I love this book because the of the creative activities made by materials you have around your home. A book review on a blog called Reading for Sanity also raves about this author.
Other Ideas: Use oatmeal, cornmeal, shredded paper, corn, potting soil, or even birdseed (I know, messy!). Make a maze. If your child is into princesses, use horses instead of cars and have the prince rescue the princesses from the castle which sits behind the moat. Any other ideas? Please comment. We’d love to hear them or see pictures.
Our experience: This is a great inside activity for children. My son will spend a good fifteen to twenty minutes playing with “the beans” as he says. However, since he’s two, he cannot play with this unsupervised. He loves to spill beans outside the tray, and now since we’re going through a lovely throwing phase, he really enjoys chucking the beans on the floor and watching the dog eat them. But, as long as he knows I’m nearby “most” of the beans stay inside the tray.
This is a shirt box and yogurt containers. A bigger box might be better. See the beans OUTSIDE of the box? It happens.
love this bean activity! i have done this with jack before — thx for the fun post!