Educational Resources for Kids

Insect Inspections Sensory Bin

April 8, 2016August 14, 2015 by Stephanie Oswald

The other day we played around with a spaghetti bug bin that was an absolute blast! It was so much fun that my kids have been begging me to do another insect sensory bin with them. While they would have loved to do the spaghetti one again, I needed to find a use for all this pink crinkle paper shred (is that what you would call this?). And so the Insect Inspections Sensory Bin came to be. Gotta love playful excuses to recycle!

Insect Inspections Sensory Bin

Plus it is always a fun challenge to find ways to incorporate the same toys into different sensory bins! We had so much fun with this it would be a close call in deciding which sensory bin we enjoyed more!!

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site Lavender Sensory Bin

March 6, 2025August 13, 2015 by Stephanie Oswald

Rocks, “dirt”, and wheels! All things my little man dreams of. Lately in this house Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by.Sherri Duskey Rinker has been a favorite. I have lost count of how many times it has been read. It is such a fun book for all those big truck lovin’ kids out there! This Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site Lavender Sensory Bin was created out of my sons love for this book. Now we can read, play, and begin to wind down before nap time (instead of fighting over no trucks to bed)…

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site Lavender Sensory Bin

While this is a pretty basic rice sensory bin, we did do one thing to make it extra special. Here’s a hint- absolutely no rubbing alcohol or vinegar was used to dye the rice…and it smells wonderful!

Bug Bin: A Simple Slimy Sensory Bin

April 8, 2016August 5, 2015 by Stephanie Oswald

My kids have always had a certain fascination with bugs while I myself am not a huge insect person. Certain things such as raising butterflies are a lot of fun, but up close interactions with bugs beyond that is just not something I can handle without my skin crawling. This Insect Sensory Bin was a fun way for us to explore the fascination of slimy creepy crawlers without me actually having to handle live bugs. A happy middle ground for us!

Bug Bin! A Simple Slimy Sensory Bin

Sensory Bins are one of my kids favorite activities, and quite honestly I love them too. They are simple to throw together and can usually entertain kids for quite some time. They are also a fantastic tool for imaginative play, fine motor, and language development. Activities such as this insect sensory bin are extremely open ended and easy to modify to your child’s developmental level and needs.

Handwriting Practice Made Fun and Easy!

March 4, 2025July 16, 2015 by Stephanie Oswald

For many kids handwriting can be a daunting task. It doesn’t help that writing can have a reputation of being tedious and boring. Handwriting doesn’t have to be that way though. Here are some ways to make handwriting practice fun and playful to help your child fall in love with writing!

Handwriting Practice Made Fun and Easy

With the availability of technology I have heard countless times that handwriting is a thing of the past; that teaching children cursive is not necessary. To this I strongly disagree. There is a magic in paper and pencil that our children should be allowed to explore. A level of creativity that a keyboard can not pass along. Handwriting is so much more than just printing symbols, it is about creating.

How to Grow Your Own Magic Crystal Tree!

March 6, 2025June 27, 2015 by Stephanie Oswald

Typically summer for us means a lot of day adventures like creek crawling and road trips. However with a new baby in the house the amount that we have been able to do this is nowhere near what my older kids are used to. And that’s ok, it’s perfectly fine. It just means that I have a bunch of bored kids on my hands. Easy science experiments such as this Magic Crystal Tree or the DIY Floam that we made the other day have been my sanity!

How to Grow Your Own Magic Crystal Tree

This simple science project uses items that you probably already have around your home, is an incredibly easy set up, and has almost immediate results. This is a great experiment for kids that are just starting to get curious about science!