 When I was a middle school teacher I used contact paper all of the time because it allowed me to transform regular cardboard boxes into nice looking sturdy containers on the cheap. I wish had photos of this but this was well before digital cameras!
In early childhood contact paper is a great creative art material. It can encourage collaborative, fluid, re-arrangeable art. The experiences encourage process thinking. It is really fun and engaging sensory play for babies, toddlers, and children alike. It is movable, interactive art that stretches the mind and body!
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 Goop is one of Little Miss F.’s favorite sensory play activities. She loves scooping it up in her hands, tasting it, and watching it flow.
I know it has not been long since my first post about goop, but it truly is one of my favorite sensory activities for babies and young children. It is an easy, low prep activity to make using everyday household ingredients--cornstarch and water. And it is no muss clean up too. Just let it dry and sweep up!  For a few months one of Little Miss F's favorite things were scarves. She would giggle with delight feeling the texture of the scarf brush across her face.
Scarves were especially fun before LMF could sit up on her own. She would reach out for them and delight in games of peak-a-boo. Sometimes we’d drape them over her head and let her pull the scarf off herself. This gave her much joy--to suddenly appear before us!  I LOVE squish bags -- they are a fun sensory material for babies, toddlers, and children. And -- they easy to make using everyday materials most of us have around the house.
 Who doesn't like light play? Years ago at a Brooklyn light festival, Bring to Light: Nuit Blanche New York I was captivated by artists' explorations into light and color. The festival only lasted two years - but it was amazing. I was completely fascinated by one artist’s creations using old box televisions and PCV tubing.
Light play is an engaging activity for children of all ages--there are so many possible connections and adaptations. It's a wonderful sensory play as children explore light properties, color, & shadow. As children grow, it continues to be a great fine motor activity and can connect to science, literacy, aesthetics, and math easily. Manipulatives can encourage children's early understandings of foundational mathematical concepts such as counting, one to one correspondence, symmetry, and more.  Growing up I could spent hours in front of a sink playing. Hours. I loved water--there was not a body of water I couldn't resist jumping into...I think that fun and joy in water has carried on with Little Miss F. Bath time is a highlight for her & water play is something she almost craves.
I came home from work yesterday and immediately set off for a walk with LMF and Digby in tow. It was beautiful--60 degree March weather. We walked in the sun and enjoyed the fresh air.
 I’ve been wanting to finger paint with Little Miss F. for a while and finally saw my opportunity the other night. My husband was out so it was just me, LMF, and Digby. And...Little Miss F. was due for a bath.
 How do I get housework done with a baby? That is certainly a question I ask myself regularly. I like to set up different play spaces throughout the house for Little Miss F. to explore and enjoy while I need to work. So she has her stacking star cups in the foyer, soft blocks & hand-knitted hedgies for her door swing, and so on.
 Babies love textures. I always find it fascinating to watch Little Miss F. brush her hands across an interesting new texture--the bumpy weave of an upholstered sofa, the teeth of a zipper or the silkiness of a scarf.
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