Play Dough Sushi

I've been clearing out our main pantry this week and came across an expired pack of seaweed nori sheets. 

Bubble and Squeak love making (and eating!) sushi so I thought they might also enjoy it as a sensory and imaginary play activity all rolled into one (pun intended).

WE USED:

* seaweed nori sheets

(you could also use dark green play dough rolled flat, green tissue or crepe paper)

* play dough

* rice (uncooked)

* water in small dish

* sharp knife 

(for parental use only)

I set up their outdoor play table as a sushi bar so they could make their own rolls.

To make the 'sticky rice' I fixed a few cups of uncooked rice into some plain white dough. The girls really enjoyed the texture and also the realistic element it added to their sushi rolls.

 I had to resist the urge the make the coloured play dough into different foods (grated carrot, cucumber slices etc...). I wanted to see what they made themselves and not dictate what 'should' go in a sushi roll, so I just put all of the colours onto one big plate.

We used a basic uncooked play dough recipe to make our dough (2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water mixed together).

The girls had a chopping board each and a blunt butter knife to cut their play dough fillings with. 

Smooshing out the play dough rice was Bubbles favourite part, she loved the feel of the rice under her fingers. 

This step was harder for Squeak who has less strength in her hands, so this was a fun but effective fine motor exercise for her.

There was lots of rolling, pinching, squeezing and squashing while the girls made their play dough fillings.

All sorts of things went into them, from tuna and chocolate to peas and cherries. 

Then it was time to get rolling!

The girls used their little bowls of water to wet their fingers and seal the ends of the rolls.

I then cut them with a fine sharp knife so they would have sushi rolls that looked just like the real thing.

They looked pretty cool!

The girls spent all afternoon creating more and more sushi rolls and then playing restaurants.

Don't forget the soy sauce!

Not only was this activity a fun way to use up expired food it also provided a great sensory, fine motor and imaginary play experience.

 

SOME OF OUR PREVIOUS FOOD PLAY POSTS:

Out Of Date Food Play

 

Witches Cauldron Sensory Play

Food Paint

 

Vermicelli Rice Noodle Play

Texture Balloons

Mini Mixer Milk Shakes

Messy Mat Play

Rice Tent

Rice Play

Play Room Tour PART 3 - Toy Storage Area

I have been doing a series of posts on our play room, if you missed the first two posts they are here:

Play Room Tour - Shop Corner

Play Room Tour PART 2 - Learning Area

The toy storage area is where we keep most of the girls puzzles and games and is on the opposite side of the room to the learning area. It puts the activities within easy reach and makes rotating the toys that are available easier.

And don't be fooled, it doesn't always look like this :D Usually the shelves are a lot emptier and the floor is a lot messier!

The large baskets and open shelves mean activities and toys are easy to reach.

These step stools from IKEA mean Squeak can reach the top toys easier and is also often used as a seat.

An enormous basket holds our musical instruments.

We keep most of our puzzles and matching games down the left side.

And the most used toys and learning games down the right side.

We also keep some science equipment on the top shelf for Bubble as this is her biggest area of interest.

The girls created the wall canvas using painters tape and this method:
Attack Of The Twins Artwork Post

Sticky Wall Tangrams and Puzzles

Long time readers of our Blog will remember the Sticky Window Art activity we did back in 2010 which Bubble enjoyed immensely. Over the last few years we have pretty much permanently had a sticky wall or window set up somewhere in the house and both of the girls enjoy this sensory activity.
One of their favourite ways to use the 'sticky walls' is with puzzles and tangram shapes, not only is it fun to stick them to the wall and a great fine motor exercise, but the girls can also change the positions of the pieces easily if they don't get them in just the right place. 

This activity is great for problem solving and also imaginative play, so it's one of my favourite activities too.

WE USED:

* clear contact
* sticky tape
* tangram set
* puzzles

Sticky walls and windows are easy to set up, just peel the backing paper from a length of clear contact and then use tape in each corner to hang it sticky side out on a flat surface.
Make sure the surface won't be damaged when you remove the tape, we usually use a window or coated door like the one on our pantry.

 Squeak loves completing puzzles on the sticky wall. If the pieces don't go in exactly the right place she can easily peel them off and try again. 

 

 

 

Squeak's absolute favourite activity for the sticky wall would be using tangrams. Sometimes she follows the cards included in her set and sometimes she just makes up her own scenes and sticks them up.

 

Lots of imaginary play and fine motor building with her bear puzzle.

 

Other activities we have done using contact:

Contact Collage

Confetti Snow Picture

Nature Walk

Floor Drawing

Sticky Window Art

Hanging Basket Fairy Houses

Imaginative play is a very important part of how children learn and develop, finding ways to nurture this kind of play is especially important in kids with spectrum disorders. 

One way I encourage play with our girls is to vary our locations and add in new elements for them to use and explore. Sometimes we take no toys and just use what we can find, at other times we will pack a bag (or take our picnic play basket) of a variety of things to take with us.

I am constantly scouting for new places to go and 'hang out', the girls enjoy the new surroundings (most of the time, I have to be mindful of crowds and noise) and I enjoy getting out of the house and away from the dishes.

This week we packed up our fairies, which seem to be the hot play item of the month for our girls, and some bits and pieces from the dollhouse box. We also took along some wicker hanging baskets I found in the local op shop a few weeks ago, they were perfect little fairy houses!  

Stay tuned for our next post featuring ideas for making your own little fairy homes.

These wicker hanging baskets cost next to nothing from our local op shop. You can find similar baskets in dollar shops and some hardware stores.

 

We took along small thumb tacks to hang them on the trees. 

Some baskets the girls put under rocks and trees instead. 

They had a lot of fun creating their own fairy land and designating houses for all of their dolls.

 

 

Their play became more and more elaborate as they found other things to include. Leaves and branches became ladders and blankets, gum nuts became food and sticks became wands.

They created little play scenes all over the place.

The fairy houses were decorated with all kinds of things they had found - flowers, feathers, leaves.

 Such a great way to spend an afternoon.

Picnic Play Basket

One of the girls favourite things to do is visit gardens and park lands to play and explore. We try and visit a new one every week and most days we frequent the ones in our local area.
We always take along a heap of different toys and activities which I used to lug around in different canvas bags or trugs, but recently I came across this wicker picnic basket in a charity shop for $5 and thought it would be perfect as play storage to keep in the car. 

These baskets are always in op shops and usually sell really cheaply, they are also quite roomy and have little pockets inside, as well as being sturdy enough to be used as a seat/table/fairy house etc... I filled ours with the girls favourite take along items and it will live in the back of our wagon for all our park visits from now on.

We found this old picnic basket in a LifeLine store for $5.

 It is perfect for holding our 'Picnic Play' items which can be changed and rotated whenever the girls get bored with them.
In our basket currently we have:
* folding magnifying glasses
* binoculars
* small microscope

* pencil case with crayons and chalk

* blank exercise books

* Grip Ball games

* a few story books

* wooden cars and trucks

* memory games

* pinwheels

* giant bubble wands

* parachute men

* mini stunt kites

* small spike balls

* a spare hat each

* a towel for sitting on

* hand wipes

* small tube of childrens sunscreen