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Cookie Cereal Sensory Bin

August 31, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

An easy set up cookie cereal sensory bin to encourage fine motor skill development and imaginative play to keep kids busy.

Sensory bins are such a fun way to engage with your children outside of traditional toys.

My favorite types of sensory bins for toddlers are the grab and dump kind. You know, grab a few things, throw them in a bin and call it a sensory bin. That is pretty much how this cookie cereal sensory bin was born.

A few simple items from the pantry and the kitchen is all the you need to get this activity ready for play.

(Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.)

Cookie Cereal Sensory Bin

“I hungee (hungry)” is a phrase that I sometimes feel like is said 3,000 times a day by my toddler. So this day was no different. He was walking around, shouting his favorite phrase.

He saw the cookie cereal in the pantry and wanted some for snack. I was about to get him a little cup of dry cereal when I had an idea.

I could combine play time and snack time in a fun sensory bin. Here is what I did for the cookie cereal sensory bin. It is so easy!

Cookie Cereal Baking Sensory Bin Materials

Cookie Shaped Cereal

Baby Spoon or Larger spoon depending on the child’s motor skills

Silicone Muffin Liner Or Paper Muffin cups

Lid to Tupperware for a “baking sheet”

Cookie Cutter

Play Prompts for Cookie Cereal Sensory Bin

Pretend Baking

My little guy is turning two in a few months, so his imagination is not developed like my 5 year olds. Nevertheless we still worked on some ideas to play pretend in order to help him develop those skills.

When I do this with younger kids, I just give them ideas about how to play pretend. Typically the child will them mimic your actions even if they can’t come up with it on their own.

We pretended to make cookies. We placed cookie cereal on the lid to “bake” the cookies. We stirred the “cookie dough.”

Scooping and Transferring

Starting when your child is still a baby and all the way to elementary school you will hear about the importance of fine motor skills.

Fine motor skills work to develop those little muscles in your child’s hands and fingers. This development will help them to do things along the way like write their name, feed themselves and manipulate buttons and zippers on their clothing.

It is so important to develop these skills early on. Thankfully, you can do this through play so that your kiddo won’t even know they are “working.”

In order to work on these fine motor skills while playing with the cookie cereal baking sensory bin, we practice scooping and transferring the cereal.

I encouraged my toddler to scoop cereal using a spoon and then to transfer that into a small bowl. We also picked cereal up using our fingers and placed it on the lid of the tupperware container that we were pretending was a baking sheet.

Communication and Language

If you have read the post on sensory activities with low effort, you know that communicating with your baby is on the top of my priority list.

Since my oldest was an infant, my husband has always commented about the way that I communicate with my children. I start talking to them like they are tiny little adults when they are babies.

Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t adapt to their childhood needs. However, in general I just talk to them like they can understand even when they are infants.

I detail out our day or activity as I am doing it. For example, while doing the dishes, I might say something like this:

“Right now Mommy is washing the dishes. I am rinsing the dishes with water. Now I scrub, scrub, scrub with soap and this white brush. Next, I will place these dishes into the dishwasher. Push the button to turn it on.”

I could go on but you get the point. I try to incorporate colors, shapes and other age appropriate details that they will need to start learning. This is a great way to start talking to your kids, regardless of their age.

So this cookie cereal sensory bin is no different. I talked about the shape of the cereal, the texture, and the color. I gave directions for my child to try and follow and then asked him what he wanted to do with the activity. Mostly he wanted to eat!

Tasting

Sensory bins that are edible or taste safe are the best for young kids! My daughter literally never put anything that she shouldn’t in her mouth.

And my son makes me crazy daily by putting things in that don’t belong.

It is funny how kids can be so different. Anyway, this cookie cereal baking sensory bin is perfectly taste safe.

My toddler had a great time snacking on his baking creations throughout the play time.

Big Kid Play

When my daughter came home from school, she saw our sensory bin activity on the counter and asked about it.

I gave her a brief overview of what we did earlier in the day and put it on the table for her. She encouraged my toddler to engage in the sensory bin again.

They played pretend. They scooped and transferred. Snacked. And then she “sold” lots of cookies to my husband and myself. It gave us a chance to pay her some pretend money and to go over the currency lesson that she has been learning at school.

We did all of this just by playing!

Where to Play

For sensory bin activities that are not super messy, I like to set them up on the kitchen table or in my office. It is nice to be able to watch your child play but still be able to get something else done.

I will often times get dinner started, clean the kitchen or get some computer work done while my child enjoys a sensory experience.

It is easy to encourage, discuss and monitor the play time while knocking tasks off your to do list.

Mess Meter

Overall, this activity should be a fairly low mess and easy cleanup. Just don’t follow my lead. I literally walked out of the room for 3o seconds.

Why do the bad things always happen in the 10 seconds you are gone? I guess my baby didn’t want me missing out on all of this fun.

He picked up the cookie cereal sensory bin, tripped and dumped the entire bin into the floor on his way to find me.

At least it gave us some time to discuss the importance of picking up your messes!

Other Fun Sensory Bin Activities:

Vegetable Soup Water Table Activity

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Activity Bin

Back To School Would Be Nuts Without You Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea With Free Printable

August 13, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

An easy and inexpensive Back to School gift for your child’s teacher that can be put together in just a couple of minutes. Make the first day of school special for your kid’s new teacher too!

Preparing for back to school is a lot of work. You have new clothes to find, school supplies to purchase and backpacks to pack. But as you prep your kids to return to school, you want to acknowledge the new teacher that your child will spend the year with.

Last year we did the “Back to the Grind” Coffee Teacher gift for the first week of school. The coffee gift was nice because you could grab the item that you need at the grocery or drug store. Let’s be honest, making a gift easy to buy increases the likelihood that I will actually get it done.

So just like the coffee teacher present, this back to school would be nuts without you teacher appreciation gift can also be easily purchased at a grocery or drug store. Stick the free printable on and take that baby to school!

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Back To School Would Be Nuts Without You Teacher Appreciation Gift

So I may or may not be struggling with sending my sweet girl to kindergarten this morning. She has been begging to go for weeks so at least she is excited. And actually as I write this at 6 a.m., she just came in my room (without being woken up by me) fully dressed in her first day of school outfit. Ready to go!

It is funny how the mind works. On the one hand, I am excited for her. To see what she will learn, to see her new friends and to see her embark on a new chapter in her life.

But on the other hand, my mama heart is just a little sad. Big kid school signifies what I have known for a while. She is not a baby anymore. She will probably have to deal with some things at school that I won’t be able to immediately fix. And I will want to but as we move to this chapter, I will focus on teaching her to be able to stand up for herself. To be kind (although she doesn’t need many lessons in that). To be confident. To be herself.

Ok, while I go sob in the corner, we can get back to these cute little Back to School Would Be Nuts Without You teacher appreciation gift.

What You Need

You know what else I love about this little teacher gift? You only need two items!

I can’t ever remember to pick up the cute colored baker’s twine or ribbon or washi tape to elevate my gift giving. So I made the printable super colorful. No bow needed!

Here is your supply list:

Nuts – You could do a package of mixed nuts or chocolate covered almonds like I did
Free Printable

Just attach the printable with a little piece of tape.

What I Love About This Teacher Gift

Easy – You can find nuts at pretty much any gas station or grocery store. No special trip to a specialty store.
Gender Neutral – This would work for male or female teachers! I love that because male teachers tend to be a bit harder to buy for.
Inexpensive – You can buy one of those individual packs of nuts for usually around $1. You can choose to get a bigger package but it could be done for $1. A teacher gift doesn’t have to be expensive to show that you care. The package that I used was right around $5 at my local grocery.

Back To School Would Be Totally Nuts Without You Free Gift Tag Printable

To print, just click this Link. It will take you to a PDF page to print the tags.

Cut the gift tags and attach to the teacher’s gift. The end. You are done.

Will anyone else be joining me in a good cry after making up their back to school would be nuts without you teacher gift today?

Blue Without You Gift Basket

August 11, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

A cute going away gift for friends, co-workers or young adults moving for college. The Blue Without You gift basket features all blue snacks and gifts to show how sad you will be without their daily presence.

Yesterday my husband and I took a trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to see my middle step daughter’s new dorm room and walk around the University of Alabama’s campus. If you haven’t been there before, it really is a beautiful school. We walked until I had blisters on my feet and had a belly full of Rammer Jammer Fried Green Tomato BLT’s.

We were both having some major college envy thinking about all the fun that she will have over the next four years! Those really were the best days. No major worries, a little school and a lot of carefree fun.

So I knew that she had most of the actual dorm essentials covered but wanted to take a little gift to let her know how much we will miss her while she is away. This “blue without you” gift basket seemed like the perfect way to give her a few dorm life necessities and some fun splurges.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Bama Fans: Check out this Ultimate Bama Fan Gift

Blue Without You Gift Basket

The criteria for this gift is simple, if it is blue it makes the cut! My 5 year old joined in on the search for all things blue to include in the present. We shopped the Dollar Tree and Target for the perfect little “happy’s” to go inside.

Here are the items we included in the Blue Without You Gift Basket:

Dollar Tree:

Blue Basket
Pineapple Cups (They were in blue packaging so they worked)
Blue Striped Flip Flops
Life is Sweet Blue Notepad
Blue Gatorade
Buncha Crunch
Jolly Ranchers
Car Clip On Air Freshener
Air Heads

Target:

Blue Spiral Notebook
Bronner’s Peppermint Lip Balm
Blue Softsoap
Pretzel Crisps
Blue Lounge Pants (so soft!)

Blue Gifts From Amazon

Here are some other things that would be cute to include in the blue without you gift basket.

Blue Without You Free Printable

After filling the basket with all of the goodies, I created a Blue Without You Printable to attach to the front. The printable helps to explain the theme to the recipient and let’s them know how much you will miss them while they are gone.

This Blue Without You Gift Basket Printable intentionally has only one tag per page to save your printer ink if you are only making one basket. If you need to make multiple gifts, just print the number of printable copies that you need.

Click HERE to get your freebie.

What other Blue food/gift items would you include?

Summer Activities to Do With Kids As A Working Mom

July 22, 2019 by Stacy Craft 2 Comments

I took off work the Friday before Memorial Day so that we could do some fun things as a family to kick off the summer vacation. On Sunday, my daughter asked me how many more days that I would be off work. I told her and she looked at her brother and said “Ok, two more days of fun and then no more!”

It was hilarious. But then the mom guilt set in. When I work, she doesn’t get to have fun. Now I could go through all the reasons that I work my day job and how I actually think it is good for her to see me as a professional in my field (which is predominately male dominated). But really all I could think about was that she felt like there would be no more fun once I went back to work.

So I set out to come up with a list of summer activities to do with kids as a working mom. We are busy and tired after a hard day of work but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to enjoy these sweet summertime memories that are ready to be made.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

Summer Activities To Do With Kids As A Working Mom

My parameters were pretty simple for this list of summer ideas. The ideas have to be fairly short in time requirements so that you could do them on a lunch break or after work. They will have minimal set up up requirements to save time (and sanity).

These things don’t have to be extravagant, just time spent together. Soaking up the evening sun and the insects chirping and the kids playing outside. Instead of unwinding in front of the TV, these summer activities to do with kids as a working mom will allow you to relax while watching your kids making the most of their summer.

Some of these activities are at an establishment but lots of them can be done at your house. I know sometimes the last thing you want to do after working all day is to go somewhere so that was kept in mind while making this list!

Things to Do In Summer After Work with Kids

Draw with Sidewalk Chalk
Go for Ice cream before dinner (we did this in the backyard with an ice cream sandwich and it was a hit)
Blow Bubbles
Grab takeout and hit the park. Enjoy a picnic & then play.
Set up the sprinkler and let the kids play (and cross watering the lawn off your to do list)
Fly a Kite
Make an ice cream sundae bar
“Camp out” with sleeping bags on the floor and watch a movie with popcorn
Plant a flower and let the kids water it as needed throughout the summer
Grill hotdogs and hamburgers for an easy summer bbq
Toss a beach ball in the yard
Play in a water table
Eat dinner outside picnic style
Have a water fight with squirt toys
Take a family bike ride
Visit a splash pad or pool after work (crowds are usually lower so you have more space to yourself)
Paint the sidewalk with a DIY sidewalk chalk paint recipe
Eat watermelon outside
Toy Switcharoo – let the kids choose a toy that is normally an inside toy to play with outside (blocks/dolls/trucks)
Catch and release fireflies
Go to the library and pick out some new books for summer (or have some delivered to your house)
Go on a Summer Scavenger hunt (look for sprinklers, certain colors of flowers, bike riders etc)
Find an Indoor play place to enjoy when it is too hot for outside
Make Tie Dye tshirts
Go Bowling or Skating
DIY Mani / Pedi in a fun summer print like these watermelon nails.
Bring Carnival fun home by DIY Face Painting
Color a summer inspired coloring page
Paint a birdhouse and then watch for birds.
Pretend to camp out and read books in their pop up tent (or make a fort)

15 Minute Play

I recently heard about a concept of actively playing with your kids for 15 minutes a day. No phones, no interruptions, just pure focus on your kid and their choice of activity for 15 minutes. According to the writer, that is all that they really need in terms of parental play time.

Joanna Fortune is the author and a therapist that wrote the book 15 Minute Parenting that explores this topic. I have the book on the way now to read. As a working mom, I always worry that I’m not playing with my kids enough. On one hand, I think it is great that my kids are good at independent play.

But naturally we wonder if we are doing enough. So I’m interested to read about this 15 minute play concept and to test it out with my kids and our schedule.

I hope these easy play ideas help you with the summertime blues that can pop up as a working parent during those warm summer months. And if you liked Summer Activities to Do With Kids As A Working Mom, check out some of our other easy set up play and craft ideas on the site!

Vegetable Soup Water Table Sensory Play

30 Second Infant Sensory Painting

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Sensory Bin

8 Best Outdoor Water Toys

The Inn at Christmas Place Review

July 22, 2019 by Stacy Craft Leave a Comment

Forget boring hotels! Have yourself a merry little Christmas in June if you would like. At the Inn at Christmas Place, Christmas carols will be sung, Christmas cookies will be eaten and Santa will be seen. Does it get any better?

Visiting a hotel with unique characteristics is part of the vacation adventure. Sure you could stay at a regular motel and maybe the indoor swimming pool would be enough to wow your kids. Or you could stay at a magical inn that sends you into the Christmas spirit at every turn (no matter the month).

The Inn at Christmas Place celebrates Christmas 365 days a year and we aren’t sad about it. It is located in the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and you can really feel that Southern Tennessee Christmas charm radiating throughout the property. And since I am a born and raised Tennessee girl, you can trust me on that!

Here is a breakdown of our quick trip to the Inn at Christmas Place.

Affiliate Links are used in this post. A small commission may be paid to me at no extra cost to you and that helps to support this page. Please see my disclosures page for additional information.

The Inn At Christmas Place

We visited the Inn at Christmas place after moving my oldest step daughter into the University of Tennessee dorms and visited with our then two and a half year old daughter. The Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area is just a short drive from the University. So we were looking forward to having a little mini vacation before heading back to Memphis.

Christmas Decor Everywhere

The Inn at Christmas Place has magical Christmas decor at every turn (and every floor)! When you first enter the inn, you will feel as if you have entered the stately home of a distant Tennessee relative. A warm fire and huge Christmas tree decorate the lobby along with countless other Christmas touches.

Every single floor has a different theme to see and yes we rode the elevator floor to floor to see them all. There are lots of Christmas classics like the Grinch or A Christmas Story (complete with a leg lamp in all her glory).

In addition to the floor decor, there is tons of stuff all over the common areas that has been decorated for Christmas (even the office and gym are not safe from seasonal cheer). You will find trees, Santa figurines and other Christmas themed areas all over as you explore.

If you stay in the regular rooms, the Christmas theme is there but modest compared to the common areas like the lobby. We had a mini Christmas tree, some holiday art on the walls, some wreaths and some holiday throw pillows on the beds.

What I really loved about the room was that the bathroom was big and spacious. When you start combining whole families in one room, a nice spacious bathroom is key.

I also appreciated the fact that every room has a mini fridge and a microwave. My daughter wanted a cup of milk every night before bed so it was nice to have a place to store a carton for her. And my husband liked having the ability to warm up his Mellow Mushroom pizza leftovers for a midnight snack.

Warm Cookies Every Night

When you think of Christmas, certain things immediately come to mind. Jesus and the Nativity. Family and Gifts. Santa and cookies. These are Christmas traditions that many of us celebrate and you can do just that at The Inn at Christmas Place.

Every evening you can bring the kiddos down in their pajamas to get a freshly baked, still warm from the oven cookie to enjoy.

The yummy cookies were a fun treat to look forward to every night! It was also a money saver for us because we are a dessert loving family. But since we knew that there were cookies waiting on us at the hotel, we didn’t need to splurge at dinner. The cookies are available from 8 to 10 pm nightly.

This was probably the biggest cookie she has ever had all to herself. It isn’t the best picture but the joy on that little face just had to be shared. Living her best life at the Inn at Christmas place!

Santa Visits

And with every delicious Christmas cookie, there is a big, jolly Santa somewhere nearby! He is in the living area next to the breakfast room almost every morning. He also has a weekly story time and even an evening concert on select nights.

Seeing Santa and getting to tell him what you want for Christmas (even if it is in August) is always fun. Well for everyone but our kid! She wasn’t feeling Santa on this particular trip!

Be sure to check the Inn at Christmas Place website or give them a call to ensure Santa will be there on the dates that you will be staying. It does state on their site that Santa does have an occasional North Pole emergency that he must tend to.

Continental Breakfast

The included breakfast was quite good when compared to other larger hotel chain breakfast offerings. They had made-to-order omelets, Belgian waffles that you could make, lots of fruit, pastries, cereals and the typical breakfast items (eggs/bacon/sausage/biscuits).

The coffee was also a step up from the typical hotel fare as well. I am a bit of a coffee snob and this was very good java. No coffee shop needed for me.

Finding a hotel with an included breakfast is a great way to save money. Even if you hit a fast food restaurant, that is at least $15 for us and sometimes more depending on which kids we have with us at the time (if everyone is with us we are a family of 7 so eating out can add up very quickly).

Eating at the inn also allowed us to get in quickly, grab some food and head out for our day of fun in the Gatlinburg area.

Outdoor Grounds

The grounds of The Inn at Christmas Place were very beautiful. The exterior of the inn reminds me of German architecture that is made even more inviting with Christmas wreaths, bows and lights.

The beautiful ponds and flowers out back are impressive and peaceful. If I had not had a chatty toddler with me, I might have enjoyed a quiet cup of coffee on one of the benches.

There is also a large birdcage outside that my daughter enjoyed. She liked taking a moment to look at the birds and watch them fly around.

Pool

We didn’t use the pools when we stayed because sometimes what a toddler doesn’t know won’t hurt them. I know, I know, bad mama! Withholding fun from my baby!

Anyway for all you awesome mom and dads out there, the pool options are plentiful at the Inn at Christmas Place. Indoors you will find a large swimming pool and a hot tub.

Outdoors there is a pool and a water slide that looks like it would be fun. Just remember that the outdoor pools will only be open seasonally so if you are celebrating Christmas in November for instance, you will need to swim inside!

Family Friendly Inn

Overall we all really enjoyed our stay at the Inn at Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge. It was a nice change from just a normal hotel. Typically we check into a hotel, throw our stuff down and leave immediately to go do something fun. But when everyday is Christmas at your hotel, you stay a while. Explore and enjoy a little bit of Christmas spirit no matter the time of year.

I am currently trying to talk my husband into another trip up that way so stay tuned for some updated pictures soon (If I can get my way!).

If you have any questions, send me a comment below. And if you are planning a road trip with kids, check out these awesome travel activities all under $15.