Happy New Memories New Year's Card
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Friday, December 30, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Stocking Stuffer Ideas! Sensory products for blind, visually impaired and sighted kids!
Except for a few new holiday shopping commercials this year, everyone knows Santa brings the best presents to open on Christmas morning! But just in case he needs a little help, Sensory Sun is here to help with this list of sensory stocking stuffer ideas we LOVE!
Have some great ideas too? Just share the love by leaving a comment below!
INCHBUG BRAILLE & PRINT ORBIT NAME LABELS:
InchBug.com offers Braille and print name labels for your child's favorite bottles, sippy cups and thermos! They're a cute little 'bracelet' that fits snug around the cup and won't slip off. Pre-printed labels have the child's name in print and braille, but if your child's name isn't already on the list you can purchase a custom label with the name in print and braille text that reads "inchbug". These are great for kids on the go, play dates where there are a million look-alike cups sitting around, and it's not everyday you find your kid's name in braille on a product you don't have to adapt!
CLICK TO SEE THEM HERE
SMENS & SMENCILS:
Make print writing more fun with these holiday scented pencils and pens! These creative scented writing tools are made from 100% recycled newspapers or recycled plastic, and are packaged in corn-based biodegradable plastic that keeps it smelling fresh! Choose from holiday scents like sugarplum, gingerbread, candy cane, cinnamon and holiday cheer. Our favorite is the Holiday 2-Pack where you can try both the smencil and smen for only $5.00! Order from their site soon and you'll still get them in time for Christmas.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
SENSORY BALLS:
Sassy (R) Development Sensory Balls are great for infants and toddlers. They're small enough for little hands to grasp and provide a variety of great stimulation for blind and visually impaired children, as well as sighted! The set of 3 balls provides focus on three senses with different textures, high contrast visual appeal (great for low vision!), and sound. As your baby grows, they are perfect for encouraging 'drop and find' skills, crawling and throwing.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS ITEM ON AMAZON
REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE:
MADILYN'S RECOMMENDATION!
There are a lot of reusable water bottle brands out there, so we're not going to narrow our recommendation down to just one. Reusable water bottles are a great way to show children that their health and our planet's is important! Don't just recycle plastic (mostly petroleum based anyway! yuck!), use a BPA free water bottle time and time again. They have fun colors and prints, varying spouts for about any ability, and comfy little koozies that keep your hands warm and any condensation inside. The most important qualities of a great reusable water bottle are: BPA free, 100% food grade stainless steel material, and spouts that are BPA and phthalate free! Check out brands like Cynergreen, Klean Kanteen, and Sigg. (Registered trademarks not associated with Sensory Sun.)
HO! HO! HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
SENSORY SUN BLOG
Have some great ideas too? Just share the love by leaving a comment below!
INCHBUG BRAILLE & PRINT ORBIT NAME LABELS:
InchBug.com offers Braille and print name labels for your child's favorite bottles, sippy cups and thermos! They're a cute little 'bracelet' that fits snug around the cup and won't slip off. Pre-printed labels have the child's name in print and braille, but if your child's name isn't already on the list you can purchase a custom label with the name in print and braille text that reads "inchbug". These are great for kids on the go, play dates where there are a million look-alike cups sitting around, and it's not everyday you find your kid's name in braille on a product you don't have to adapt!
CLICK TO SEE THEM HERE
SMENS & SMENCILS:
Make print writing more fun with these holiday scented pencils and pens! These creative scented writing tools are made from 100% recycled newspapers or recycled plastic, and are packaged in corn-based biodegradable plastic that keeps it smelling fresh! Choose from holiday scents like sugarplum, gingerbread, candy cane, cinnamon and holiday cheer. Our favorite is the Holiday 2-Pack where you can try both the smencil and smen for only $5.00! Order from their site soon and you'll still get them in time for Christmas.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW
SENSORY BALLS:
Sassy (R) Development Sensory Balls are great for infants and toddlers. They're small enough for little hands to grasp and provide a variety of great stimulation for blind and visually impaired children, as well as sighted! The set of 3 balls provides focus on three senses with different textures, high contrast visual appeal (great for low vision!), and sound. As your baby grows, they are perfect for encouraging 'drop and find' skills, crawling and throwing.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THIS ITEM ON AMAZON
REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE:
MADILYN'S RECOMMENDATION!
There are a lot of reusable water bottle brands out there, so we're not going to narrow our recommendation down to just one. Reusable water bottles are a great way to show children that their health and our planet's is important! Don't just recycle plastic (mostly petroleum based anyway! yuck!), use a BPA free water bottle time and time again. They have fun colors and prints, varying spouts for about any ability, and comfy little koozies that keep your hands warm and any condensation inside. The most important qualities of a great reusable water bottle are: BPA free, 100% food grade stainless steel material, and spouts that are BPA and phthalate free! Check out brands like Cynergreen, Klean Kanteen, and Sigg. (Registered trademarks not associated with Sensory Sun.)
HO! HO! HO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
SENSORY SUN BLOG
Friday, December 16, 2011
Oh, Christmas Tree! Touch & Feel Felt Christmas Craft
"Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh, Christmas Tree!"
My husband has asked me over and over again to please stop singing these two short lines of the infamous Christmas carol repeatedly. I guess I should go ahead and learn the song in its entirety...But, I'd rather post this blog instead!
Madilyn and I used our 'Art and Crafts' time on Wednesday to make this pretty little felt Christmas tree. She also learned about triangles and circles, textures, and decorating a tree! It is very simple to do and kids have fun decorating their very own tree they can later hang up in their room.
Materials:
1 Green Felt Sheet
Marker or Pen
Ruler or straight edge
Variety of textured paper, dimensional stickers, foam cutouts, or anything you choose to use as 'decorations'
Brown paper (for tree trunk)
Circle hole punch (or scissors if you must!)
Star cutout for top (optional)
Glue or other adhesive (non-toxic)
Fold the green felt sheet in half and mark the back side lightly where the halfway point is located. Unfold and face back side (marked side) up on your table. Using a ruler, draw a line from the halfway point to the bottom right corner, then do the same going to the left corner. This forms your triangle for the tree cutout. Cut along the lines. Next, cutout as many round ornaments from the textured paper as you would like. Gather any other bits and bobbles (be careful with children under 3 years) to use as lights, garland, and ornaments. You now have the hard part finished! Have your child feel along the edges of the tree, noting how many sides and angles it has. THREE! "What shape has three sides?" A TRIANGLE! Now have her trace her fingers around the circles and any other shapes you're using for decorations. A CIRCLE GOES AROUND AND AROUND. A square has four sides; a star has five points... and so on.
Now for the fun part! Gather all the materials on the work space. Allow the child to pick out which decorations she wants to use, either all at one time or you can pick step by step. Help the child with any parts of this activity that may be too advanced for her. This activity is meant to be fun more than learning proper gluing techniques. [I put the glue dot on the felt where Madilyn wanted to adhere the ornament, then she placed it and pressed it on. Yes, her fingers got pretty sticky but nothing a little soap and water can't fix.]
Glue the ornaments and decorations on the felt tree, attaching the star at the top and trunk at the bottom of course. Then let it dry for a few hours or as long as the glue instructions suggest.
As soon as it's dry (hopefully that day!) bring it back for your child to touch and explore. It will be a great feeling of accomplishment and excitement for her to feel the tree 'all done.' Hang it up on the wall or bulletin board where your child can reach it when she wants. Take turns counting the ornaments, tracing the shapes that make it up, and exploring the different textures. You can even write the name and date on the back for a keepsake to bring out next holiday season.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
FROM THE SENSORY SUN BLOG
My husband has asked me over and over again to please stop singing these two short lines of the infamous Christmas carol repeatedly. I guess I should go ahead and learn the song in its entirety...But, I'd rather post this blog instead!
Madilyn and I used our 'Art and Crafts' time on Wednesday to make this pretty little felt Christmas tree. She also learned about triangles and circles, textures, and decorating a tree! It is very simple to do and kids have fun decorating their very own tree they can later hang up in their room.
Materials:
1 Green Felt Sheet
Marker or Pen
Ruler or straight edge
Variety of textured paper, dimensional stickers, foam cutouts, or anything you choose to use as 'decorations'
Brown paper (for tree trunk)
Circle hole punch (or scissors if you must!)
Star cutout for top (optional)
Glue or other adhesive (non-toxic)
Fold the green felt sheet in half and mark the back side lightly where the halfway point is located. Unfold and face back side (marked side) up on your table. Using a ruler, draw a line from the halfway point to the bottom right corner, then do the same going to the left corner. This forms your triangle for the tree cutout. Cut along the lines. Next, cutout as many round ornaments from the textured paper as you would like. Gather any other bits and bobbles (be careful with children under 3 years) to use as lights, garland, and ornaments. You now have the hard part finished! Have your child feel along the edges of the tree, noting how many sides and angles it has. THREE! "What shape has three sides?" A TRIANGLE! Now have her trace her fingers around the circles and any other shapes you're using for decorations. A CIRCLE GOES AROUND AND AROUND. A square has four sides; a star has five points... and so on.
Now for the fun part! Gather all the materials on the work space. Allow the child to pick out which decorations she wants to use, either all at one time or you can pick step by step. Help the child with any parts of this activity that may be too advanced for her. This activity is meant to be fun more than learning proper gluing techniques. [I put the glue dot on the felt where Madilyn wanted to adhere the ornament, then she placed it and pressed it on. Yes, her fingers got pretty sticky but nothing a little soap and water can't fix.]
Glue the ornaments and decorations on the felt tree, attaching the star at the top and trunk at the bottom of course. Then let it dry for a few hours or as long as the glue instructions suggest.As soon as it's dry (hopefully that day!) bring it back for your child to touch and explore. It will be a great feeling of accomplishment and excitement for her to feel the tree 'all done.' Hang it up on the wall or bulletin board where your child can reach it when she wants. Take turns counting the ornaments, tracing the shapes that make it up, and exploring the different textures. You can even write the name and date on the back for a keepsake to bring out next holiday season.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
FROM THE SENSORY SUN BLOG
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