Our Solution to Healthy Eating on the Road

Yesterday, I shared about our healthy, economic, enjoyable and good for SPD family food goal.

Today, I thought I would give a practical example of how we work towards that goal even when we are buckled into our minivan, running from appointments to classes or taking family road trips:

Mini-Meals on the Go

A Road Trip Mini-Meal:  Chick Peas from a Can, Fresh Peach Chunks, Raspberries and GFCF Pretzels

During Staples back-to-school sale time, we purchased pencil cases for each of the kids for a mere $1.  When they were on sale, we bought single-serve apple sauce containers.  After finishing off the apple sauce, we cleaned out the containers and popped some into the pencil cases as mini-serving dishes.  Now, when we know we will be out for a meal time, we spend a few minutes filling the kids' mini-meals-on-the-go cases with gluten-, casein-, additive-, preservative-, artificial dye-, white sugar-free choices akin to those we used to use for our Mix-and-Match Picnics.  Then, we close box lids, carry them to the car (without shaking them up or turning them over, of course), buckle in and are off. 

When ready to eat, the children open their Mini-Meal boxes and enjoy.  There is  need to stop for unhealthy fast food, no need to munch on overly processed car snacks, and, thus, no bags, wrappers or bits of food floating all over the car.  When the kids are finished eating, they just snap the lid  back down, corralling any leftovers and containers inside.

On Road Trips

On a Road Trip, Snacking on GFCF Corn Chips, Grapes and True North Nuts

For longer trips, our process is much the same.  The only difference is that as well as readying a Mini-Meal for each child to take to the car, I also pre-pack a canvas bag with extra empty apple sauce containers, napkins, a small cutting board, a can opener and a knife, as well as some shelf-stable items such as nuts, canned chick peas, chips, apples, pears and special treats. In addition, I pack a cooler with fragile fruits (such as raspberries, blueberries and grapes) and as other items to keep cool.  Then, at potty stops, if anyone's Mini-Meal container is empty, or if at least the produce cup in it is, I take a few minutes to refill the whole container.

Accommodating, to a Degree

Processed starches often go first with Luke.

To keep in-car consumption balanced, I usually include produce, protein, a starch and, sometimes, a treat in the kids' Mini-Meal containers.  However, since all of our children are most likely to eat their treats first and our "sensory kid" always goes for processed starches before anything else, we usually abide by three simple guidelines:

1. Treats cannot be eaten until last.  If it is, you won't get the next treat offered to others.
2. Refills only happen when produce has been eaten.
3. You can make requests for specific food items, as long you include some variety.

With these three guidelines for mental structure and the actual pencil box and mini serving dishes for physical structure,  eating on the go has become a lot easier for our family.

What strategies do you use for healthy eating on the road?  

This post is being shared at Life as Mom's Frugal Friday as well as Frugal Tuesdays.

Putting the Real in Ideal: Our Version of Chair Pockets

In an ideal world, I would have the time, sewing talent or money to make or order custom kitchen chair versions of these nifty organizers:

But, since I don’t, I have gone with a “do what you can with what you have” philosophy.  So, here is my economical version of our first real chair "pocket" organizer:

Now, I know what you’re thinking: That’s just a bag hung on a chair, not a pocket.  You are right.  But, I got tired of waiting for the ideal chair pocket to materialize with our limited budget of time, talent and finances.  So, I rummaged through a literal pile of possibilities until I grasped a solution – a bag of just the “right size” that I like but rarely have had an occasion to use.

You see, our no-cost-to-us chair bag serves the same purpose as a more ideal store-bought, or (dare I dream) custom-made chair pocket would.  In fact, it is even a tad more functional and smile-inducing for us.  Not only does it hang on a chair and coral our Morning Circle materials, it also pleases me to remember the colleague who gifted me the bag after some travels in Asia.  Plus, having a bag instead of a pocket is handy for us, since the bag can easily be carried from its home on the kitchen chair to a blanket on the front lawn, or to a chair on the back porch, or to wherever else we choose to have our breakfast and Circle Time.  That works for me!

What’s in our chair "pocket" bag?  Right now:

• Give Me Grace by Cynthia Rylant, which we have begun using once again as part of a Morning Prayer Pegs
• Psalms for Young Children by Marie-Helene Delval, which is our current devotional
• The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds, which is our picture book of the week (Luke's choice, after he won it through our library's summer reading program)
• a therapy brush, to remind me to begin Luke’s Wilbarger Protocol brushing and compressions right after breakfast

In the future, I will be adding a few other materials, which will hopefully include a magnet calendar that I have been working on, a portable daily visual schedule and a prayer intention book/album.

Do you use anything akin to a chair pocket?  Do you do a morning circle or breakfast book basket?  What tools and resources do you find enhance your breakfast time rhythm and how do you organize them?  Is there a way you’ve adjusted an ideal vision to meet the realities of your time and resources?  Please share in a comment.

This post is being shared as part of the Organizing Junkie's 52 Weeks of Organizing, since it is yet another small project I tackled to help me organize materials to keep our homeschool rhythm moving smoothly, as well as at We Are THAT family's Works for Me Wednesday, since translating my ideal vision of a custom chair seat organizer to a reality within our family’s resources works for me, and at Life as Mom's Frugal Friday, since our chair bag provided a no-cost alternative to a possibly pricey custom made chair pocket for us.  Please visit these link ups to enjoy other tips and inspiration.

Address Label Sticker Drawings: Frugal, Fast and Freeing

Part of Luke's Address Label Sticker Drawing

As I have been writing our Summer Sensory Diet Series, I have been thinking about how summer should be all about fresh air, freedom and healthy exploration.   But, sometimes gets interrupted by sickness or injury, which limits outdoor fun and necessitates ideas for  -- in our family's case -- frugal, fast and freeing fun to keep whoever is not "down" content.

Still Smiling Even with a Sore Eye

In our home over past couple weeks, Luke had a fever one night, I trudged through a migraine and body aches the next day,  and, Jack?  Poor little guy!  He not only suffered a now-healed eye-abrasion on one his big blue eyes, but also just finished nursing his way through a draining fever that lasted from Saturday night through Monday morning, with aches and pains that kept him from crawling or cruising along furniture straight through Monday night. (Or, at least possible aches and pains is why we think he paused his usual joy-filled ambulation for several days.)

Thankfully, my frugal habit of clipping junk-mail address labels into stickers and putting them into baggies by categories came in handy for an easy-to-prepare activity that busied big brother and sister both at home and at the doctor’s office.  Yep, Address Label Sticker Drawings did the trick. It kept Luke and Nina happy and, thus, freed me up to book appointments, chat with the doctor with fewer interruptions and attend to Jack as needed at the doctor's and at home

Since it is such an easy and engaging activity, I wanted to share it.  So, please allow me to interrupt our Summer Sensory Diet Series once again.  This time, in order for a quick how-to on:

Address Label Sticker Drawings

Nina's Parade Go-er

Materials

• the picture portion cut off of junk-mail address labels 
• the blank back sides of misprinted documents
• crayons and pens

Presentation

Offer your child a themed selection of address label stickers, paper and drawing utensils along with a suggestion of what they might create. 

For example, I collected a number of American flag stickers and, one day, suggested that the kids make parades like the one we saw on the Fourth of July.   Another day, I brought flower and butterfly stickers to a doctor’s appointment and asked if the children might create a beautiful gardens or bouquets to give the gals at the front desk before we left.  Still another day, I gave the kids stars and moons and asked if they might imagine their own missions to Mars.

Skills

More of Luke's Parade

• Fine Motor
• Pincer Grasp
• Motor Planning 
• Imagination
• Storytelling
• Tactile Desensitization 
• Pre-Writing

Quick Tips/ Extensions

To encourage a wide range of movements (not to mention oodles of silliness), don't give all the stickers to your children at once.  Hold a few back, and when you see the kids getting antsy, offer these extras to them by sticking them your children’s backs, heels, shoulders, elbows, etc.  Your children will get some great extra input while they reach and twist to get the stickers.

Or, play a bit of hide and seek with the stickers, by placing some on your own body parts or on furniture or walls (with one side of the sticker flapping up for easy removal).  Doing so will add some extra movement and fun to the activity.

For variety, switch out the paper with other backgrounds.  craft sticks (or tongue depressors at the doctor's office) can make for fun sticker stick puppets.  A paper plate can act as a flying disc to decorate.  A recycled box can be the background for a sticker diorama or 3-d construction piece.  Use your imagination and let the kids use theirs!

How do you recycle junk-mail address label freebies?  
Do you have a great frugal, fast and freeing (for you or your child) activity?  
Please share your idea or link. 

Also, enjoy links at Life as Mom's Frugal Friday for other budget-friendly tips.

The Evolution of Free Christmas

Grampy Santa and some of his elves before the exchange...

As a child, at extended family Christmas parties, we did the usual family name draws and Yankee Swaps.  But, over the years, as party attendees transitioned from grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins to parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and children, we found our traditional exchanges changed as well.  My siblings and I decided it was more fun to watch nieces and nephews excitedly tear into gifts meant just for them than it was to see them open "whole family" gifts or silly swap ones.  That said, as the number of nieces and nephews increased without a corresponding increase in each of our family's coffers, we knew we could not afford to continue buying separate gifts for each child.  So, the Inexpensive Store Draw Christmas Exchange was born.

My brilliant sister came up with the idea.  At Thanksgiving, each family would draw the name of one inexpensive store -- the Dollar Tree, Target's Dollar Spot, Ocean State Job Lot or the Christmas Tree Shops.  Then, we would purchase gifts for every member of the extended family at that store -- with an emphasis on "silly" or "thoughtful" and a cap of no more than $5 per person when making gift choices. That way, our budgets would not be strained, yet fun would still be had on Christmas day and - bonus - time shopping could be abbreviated since all the gifts would be purchased at a single location.

The idea worked!  Our Inexpensive Store Draw Christmas Exchange elicited many smiles and a fair share of laughter for all both while we shopped for gifts and when we exchanged them on Chrismas day.  But, then, da da da dunnn...  Economic woes hit each of my siblings families and mine even more.

What to do?  Face limitations but keep a spirit of fun by adapting our extended family gift exchange even more:  We made it FREE!  Yep, free.

How?  Well, at Thanksgiving, each person came up with an idea for securing free gifts - freecycled items, recycled items, something from your personal toy box, a prayer, a recipe, something from the beach, something from the woods, freebies from stores and so on.  We wrote these on slips of paper and each aunt, uncle, niece and nephew drew a slip.  Before Christmas, it was each person's responsibility to come up with gifts for everyone else in the family based on their slip - interpreted however they wished, but with the primary "rule" of not spending any money.

The result?  Much thought and creativity during Advent and one of the funniest, warmest Christmas exchanges we'd had in a long time.  A true hit for all -- and a new tradition born.  One that encourages a plethora of shared laughter and inventive thought while de-emphasizing materialism.

Sharing a joke from a Freecycle book...

And so it was, our family enjoyed Year 2 of Free Christmas this year.  The Mike, the kids and I had fun coming up with gifts for the categories -- Freecycle, Recycle, Nature, Poems and Memories -- and the whole family enjoyed Christmas Day.

Yep, Free Christmas is a keeper in our family. It helps us share love and laughter with one another -- two things for which we are eternally grateful!

This post is being shared at Life as Mom's Frugal Fridays. Check out the links there for other ideas to keep your life and learning budget-friendly.

2 DIY Magnetic Play Boards in 5 Easy Steps

As I take down our Halloween decor, I am reminded of our frugal solution for a magnetic play board:  our front door! 

Yes, I just peeled a variety of black cats, pumpkins and bats of the back of the door which the kids have been using for magnetic dramatic play scenarios.

And, in the past, I have had all manner of magnetic play and learning objects stuck to the back of the door.  So, I thought I would share the idea in case you, like me, don't have the extra funds for a fancy magnetic play set nor the time to paint one of those cool magnetic walls.  Here's a frugal alternative:

1. Check to see if your door holds magnets.
2. If it does, have the kids practice some fine motor skills by cutting out shapes, letters and pictures from greeting cards, magazines, etc. and taping bits of magnets to the back.  (We recycle those thin calendar magnets that businesses hand out for this purpose.)  Alternately, print felt stories, magnet stories, etc. on card stock and use these.
3. For greater durability, laminate (for real or with the el-cheapo-for-now-solution clear contact paper version of laminating we use).
4. Then, play and learn away!

And for travel - Step 5: Transfer your magnetic playing pieces to a cookie sheet for car-ride fun!

It's as simple as that.

Need some felt board printables to get started on your magnet boards, check back tomorrow for a round-up!

This post is being shared at Life as Mom's Frugal Friday.

Wearing SPD Lenses: The Jumping Mattress

When I was writing a guest post for Hartley's Life with 3 Boys, I coined the phrase “SPD lenses”.  Since then, I have shared several of our life-through-SPD-Lenses ideas both at Sensational Homeschooling and here.  Well, today, I have another one for you.  
Original Purpose: baby and toddler sleeping comfort

With SPD Lenses:  Gross Motor, Proprioceptive Fun

It may not be pretty, but it sure is frugal, fun and very useful!  See it there behind our cowboy and that piece of furniture?

Yep, we keep an old toddler mattress behind our “music center” as a tool for Luke’s home therapy.  The idea is that he can pull and push out the music center in order to retrieve and lay the mattress down (getting some great heavy work in the process).  Then, he can jump-jump-jump away.  It works like a charm!

• Frugal alternative for other expensive home therapy tools? Check!
• Something to do during study breaks?  Check!
• Ingredient for Luke’s daily sensory diet? Check!
• Tool for rainy day fun, evening-energy release and just plain old fun for all of us? Check!

 But, the honest truth…  Who uses it most?

Our adrenaline junkie, Nina!  Man those furniture-moving muscles and jumping legs love it!

This post is being shared at Life as Mom Frugal Friday.  Please check out other ideas for frugal living by clicking the links there.  And, be sure to leave a comment here about your favorite home therapy or plain-old-fun activity tools.

Growing an In-Sync Child: Simple, Fun Activities to Help Every Child Develop, Learn and Grow, A Rich Resource Review

Parents of children who need OT, but cannot afford it often look for frugal ways to provide therapy at home.  Parents of children who cannot afford My Gym and other such classes often look for less expensive ways to incorporate motor development at home.  Educators with limited school budgets but little to no PE or motor development training may find themselves suddenly in charge of leading such activities.  What to do?  Perhaps turn to Growing and In-Sync Child -- a great resource for parents and educators on this Frugal Friday, which I have reviewed below.

* * * * 1/2

Recently, I devoured Growing an In-Sync Child, co-written by the author of the well-known Out-of-Sync Child and Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun.  Why was I able to devour it despite having two preschoolers and one infant with me 24-7?  Because it is so easily read!  (and it earns its first star for this.)

Written by professionals in the fields of Early Education, Sensory Processing Disorder and Perceptual Motor Therapy, Growing an In-Sync Child makes topics and activities that are often accessible only to experts in classrooms and therapeutic offices around the world easy to understand and implement by even untrained  parents and educators.  Short chapters, concise information, helpful charts and easy-to-follow “recipes” for activities, as well as examples of the how and why behind the activities, make this handy guide work well for busy parents and educators who want to read it in snippets as time allows or refer to it as needed when observations of children’s needs demand a new approach.  Plus, hundreds of examples of WHY different skills are necessary make words such as “vestibular processing ("for standing while following verbal directions", "for sitting at a picnic table", "for doing gymnastics", etc.) and “laterality” ("for holding a bag and stuffing it with leaves",  "for sliding into home plate", "for talking on the telephone", etc.) easily understood.  And, I love the way the book avoids the typical “he” vs. “she” gender issue that so many books of this nature struggle with:  For each activity,  a name for a child is given – Michelle, Thom, Marvin, Kelly-Ann and so on.  The "he" or "she" follows naturally from there.  This works to make the activities seem real and personal, as opposed to generic and clinical. 

Indeed, authors Carol Kranowitz and Joye Newman did a fantastic job making this book accessible to everyone. Brief chapters, which explain theory and the importance of motor-development activities for young children, a chapter that details the story of three children who required early intervention and how focusing on motor development helped them academically and socially as well, page after page of activity "recipes” and multiple charts make the book an informative, easy read.  Without question, these make Growing an In-Sync Child very relevant to anyone living or working with young children.

I can attest that I, with one child who has SPD, one who does not but is a three-year-old sensory seeker and one who is but an infant beginning to master basic motor skills, had many “Ahh, that makes sense,” and “Oo, we’ll try that,” moments while reading this book.  I loved the pages in the back, which focus on walking, running, jumping, balancing, hopping/skipping/galloping, throwing, catching, climbing and striking/kicking.  These provide a quick inventory on what children can be expected to do for each skill at ages two to three, three to four, four to five and five to six, which, for me, offered comfort about some things I was concerned about with my children as well as direction for skills we might focus on in the weeks and months to come.  Also, with the book’s brief, yet complete explanations of tactile processing, vestibular processing, proprioception, balance, bilateral coordination, body awareness, laterality, midline crossing, motor planning, spacial awareness, acuity, binocularity and visual tracking, otherwise “technical” terms and related concepts become understandable.  After reading the book, even a layperson can explain such terms to others and with 60 or so ready-made activities that are fully laid out for children of beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of motor-skills to try anyone can implement motor development activities with confidence in the everyday life of children.  The book gets a star for relevance.

Truly, Growing an In-Sync Child contains a plethora of practical information.  It not only offers the aforementioned 60 activities in an easy-to-read and implement format (Helps Your Child Develop and Enhance, What You need, What You Do, Ways to Make It More Challenging and What to Look For), but it also offers instant “menus” of activities to try by In-sync Component (such as body awareness and balance) and Time and Place (such as Doing During Your Nightly Routine and When You Have No Equipment).    Additionally, it contains a helpful table of activities by level and necessary equipment.  (Another star!)

With three children under five, I know the table will come in handy and I also am confident I can draw ideas from Growing an In-Sync Child for quite a while.  Thus, I want to give this book another full star for its longevity potential.  However, I also admit that parents and educators whose children are a bit older may not find the book as useful for as long.  So, I am only going to give it a half-of-star for longevity.  That being said, the book offers enough that I would still encourage those who work with children on the upper end of the “young children” spectrum to check out the book.  It is worth it and, when kids “age out” of the activities, the book would make a fantastic pass-along as a donation to a library, school or friend.

Growing an In-Sync Child earns a fifth star from me as it is definitely worth the trouble of ordering from inter-library loan if your own library doesn’t carry it.  In fact, after doing so just once, I am putting this book on my when-we-have-money-in-the-book-budget list and planning to order it from our Virtual Library service again soon in the meantime.  While there are many books I can read once or twice, take notes on and move on, and just as many that offer some good activities, this one stands out as one that invites paging through time and time again. There are just so many activity ideas I want to try in it given different ages and stages the kids will go through.  Practical tips, little reminders... I simply cannot take notes on them all.  I want the book on my personal shelves!

Obviously, I like this book and encourage others to take a look at it.  It is easy-to-use, chock-full-of-ideas and great for families and educators of young children who want to integrate simple, fun motor development activities into life and learning.  In my opinion, Growing an In-Sync Child truly lives up to its claims of being an easy to use, portable, expandable, inclusive and economical program that is developmentally-based, flexible and adaptable while addressing many skills simultaneously.  Full of riveting, ingenious, “new” ideas?  Perhaps, it is not.  (How many times can the motor development wheel be re-invented?)  Replete with easy-to-implement, targeted,  and enjoyable activities?  It is!  (The wheel can definitely be engineered to work better for today's drivers.)  As such, I highly recommend this book to all parents and educators of young children.  Get the kids away from the TV, off their bottoms and out of the rut of training just their brains.  Move, move, move to enhance their physical, emotional, academic and overall success through sharing some fantastic  motor development activities from the book's pages.

For an example of a simple activity from the book see the In-Sync Child website. 

To see what I base my star criteria on, please see my first Rich Resource Review post.  And, if you have resources you have found helpful for homeschooling, homemaking, Montessori, Reggio, Classical Ed, Charlotte Mason, Early Education, etc., do share.  I love checking such things out.

This post is being shared at Life as Mom's Frugal Fridays.  Click on the links there to find more tips for getting more for less.

Alerting Activity ABC Cards

This past weekend, we had our first family yard sale.  As I collected items for it from amongst the clutter of our home, it made me think about how much “stuff” we think kids “need” or “could use” only to find they outgrow it quickly.  Then, when I was at a friend’s house for a playdate, we ended up talking about the “too many toys syndrome” that plagues so many homes these days.  Thus, later, as I began flipping through an SPD resource catalog, coveting pricey supplies and games, I immediately caught myself.  “Neither my kids nor my budget needs any of this!  We have been doing just fine with frugal ideas and the view from my SPD lenses.”  Still, I thought we could use something “new” to spice up late afternoons when I am thoroughly wiped from third-trimester pregnancy just as the kids are primed for some sensory fun.  “Hmmm..." I continued to think, "I would really like something that would allow me to sit and them to move... Something that costs just pennies."  It was then an idea struck: Alerting Activity ABC Cards!

I am  excited to say that I just finished making some.  They were inspired by a mind for frugal fun, a desire to meet the kids late-afternoon need to move and mine to sit and, also, by some wonderful ABC Exercise Cards*  that an awesome activity bag swap partner I had included in a box of goodies for my children a couple months back.  (I wish I knew who created the cards originally, so I could credit that person.  if you know, please tell me!)

You see, Luke and Nina love the ABC Exercise cards, as well as some sensory diet inspired movement cards I put together for them for a recent road trip.  So, I was confident that Alerting Activity ABC Cards would be a hit, allowing me a few minutes on the couch while still facilitating late-in-the-day movement and sensory diet activities for the kids...

Perhaps, you’d like to use them to.  Please do!

To Prep the Cards:

Simply click on the thumbnails of the cards throughout this post.  When you do, larger, printable versions should pop up.  (Since I have not yet had time to figure out how to share documents through any of the free online sharing sites that exist, and do not have a PDF file maker yet, I simply uploaded the cards as images.)    Should you want a Publisher version of the cards instead so you can tweak my creation to suit your own child's need, simply leave a comment and your email address and I will get a copy out to you.  (Of course, if you do this, I would expect the courtesy of getting copies of your tweaked cards in return!)

Once you print the cards, simply cut them out and laminate them for durability of you wish.  (I simply use clear contact paper).  Then, stack the cards in a pile on a tray (Montessori style), tuck them in a Ziploc (activity bag style) or hole punch their corners and put them on a ring (handy style).  And, you'll be ready to play.

To Play

Be aware that in the set of cards, there are quick activities kids can do to alert each of their seven senses: auditory (hearing), gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell), tactile (touch), proprioceptive (muscle sense), visual (sight) and vestibular (balance).  With just their bodies and some typical items found at home (or prepared ahead of time if at school, camp or other locations), kids can use the cards to key into each of their seven senses, enjoying a few minutes –or as much time as they wish—of simple, fun activities aimed at “speeding up their engines”.  Before playing, in deference to your child's individual needs and abilities, as well as to what supplies you may or may not have on hand (think lemons and lemonade!), take a quick flip through the deck to pull out any that might not work for your child.

Once the deck is ready, when your child needs some alerting activities, pick a random card – or have the child do so – and follow the challenge on it.  It’s that simple!  Pick one at a time; pick several in a row; pick only ones of certain colors (The cards are color-coded by sense.)  Spend two minutes or twenty.  Whatever works for your child!

Or, for Variation, try these activities:

Board Game Style:  Lay the cards out, face down, in a “snake”,  board game style.  Choose small objects as place markers and grab a coin.  Place the markers before the first card in your game board snake.  Have the first player flip a coin.  Heads= two spaces.  Tails =one.  Move accordingly.  Flip the card over and follow the challenge on it.  Play until someone gets to the end of the “snake”.  (Of course, you can use dice or a number spinner for this game, too if coins are too small and, thus, a choking hazard, for your child or if finger dexterity does not allow for flipping.)

Spelling Snake:  Play as above, but have players collect the cards they land upon and meet the challenges of.  Whoever collects enough cards to spell a word wins.  (Printing two or more decks, or at least extras of the letters A, E, I, O, U, R, S, T, L and N can be helpful for this version.)

Pick a Letter, Any Letter:  Have your child choose a letter of the alphabet.  Then, find the corresponding card.  Follow the challenge on it.

Mother, May I?:  To help practice the habit of polite questioning and obedience, give each child a set of the cards.  Have them pick one and ask, “Mother, may I (do whatever is pictured on the selected card)?”  Answer, “Yes, you may,” or “No, you may ot” and have the child respond accordingly.

What letter Is It?:  To practice letter recognition, show players a card.  Whoever can name the letter (or its sound if working on phonics) first is asked to meet the challenge on it and gets to keep the card.  The winner is the player who ends up with the most cards.  Or, for more cooperative play, ask each player a letter directly by turn (not racing to be the first to name them) and consider it a "win for all" once all letters have been identified and all challenges met.

Can You Think Of...?:  For creative kids that have become familiar with the cards, set a challenge:  Can you think of another activity you could do that uses this letter?

Three-Part Cards: Although not traditional 3-part./nomenclature cards, I made these cards with the 3-part card style in mind.  So, Montessori-inspired folks, feel free to print out two copies of the cards.  Leave one whole and cut the other right below the letters.  Then, use one as the control set and one as the matching set, having children complete the challenges as they successfully match the cards.

Of course, there are many other ways to use the cards... Let your children take the lead (as mine often do!) and they will make up their own game versions.  You'll be amazed!  So, now, stop reading and get to having some sensory fun by printing out the Alerting Activity ABC Cards!

Then later, if you have a moment, stop back by this post to let me know how you and yours enjoyed using the cards.  And, please also leave any tips you might have for improving or modifying them.  (Since the cards were made in snippets of time between life’s many duties, often with the kids-in-lap, there are likely things that could be improved about them.  So, don’t be shy.  I value constructive criticism as much as kudos.)

Finally, for others' Frugal Friday ideas, please check out the links at Life As Mom.

NOTE:  The Exercise ABC cards I mentioned can now be found at The Homeschool Share site, My Body Lapbook on pages 54 to page 60, as I understand.

Frugal Fridays (Vol. 2): Sensory and Skills Spring Activity Bags with a Bit of Montessori Inspiration

Today, as I continue to reflect on how blessed I am to have the time (sometimes!), talent (or at least inspiration from other Moms, bloggers and authors) and resources (gotta love recycling!) to provide my children with fun activities, I continue to be thankful for the fun and inspiration Activity Bag exchanges have brought my family. These exchanges provide for a such frugal fun and learning! Thus, I thought I would wind up my recent Activity Bags series of posts with a Frugal Friday one. For, the official Activity Bags are meant to cost but $1 or less each, and, original idea bags can cost even less, especially when they are made using recycled, up-cycled, re-purposed, or on-hand materials. Can’t beat that in this day and age of often costly fun and learning games and activities for children!

And, I cannot beat the gratitude I fe el for one of the best activity swap partners ever, in my opinion, a talented and creative mom named Kim who I just did a second swap with. Her ideas and activities are awesome (see this post to see what she sent us during our first exchangeand this one to see what she ust sent us) and her enthusiasm for parenting and playful learning is contagious (be inspired by her Savino Stories blog) Plus, the motivation that swapping with her gives me to kick myself from “thinking” to “doing” gear is great!

With that motivation in mind, recently, when Kim got in touch with me about a Spring Activity bag exchange, since she and her kids had offered positive feedback on most of the Montessori in a Bag activities I had created for them before, and since I have fallen away from focusing on Montessori with Luke and Nina, but want to get back to it, I planned on creating more Montessori in a Bag activities. But, then I decided, that since we’ve recently discovered Luke has mild SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder), and since Kim mentioned she is interested in S.I. (Sensory Integration) activities, I would challenge myself, instead, to focus on Sensory and Skill Activities in a Bag with a Bit of Montessori Inspiration thrown in. Additionally, I sought to limit the materials for the bags to recyclable and repurposed ones, as well as anything I had on hand – as that was what Kim and I had agreed upon for our prior exchange parameters, with both "green" and budget responsibilities in mind.

So, here’s what I came up with, which, admittedly, pales in both breadth and also fun with manipulative when compared with what Kim put together for us, but still has been providing a host of fun and learning for the kids, while offering some additional sensory experiences.

(1) Activity Name: Bunny Blow (Oral/Motor and Practical Life)

Aims: alerting/ “speed up the engine” activity to help with oral/motor function, strengthens the respiratory system and speech articulators (tongue, cheek and lips), increased visual range and accuracy, control of movement, etc.
Activity Directions: Place the “Bunny Box” on the floor. Move away from it. Place cotton ball on the floor. Using straw, try to blow cotton ball to the spot on the “Bunny Box” where the tail is.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Make a stand up bunny out of card stock or cardboard with the tail portion cut out. Try to blow the cotton ball through the hole. (2) With two or more people, race to be the first to get your tail to the bunny. (3) Use different sized straws and other objects of different lengths, widths and shapes to blow – twisty straws, drink box straws, toilet paper tubes, etc. (4) As a Montessori Practical Life activity, use a small broom and add have child try to sweep the cotton ball tail to the bunny.
Control of Error: unable to blow cotton ball to match the place of the tail on the “Bunny Box”
Bag Includes: “Bunny Box”, 2 straws, 2 cotton balls
Source Inspiration: "Spirited Shepherd”, p. 210 of The Out-of-Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Stock Kranowitz, M.A.
Spring Connection: Bunnies, of course!
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “--struggles with fine motor... and excels with most large motor activities.” (This activity allows for some gross motor skills as children crawl along to blow the cotton ball, but it also enhances fine motor skills as they use the pincer grasp to hold and point the straw.)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head and small objects which may present a choking hazard. Adult supervision is required.

(2) Activity Name: YogaKids Cards (Proprioception, Tactile, Practical Life)

Aims: calming, proprioception activity; tactile activity (if done barefoot), which helps with core strengthening, motor planning, control of movement, balance, calming oneself, concentration, body awareness, etc.
Activity Directions: Place all cards on a plate, face up. Pick up a card and attempt the pose. Then, place card, face down, on the other plate.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Make up your own poses based on animals, vehicles and other things of interest. Try to think of “spring things” to make up your own poses about.(2) Switch out cards with other yoga pose cards. (3) Try to find picture cards or toys to match the names. Put them in a bag or basket and draw one out to decide which pose to do. (4) See MANY ideas and extensions and further explanation of poses in Yoga Kids videos and books by Marsha Wenig (whose website is where these cards fame from!)
Control of Error: unable to perform pose to own satisfaction
Bag Includes: 24 yoga pose cards and 2 plates
Source Inspiration: Yoga Kids, Montessori by Hand, Integrated Yoga: Yoga with a Sensory Integrative Approach by Nicole C. Coumo and New Child Montessori. 
Spring Connection: Better weather! Grab a mat or blanket and do these outside. No mat? No problem? The lawn will provide some great tactile feedback for the feet.
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “...you did these wonderful yoga cards...” (I thought more of a thing that worked would be welcome.)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this
activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head. Adult supervision is required.

(3) Activity Name: Mini Weather Geo-Board (Proprioception, Sensorial)

Aims: proprioception activity for fingers (stretching rubber bands isolate the index and middle fingers and provide traction to those fingers), which helps with control of movement, reinforcement of shapes, motor planning, etc.
Activity Directions: Using the picture-word cards, try to create similar outlined shapes with the elastic on the mini geo-board.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Make shapes freely. (2) Use multiple elastics and layer the shapes. (3) As a hammering or construction activity, make larger geo-boards together using scrap wood and nails or push pins. (4) Practice numbers by challenging child to put elastic around a certain number of push pins. (5) Use tweezers or other “pincer” grasp objects to move the elastic about.
Control of Error: unable to create shapes to own satisfaction
Bag Includes: 1 miniature block-and-push-pin geo-board, 1 elastic, 4 picture-word cards
Source Inspiration: Montessori Services (Email me if you want my cards document for this one.)
Spring Connection: seeing shapes in spring
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- is very physical... -- (loves)...anything small or mini.” (My active son loves playing with elastics like this, so maybe yours will, too. And, my daughter, who also likes all things small, finds this just the right size.)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head and small objects which may present a choking hazard. Adult supervision is required.

(4) Activity Name: Tiny Treasure Egg Carton (Tactile, Proprioception, Mathematics)

Aims: tactile (textures of objects found); proprioception (climbing hills, hiking, etc.) activity that helps with one-to-one correspondence, pincer grasp for picking up objects and placing in carton sections, etc.
Activity Directions: Go for a walk outside – up and down inclines, in the woods, if possible – and try to fill each section of the carton with objects from the pictures on the carton.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Instead of using the pictures, simply fill each section of the carton with a different object. Upon completion, explore each object, talking about its texture, what it is called, etc. (2) Before going out, brainstorm 12 or more small objects you might find outside in the spring that would fit in the sections. Race to find them and fill the egg carton. (3) For additional egg carton walk ideas, see Egg Carton Nature Walks.
Control of Error: able to find objects to fill each section of the egg carton
Bag Includes: 1 egg carton with pictures on it
Source Inspiration: a sunny day and an empty egg carton :) (Email me if you want my tiny treasures picture document for this one)
Spring Connection: getting outside in the good weather
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “We are trying to make sure that we get outside more often...” (And here’s a fun way to do it!)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head. Adult supervision is required.

(5) Activity Name: R Playdough Mats (Tactile, Language)

Aims: tactile activity with helps with fine motor coordination, phonics sounds, letter recognition, vocabulary development, etc.
Activity Directions: Using red and blue playdough, make raindrops on one side of mat and any ‘r” objects on the other. Also, using playdough “snakes”, make playdough “R’s” on the outlined “R” and “r” on each side of the mat.
Extensions/Variations: (1) To practice numbers, in dry-erase marker, write a specific number inside the umbrella and make that many raindrops. (2) Draw or print picture cards of different “r” words for use as inspiration for making creations. (3) Pointing to “r’s”, make the phonetic sound for “r”. Then, try to find the other “r” words in the sentence on the mat and decide which color playdough represents an “r” word. (3) Make playdough together and use it in lots of ways.  recipe and ideas at my Playdough in a Tutor's Toolkit post.
Control of Error: unable to fill in “r’s” or to make “r” creations with playdough
Bag Includes: ½ cup red playdough, ½ cup blue playdough, double-sided “R” playdough mat in page protector
Source Inspiration: none in particular -- playdough is a well-known S.I. activity (Email me if you want the two-sided mat document for this one.)
Spring Connection: spring rain
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “We are still working our way through the alphabet...” (Have you gotten to “r” yet? If so, time for a review.)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head. Adult supervision is required.

(6) Activity Name: Puddle Jumping (Proprioception, Language)

Aims: proprioception (jumping) activity, which helps with balance, meaning of prepositions, etc.
Activity Directions: Put the “puddle” on the floor. Using the picture-word cards, decide whether to jump in, over or next to it.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Fill a dishpan with water and put it on the puddle for extra added fun. (2) Add more instruction cards, for example: stomp in, tiptoe through, walk around, etc. (3) Go outside and use the cards for real puddle jumping fun!
Control of Error: unable to match body actions to pictures on the cards
Bag Includes: 1 blue material “puddle”, 3 picture-word cards (in, over and next to), one chant card
Source Inspiration: Learn to Move, Move to Learn by Jenny Clark Brack (frog theme)
Spring Connection: spring rain
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- is constantly going, loves to ...just be in motion...” (This activity will focus some of that energy!)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head. Adult supervision is required.

(7) Activity Name: Rain Droppers (Fine Motor/Pre-Handwriting, Practical Life)

Aims: calming fine motor activity to help with focus, concentration, fine motor skills, pincer grasp, etc.
Activity Directions: Fill blue lid with water. Put white lids inside circles on mat. Then, using the dropper, transfer the water to other lids making it “rain” on the “green grass”, on the “trees”, on the “housetop”, but not on “me”.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Draw your own grass, trees, housetop and self. Put in pocket protectors. Then, use a wet sponge – wringing it – to make it “rain” enacting the poem. (2) For fun, watch a you tube video of this poem/song, such as this one. (3) Make up your own things it could rain on and change the pictures on the jars accordingly.
Control of Error: unable to transfer the water
Bag Includes: 1 poem mat in page protector, 4 lids, 1 dropper
Source Inspiration: The Out of Sync Child Has Fun by Carol Stock Kranowiitz (p. 305, mention of pincer grasp)
Spring Connection: spring rain
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- seems to be picking up anything that -- isn't supposed to ...anything that's 'adult.'” (How about glass jar being used instead of recycled capss?!) “-- struggles with fine motor...” (Droppers are great for developing fine motor skills!)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head. Adult supervision is required.

(8) Activity Name: Make Your Own Clouds (Tactile, Science)

Aims: tactile activity that helps with science vocabulary, nature observation, etc.
Activity Directions: Pick a cloud card. Using cotton balls, create a similar cloud on blue background paper.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Use glue, cotton balls, pom poms, white glitter and paper to make cloud collages inspired by picture cards. (2) Use cards as part of “circle time” to identify clouds outside each day. (3) Make a matching set and play games with them – Go Fish, Concentration, etc.  (Some further ideas for playing with cards can be found at my Card Crazy post.)
Control of Error: do not feel that cotton creation represents picture cards
Bag Includes: 7 cloud identification cards, various cotton balls, several pieces of blue paper
Source Inspiration: ETC Pres Inc. Cloud Types
Spring Connection: getting outside to look at the clouds
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- likes cards and note pads, anything --size.” (Thought some new cards might be welcome then!)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head and small objects which may present a choking hazard. Adult supervision is required.

(9) Activity Name: Spring Flowers Find –n-Color (Proprioception, Fine Motor, Pre-Writing)

Aims: proprioception activity (if the nature walk includes lots of climbing and “hard” walking), fine motor activity that helps with fine motor, nature observation, colors, etc.)
Activity Directions: Go on a nature walk to search for each of the flower types. Inspect them. Note their colors. Then, come home and color the pages.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Use the coloring sheets as playdough mats, making playdough insects fly on and around the flowers. (2) Play “Run and Get” inside with another person by laying all the flower pictures face up and having one person call the name of a flower while the other runs to get it. (3) Play “Run and Touch” outside with another person by having one person use the pictures as calling cards and the other person running to touch an appropriate flower, something that is the same color as it, something that starts with the same letter as it, etc. (4) For even more sensory input, use scented crayons or markers for coloring and be sure to smell the flowers!
Control of Error: unsatisfied with coloring
Bag Includes: 5 coloring pages in a page protector, crayons
Source Inspiration: Activity Village
Spring Connection: Spring flowers
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “--likes coloring, reading, and writing...” (Well, then, these should be a hit and should help with a nice nature walk.)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed overhead. Adult supervision is required.

(10) Activity Name: Spring Match-n-Run Cards (Proprioception, Sensorial)

Aims: proprioception activity to help with visual discrimination, language, memory, etc.
Activity Directions: Put one set of cards face up on the floor. Some distance away, place the control cards on the floor, face up. Close eyes and drop a pom pom on the control cards. Run/crawl/hop/jump to find the matching car for whatever picture the pom pom lands on. Continue until all cards are matched.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Cut second set of cards and lay “Go Fish”. (2) Cut second set of cards and play “Concentration”. (3) See Maitri Learning's good ideas. (4) Adapt ideas from my Card Crazy post.
Control of Error: cannot match cards – cards left over
Bag Includes: 1 sets of 16 spring photo cards, 3 pages of control mats for cards, 1 pom pom
Source Inspiration: Montessori for Everyone
Spring Connection: Spring objects and scenes.
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- likes cards.” (These cards should be appealing then, and as both kids love to be on the move, all the running will be fun!)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head and small objects which may present a choking hazard. Adult supervision is required.

(11) Dandelion Life Cycle Models (Tactile, Science)

Aims: tactile activity that helps with fine motor, motor planning, science concepts, nature observation, etc.
Activity Directions: Look at Dandelion Life Cycle Cards. Choose one. Using pom poms and chenille strips build a model of a dandelion at a specific stage. Untwist everything and try making a model of a different stage of the dandelion.
Extensions/Variations: (1) As a connected motor activity that helps with oral/motor function, strengthens the respiratory system and speech articulators (tongue, cheek and lips), go outside and find dandelions in different stages of their life cycle and then, blow, blow, blow some for seed dispersal (2) Place cards in the correct order of a dandelion’s life cycle.
Control of Error: cannot make models to satisfaction
Bag Includes: 2 white pom poms, 2 yellow pom poms, 2 green pom poms, 3 green chenille strips, 6 Dandelion Life Cycle cards
Source Inspiration: Sparklebox  (I am taking down the link to Sparklebox and giving warning to all about something I just learned:  The woner of the site was jailed for reasons related to children and the internet.  See this article.)
Spring Connection: Dandelions are growing.
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- struggles with fine motor.” “We are trying to make sure that we get outside more often...” (Making the models will help with fine motor skills will presenting different tactile sensations. Getting outside to the see the real is a great connection! Plus, somewhere in your blog, I thought I saw you mention the kids love pom poms!)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head and small objects which may present a choking hazard. Adult supervision is required.

(12) Spring Bug Hunt (Proprioception, Science)

Aims: proprioception activity (if using a lot of crawling, hill climbing, lifting rocks, etc.) that helps with one to science vocabulary, one correspondence, fine motor skills, pincer grasp, etc.
Activity Directions: Choose one strip of bug picture cards. Take it and the clothespins outside. As you spot a bug, clip a clothespin to its picture.
Extensions/Variations: (1) Go to Sparklebox. Print a second set of pictures and use them for Lotto or other matching games. (2) Using playdough or modeling clay, try to create models of the bugs. (3) Set a time limit and try to find as many of the bugs as you can during it. (I am taking down my links to Sparklebox as of 5/2/10 after learning that the owner of the site has been jailed for reasons involving children and the Internet.  See this article.)
Control of Error: cannot find bugs and clip clothepins to cards
Bag Includes: 3 bug picture card strips, 6 clothespins
Source Inspiration: Sparklebox.co.uk
Spring Connection: The bugs are all coming out this season
Swap Partner’s Descriptor Inspiration: “-- struggles with fine motor.” “We are trying to make sure that we get outside more often...” (Clothespin work helps with fine motor and pincer grasp – a great pre-writing activity. Looking for the bugs will get you outside.)

WARNING: Although intended for children to use somewhat independently, this activity includes a plastic bag, which may pose a suffocation hazard if placed over head and small objects which may present a choking hazard. Adult supervision is required.

Of course, I would love to hear about variations others do with activities modeled after these or with similar types of activities, as well as to receive links to posts about additional Activity Bag and Sensory Integration Activities (bag or no bag). So, please leave a comment.

And, if you just cannot get enough Activity Bag ideas, please be sure to click here for my growing series of posts on them. In doing so, you will find posts with pictures and descriptions of over 50 different bags that we have enjoyed so far – Montessori, Fun and Learning, Skills, Travel and all!

Finally, if you would like to check out others Frugal Friday tips, I invite you to visit the links at Life as Mom for tips on all topics - homeschooling, housekeeping, sewing, shopping -- you name it!.