Time for messy fun, again! Though my goals and activities were the same as in our first edition, in this session of the program we explored a different theme. Texture. I tried harder this time to make sure that everything included was taste safe and edible. I kept one station the same as in our first edition (the Rest and Read station), but the remainder of the stations were new.
Program Stations:
Texture Cave: I purchased a few mylar blankets and some Sensory Mats to add to our little cave of texture. Underneath a couple tables, I put down the mylar blanket and mats, then taped up ribbon and crepe paper for the little ones to explore. Early Literacy Tip: TALK. Talk with your child about the different textures they find! Try to use new or unique vocabulary with them as they explore.
Seek and Find Bags: I quickly made these with food coloring, hair gel from the dollar store (each bag was about 2.5 regular sized bottles), and whatever I could find in our programming cupboards. Glitter, sequins, buttons, googly eyes, foam shapes, feather, etc.I double bagged them, hoping they’d last longer. So far, they’ve held up through about 6 separate programs! Early Literacy Tip: WRITE. Explore the seek and find bags! Can you find something that starts with the same letter as your child’s name?
Cocoa Crispy Dig Site: The kids adored this station! I took a few giant bags of cocoa crispies and poured them into a baby pool. Added some shovels, construction vehicles, and that was it! They went wild for it! Early Literacy Tip: PLAY. It’s time to dig and play on the construction site! Ask your child what the machines are building.
Water Play: This was another super simple, but high payoff station. I ordered some large tapioca pearls from online and set them out in water with some fun fine motor skill scoopers from Learning Resources. Some of the kids scooped from outside the tub, and others went in for the full-body experience! Early Literacy Tip: WRITE. Fine motor skills are important to build before your child is ready to write. Use our tools here to help them strengthen their skills!
Colored Whipped Cream: We whipped up some simple whipped cream and added a bit of food coloring for this station and let the kids explore the slippery (and then sticky) texture. Early Literacy Tip: SING. Pretend to wash your hands in the whipped cream! Make sure to sing the hand washing song as you do so!
Jello Building Blocks: This was probably the stickiest, most annoying station to clean up, but the kids really enjoyed it! Basically, all you have to do is make jello, but add in more gelatin and a little less water. Then, after it sets, cut them into blocks and you’re ready! Early Literacy Tip: TALK. Jello isn’t used for building, usually! Ask your child why they think we used jello and if it’s a good building material! Keep the conversation going by using open-ended questions.
Evaluation and What I Learned:
It was a lot of fun and WAY more messy than the last one! I came prepared with towels and, luckily, our program room has a sink and no carpet. This made for an easy cleanup. I think the kids really enjoyed the varying textures and sensory experience that the different stations provided. Between this session and the last session, I saw not only more patrons attending, but also more of the caregivers giving intentional and engaged interaction with their child.
Librarian Ginny 