Tot Trays - On The Go!

No, No, I didn't pack up Tot Trays and bring the materials with us while we're away from home, but after looking through the pictures on my camera, I've realized that the boys have done several Tot Tray(ish) activities since we've been away. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Tot Tray Activities for keeping little ones occupied! You'll notice a lot of them involve food, since that's the one thing you're guaranteed to have while traveling with kids!

Here's are some of the things my boys have been up to:

Dropping clothespins into an empty juice bottle

(a classic source of entertainment at this age)

Sorting Animal Crackers

Sweeping (I would have used a smaller broom for a tot tray)

Yes, he was sweeping plastic bugs and snakes from our May Sensory Bin out the door. This was his own idea. He also insisted that I step on them :)

 Cutting soft fruit

 

Pouring between a milk jug and applesauce containers.

As I often do these days, I also gave him the top of a water bottle to use as a funnel. He had an abundance of water in the jug, so had to make the effort to both start and stop pouring if he didn't want to spill it.

Putting straws into a milk jug

Taking biscuit dough out of a can, separating them, and arranging them on a pan

(also a great sensory activity)

 

And stacking & exploring empty applesauce containers. Both boys really enjoyed playing with these.

If you're looking for more Tot-Schooling on the go ideas you can also check out our Feelings & Rainbows weeks for more fun ideas that don't require an abundance of supplies!

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Rainbow Popsicles- Made by an almost 3 Yr Old

You know what bugs me about a lot of kid-recipes I see online? The fact that they don't necessarily have much kid involvement. I mean so many times it just seems the only step a little one can really help with is the stirring. Now I'm 100% guilty of this shortsightedness myself.  But for the past few months I've been telling myself that I needed to get my oldest son more involved in the kitchen beyond just mixing. You know, I mean really INVOLVED! This week we had the opportunity to get that ball rolling with this Rainbow Pudding Popsicle activity. I've seen it done all over the web including here, here & here just to name a few. We followed the basics of those instructions and then just winged it from there.

So here's how my almost 3 year old made his very own popsicles: 

Materials Needed:

1 Box Vanilla Pudding

Milk

Food Coloring

1 Large Bowl

4 or more Small Bowls

Spoons

A Fork (or Whisk)

Clean, Empty Water Bottles

Plastic Baby Spoons

Scissors (not pictured)

A Scoop or Measuring Cup (not pictured)

First you'll need to cut the tops off your water bottles.

Due to sharp edges, this should be done by an adult.

Next follow the directions for making the pudding. Ours called for 2 cups of milk. Dude did all the pouring here, although I did make sure the milk jug I gave him had only slightly more milk than we needed so that it wouldn't be too heavy for him to pour.

He did a good job, but did spill a little. Never a problem as long as we cleanup after ourselves ;)

Add pudding mix.

And stir.

The box called for a whisk or hand mixer, but we didn't have either, so I helped him to mix it with just a fork, which worked fine.

Scoop the pudding out into the small bowls.

Add a few drops of food coloring.

I'll be honest letting him do this step by himself scared me, but he did great. We counted out 5ish drops together. 

Mix color into each bowl.

Spoon pudding into the bottom part of the water bottles. I just let my son do it however he wanted instead of trying to explain how to make neat layers. It'll taste good either way, I promise!

Stick a plastic baby spoon into the middle of each "cup" and pop them into the freezer overnight.

Once they're fully set, run the outer plastic under warm water for a couple seconds to help release the popsicle. Then cut/rip the plastic off.  Mine tore easily after an initial cut.

Enjoy!

Yummy!

Our water bottles & baby spoons actually worked very well, but if you're not into up-cycling you could cheat and still make these using something like this.

Both boys approved!

(This picture just makes my heart smile!) 

And yes, our day did get even messier ~

Just try mixing your rainbow stickiness with a little dirt for even more fun!

And if you have any tips or recipes for getting kids more involved in the kitchen, I'd love to hear them! Please feel free to leave a comment or link below. I need more ideas! Thanks!

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