30 Days of Hands on Play Challenge: 29 and 30

We did our last activity yesterday: sticky art! For this activity, I used clear contact paper and cut two pieces the same size for each child. I pulled the liner off of one of the pieces and laid it sticky side up in front of them. I supplied them with tissue paper and patterned paper scraps. They pressed the paper onto the clear contact paper. Once they had covered a majority of the sticky side, they chose a color of glitter and we sprinkled that in the gaps. Then I placed the other piece of contact paper on top.

A few tips:
-If you don't like glitter, skip that step. I don't mind glitter, but that step got really messy!

- Leave a border around the edge with nothing on the contact paper, that way it will seal everything in.

-If you forget to leave a border (as we did) you can seal the piece by using clear tap around the edge.

The kids really had fun with this and even Will stuck with it long enough to cover his piece!

Once they were all finished, I hung them in the kids' bedroom windows.

My task for day 30 was to think about what I learned.

Ellie really enjoyed having this time with me. She was always quick to tell me to join in the fun. She really liked knowing at the beginning of the day what was coming. She's a planner. She most enjoyed the craft projects, which really didn't surprise me.

Addy really enjoyed the sensory activities. I've always known she is a child who enjoys touching stuff and getting her hands dirty, and this project confirmed that. She can spend an hour plus playing in water, or making paint prints. She also encouraged me to sit down and play along with them.

I was surprised to find out how much Will could actually do. He participated in almost every activity and stuck with it. He LOVED helping with cooking, which I initially didn't think he was ready for. I have been making an effort to include him when we do baking and cooking together. I was also surprised by how much he enjoyed the craft projects. He really stuck with them and did a great job for a 1 1/2 year old. I think part of that is he likes to be a part of whatever is going on and so he really enjoyed this time where we all played together.

I was reminded how much fun it is to just play. I think I had forgotten it the busyness of taking care of the kids and the house and just doing my own thing. I have been trying to spend more of my days focused on playing with the kids and less on what I want to do. I think we are all happier for it!

Now all that is left is for us to continue playing together. I think our project tomorrow will be to make a jar to put slips of paper with the activities into. We will be using the activities from this challenge and I will add other activities I come across. Thank you for joining me on this journey and I hope I have inspired some of you to try something new with your kids.