Find the Pot of Gold
Description and Focus: Let me just say this may seem simple but this activity is amazing. The idea came to me from a kit we got from our local play group. They sent home little cutouts of rugs and 1 bug. My son colored each rug a different color and I hid the bug under each rug and he had to find which rug it was under. It was great way to teach him colors. He loved that activity so much so I wanted to recreate it in a new more advanced way to help him with his name recognition. This activity is a fun way to work on name, letter, or number recognition.
Set up & Materials: You need the digital file, a printer (if you don’t have one the local library, fedex, kinkos, or a friend/ family with a printer are all good options), a laminator (optional), scissors, and probably some toddler scissors because if your child is anything like mine there is no way they will let you cut without them being involved.
The set up for this was pretty easy. I made a digital file for the rainbows and pot of gold. The file has 4 rainbows on it so you will need to print off enough pages to either spell your child’s name, how many numbers you want to focus on, or the alphabet. I laminated the page so we could reuse the rainbows for other activities, but this is not necessary. After I laminated it I used an expo marker to write Bb, Rr, Ii, .. and completely spell out Brixton’s name on the rainbows. Then I lined them up and had him close his eyes while I hid the pot of gold. I asked him “look under R” and if he needed help I would show him what letter R was. Or I would let him pick which rainbow to look under and ask him what letter it was.
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St. Patty’s Moon Dough & Pot of Gold Loose Parts
Description and Focus: This sensory bin activity was all about playing and exploring textures, scooping, and mixing materials. I wanted something that was fun and he could do without my assistance since the coin match I had to guide him in matching the coins. I like to incorporate loose parts into activities and invitations to play and this was a great way to do that. This was definitely an activity that provided entertainment for my child while I cleaned and did things around the house.
Materials & Set up: you will need flour, oil, food coloring, small black pot, bowls, scoopers, pipecleaners, tape, and loose parts. I will link the loose parts we used but know that pom poms, beads, sequins and other craft supplies work just as well or even leaves, acorns, or other outdoor materials that you could paint gold or yellow will work.
In a mixing bowl measure 4 cups of flour. In a cup or bowl mix 1/3 cup of water and several drops of green food coloring or dye. Pour the dye/water mixture into the bowl of flour and mix well. Then add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Mix up well. You should end up with a mixture that soft and crumble but also able to smush/clump together. Its super fun to play with. Anytime we use “moon dough” as I call it Brixton has the best time. Pour the moon dough into your sensory bin and use pipe cleaners to make a rainbow over your container (this allows young kids to see many colors and also allows kids to try to pour/scoop the mood dough through the rainbow). On the other side place your loose parts and containers and scoopers.
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Rainbow Coin Match
Description & Focus: This rainbow coin match is perfect for toddlers out of the mouthing stage and for older kids to. You could easily add money values or any type of math activity to this. Brixton loves money so he was the inspiration behind this activity. This was a great way to introduce that each coin had a different name and value. For Brixton he is not quite 3 so we just worked on sorting each coin in the correct pot to build the right amount of gold. You could add to this activity to change the focus to a different skill. The main focus of this activity was to learn about different coins, but I also added scissors (to cut the noodles), tongs to grab the coins (fine motor control), a bowl, and a pasta grabber. Instead of drawing a rainbow you could add math equations for older kids or print off a worksheet online. Our table has a white board lid so we are able to write on it with some different utensils. For this we used tempura paint crayons which I will link below. They are amazing!
Materials & Setup: All you need is pasta, coins, small pots, tempura paint crayons, scoopers, bowls, and anything else that will inspire your kid to play and explore. I will link all materials below.
To set up this activity Boil your pasta and separate it into 6 bowls or plastic bags mix 2 tablespoons of water and food coloring or dye and pour into the bowls or bags. Let the pasta dry. Once it is dry put it in your sensory bin container and put about 3-5 of each type of coin hidden inside. Take your black pots and glue or tape a photo or an actual coin to the outside of each one. (I chose tape so I could reuse these for other activities). This will help show your kids which coins go in which container. To cut cost you can always use small cups or bowls and print out or draw a pot of gold to tape over the front. This was my original plan, but the pots were inexpensive and I can use them for other St. Patty’s day and Halloween activities.
The links are affiliate links meaning I do make a very small amount when you purchase. If you do recreate any of these activities and purchase materials from my links just know its truly appreciated, because you are helping me pay to keep this blog up and running. My goal is never to have you buy a lot of things for activities. I want you to be able to recreate these for your little ones for little to no money. If you have these things laying around the house or can snag them from dollar tree that is amazing. Tag me in your activities because I love to see them.
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