{Fruit and Vegetable Sensory Guessing Game for Vocabulary Development}

FRUIT AND VEGETABLE GUESSING GAME

For Sensory Learning and Vocabulary Development

A fun and educational sensory game for toddlers and preschoolers! 

Play this simple Fruit and Vegetable Guessing Game to help young children learn to use their senses and logical reasoning to deduce what's hidden behind their backs, while developing their vocabulary at the same time ....

{Creative 'Toys' for Kids}

Nurturing kids' creativity and thinking skills is an important role for parents. The toys we give our kids to play with can either help or hinder their creative thinking.

Two important points to keep in mind when choosing toys for your kids:

{Alternative Painting 38 Different Ways!}

My kids LOVE painting, and the easel is usually always set up. If I'm not in the mood for clean-up (e.g., am in the middle of making dinner or we're getting ready to go out), I give them a pot of water and brushes to water-paint the chalkboard side of the easel instead, which will usually appease their desire to paint for long enough to finish a task.

But what we really all enjoy best is finding fun and alternative ways to paint! Here are a few of our favourite ways we've tried and shared here before:

Apple printing

Paper towel printing

Ketchup fingerpainting

Golf Ball painting

Water print painting

Wet chalk painting

Water painting

Painting Easter Eggs

And here are loads more alternative painting ideas from around the blogosphere!

Ziploc bag fingerpainting by Mama Smiles

Painting with bits of autumn nature by Make Do and Friend

Critter painting by Creative Connections for Kids 

DIY water colour spray paint by Creative Connections for Kids

Pendulum painting by Sense of Wonder

Painting car tracks by Juggling With Kids

Electric toothbrush painting by De Tout et De Rien

Can painting by Toddler Approved

Body painting by Curly Birds

Painting with magnets by Rockabye Butterfly

Glow in the dark black light swat painting by The Artful Child

Painting ice by Mom To Two Posh Lil Divas

Printing with food on cloth napkins by The Golden Gleam

M&M paint by Teach Preschool

Painting inside bottles by The Chocolate Muffin Tree

Bubbles and straws printing by The Chocolate Muffin Tree

Painting with kitchen utensils by Crayon Freckles

Balloon fart art! by Creative With Kids

Bathtub painting with shaving foam by The Outlaw Mom

Food/kitchen art by No Time For Flashcards

Rain and chalk paint outdoors by Inspiration Surrounds Creativity Abounds

Painting cookies by Inspiration Surrounds Creativity Abounds

Printing with toy animal footprints by Rainy Day Mum

Painting on dirt by Time For Play

Painted leaves by Putti Prapancha

Slide painting by Putti Prapancha

Bubble wrap printing with Red Ted Art (I've done this with my 1st graders and it made the most beautiful art! Have promised Princess Pea we can do it together, too, but haven't gotten to it yet.)

Painting with a prickle ball by Glittering Muffins

Painting with water beads by Growing A Jeweled Rose

And if you're looking for some oversized art ideas (the bigger the better, right?), check out Jamie's fabulous BIG ART round-up over at Hands On: As We Grow!

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{Pumpkin Decorating with Gel Window Stickers}

Looking for a super simple, alternative way to decorate pumpkins with babies, toddlers, or preschoolers that are too young to carve jack-o-lanterns? (Or maybe just to try something different?)

After our little peas decorated the windows for Halloween with these fun gel window stickers, they decided they wanted to transfer some of them to a pumpkin instead! Easy enough for even the youngest of peas!

And these gel window stickers are so fun to touch and play with, they make for a great sensory experience to boot!

Looking for more Halloween fun ideas?

And be sure to check out my Halloween & Fall pin board, too, for more seasonal inspiration.

This post contains affiliates links. 

{Ketchup Fingerpainting}

Though I'd love to say that I came up with this creative baby/toddler 'painting activity' on my own, I can't take any of the credit for this marvelously messy sensory play idea - it was all Sweet Pea's own doing! She managed to get hold of the ketchup when I was busy in the kitchen. By the time I turned around and saw what she was up to, she was up to her elbows (literally) in ketchup!

Since there was really no point in putting a stop to it by that point, I just let her go for it - and that's exactly what she did!

She loved smushing and squelching the ketchup between her fingers and smearing it all over the smooth surface of the table! Scraping her fingernails through it, wiping it with her fingertips, and painting her arms with it. As time went by, it got slightly stickier and less slippery, changing the texture and the sensory experience.

And of course, when she saw that I'd noticed, she had to start hamming it up by putting her face right in it, too!

I must admit, I had never thought of letting her fingerpaint with ketchup, but it was so fun and such a wonderful, slippery, slimy, sensory experience for her, that I would definitely recommend it! (Though a bib might be called for next time - thank goodness she had a red t-shirt on that day!)

Linked to: ABC & 123, Sunday Showcase, It's Playtime, Sun Scholars, I Can Teach My Child