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DIY Sensory Board

This Christmas we struggled with ideas on what to get Amelia as a gift. She was only 4 1/2 months old, so there wasn’t anything she needed or wanted. I came across this idea for a Sensory Board from someone else and searched them on Pinterest. I had no idea how popular they were! When you search for them, so many different types popped up! I was so excited to do this for Amelia. It was inexpensive and creative.

We purchased everything from Menards, besides a few items we purchased at Michaels. Here is what we used for our sensory board:

  1. You need a board – Ours is 2 feet by 2 feet. You can get much larger or smaller. We thought this would be the perfect size to pull out and store away when it is not being used.
  2. Spray paint – I decided to spray paint ours pink. There are a lot of people who just leave it the natural wood color also. It’s whatever YOU want to do!
  3. Chain door guard
  4. 3 inch spring door stop
  5. Switch & plate
  6. Red paracord bracelet
  7. 3 carabeeners, different colors
  8. 3 carpet samples
  9. Sandpaper
  10. Door chain
  11. Sash lift
  12. Spiky wood chain – Michaels
  13. Colored glass rocks – Michaels
  14. Super Glue
  15. Wood Glue
  16. Screws & Drill
  17. Wooden letters & numbers – Michaels
  18. Various paints for letters & numbers – Michaels
  19. Wooden square sample

Total at Michaels – $25.86

Total at Menards – $38.50

Total = $64.36

I love how this turned out. I also love that you can do anything to create it your own. Travis and I enjoyed creating this together too!

Advent Wreath

When I was little, I remember creating an Advent Wreath in my religious education classes. This is Monte’s second Christmas and it’s important that we celebrate the meaning of Christmas. We all (and I will admit I fall into this EVERY year) get caught up in the buying gifts, decorating, parties, etc.

I created an Advent Wreath from some supplies I gathered at the local Michael’s store.

This year, we will begin an evening tradition of lighting the candles around our Advent Wreath and saying a prayer. I know Monte will not understand what’s going on, but starting this tradition now, will hopefully instill the meaning of Christmas for many Christmas’s to come!

I also purchased this FANTASTIC book!

It’s called the Advent Book by Jack and Kathy Stockman.

I am so excited for this book, because the pages are board pages and have little doors that open up! I am hoping this will grab Monte’s attention while we are reading and praying around our Advent Wreath.

After I created our Advent Wreath I went to our local Catholic store, Divine Treasures to purchase our three purple candles and one pink candle. They also had a free brochure that had samples of reading and prayers to say each Sunday when we light the Advent Wreath. The nice thing with this tradition, is you can do it every night of Advent or every Sunday. You can create it however you like and works best for your family.

What traditions do you do with your little ones to remind them the meaning of Christmas?

Fall Sensory Bin

I created such a fun activity bin for Monte … a Fall Sensory Bin!

He absolutely loves it and I absolutely love it because I love fall (if you had not heard).

Anyways, all of these items I picked up from the Dollar Store and Michaels. I also had quite a bit of these items already.

You can put whatever you want in your bin, but some things I included were: gourds, leaves, a fake little owl, mini pumpkins, basket filler, tall red feathered grass, acorns, and a sensory jar.

Some things you could add or use instead: hay, pine cones, wood chips, corn stalks, small scented tealight candles, etc. I almost did the candles for Monte, but I was concerned he would try to eat them instead.

We worked on our colors (red, yellow, brown, orange), touch (rough, crinkly, tickle, soft) and smelling certain items.

As mentioned above, I also made a sensory jar. Monte loved this! At Michaels, I found little glass pumpkins. I put a few of those and a leaf into the jar. I filled it about a third full with water and added 1/3 cup vegetable oil.

 The picture isn’t the greatest, sorry. But, the vegetable adds a really cool effect to the pumpkin beads when you shake it.

Overall, the bin was a hit! I definitely recommend for you to try it out!

What type of sensory bins have you made for your kiddos?