math

The Only No Cook Play Dough Recipe You’ll Ever Need

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I love love love love LOVE play dough.

When I was a kid, my sister and I would spend hours creating whole meals out of play dough. Burgers, peas, carrots, french fries, chicken nuggets…anything we could think of we would make.

Now that I’m all grown up, one of my favorite experiences to share with the little ones in my life is making play dough together. When my friends and their kids come to my house, they always go home with a bag of play dough that they made.

Here’s my super easy, kid friendly, NO COOK (yea!) recipe for play dough.

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More Than a Feeling: The Hidden Benefits of Sensory Bins

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You know those minivan and suv commercials where they make the car look like it can do literally anything?

That’s basically the same as a sensory bin.

What is a sensory bin?

A sensory bin is a container filled with a variety of materials cultivated to ignite one or more of the five senses: touch, sight, smell, sound, and taste. You’ve probably seen water tables and sand tables at Target or Walmart. You might even have one in your backyard! There are tons of tutorials on the internet that show how to use pvc pipe and storage tubs to create a cheap table. I’ve found that those plastic under the bed storage tubs straight on the floor work wonders. You can move it anywhere (speaking from experience, don’t try to move it when it’s full) and you can store your materials in it when you’re done!

Scroll to the end of this post for a list of materials for your sensory bin!

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Music Molds Minds

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I love music. Like, LOVE music.

My mom was in high school band and sang in our church choir. My sister was in band and choir and became an elementary music teacher. My dad’s favorite pastime is driving down the road, his outstretched arm cutting through the warm summer air, belting out the classics and drumming on the steering wheel. Most family gatherings with my aunts, uncles, and cousins involve hymn singing in perfect four part harmony. I was in marching and concert band, sang in my church choir, play guitar, played bass and sang backup vocals in an early 2000s punk cover band with my best friends. Some of my most vivid memories have something to do with music.

I recently spent two weeks with my 14 month old niece and just like the rest of our family, she is a music fanatic. The second music comes on or someone starts singing, she immediately drops everything she’s doing to dance and clap. She’s a huge fan of funk, 70’s classics, really anything with an exceptionally good groove.

Music has an overwhelming power over the human brain. A moving melody can send a chill down your spine (a phenomenon called frisson — with all my heart, I really really really hope you’ve experienced it). It can trigger memories, soothe infants, get you excited to exercise, make a dinner more romantic, calm you when you’re stressed, and help you focus.

But did you know that our earliest experiences with music help us develop more than just our musical ability? I could write a thousand posts about the benefits of music and still only scratch the surface, but for today, here are just a few ways music molds minds. Continue reading →