Hang On and Enjoy the Ride

Guest Post by: Beth C.

Being a parent is the most rewarding yet most challenging thing in life.  There isn't a book that tells you how to raise children, so you have to live and learn, hoping that by the time they are 18 they can make wise decisions on their own.  My husband and I have three children, twin 1 year olds and a 2 ½  year old.  Needless to say, with two full time working parents and three kids under the age of three, we stay very busy! 

I would have to say that my biggest struggle is being a working mom.  Balancing family life and work life can be very difficult.  My weekdays start at 5:30AM, which is a struggle in itself, and ends around 10:30PM.  I usually get home from work around 5:00pm and fix dinner, feed kids, bathe kids and put kids to bed by 8:30PM.  I then clean up from dinner and start laundry.  With five people in our house, laundry is a daily task.  Around 9:30PM, I will usually sit down and watch tv with my husband and try to catch up on our day.  I am very blessed with a wonderful husband who helps out around the house and makes time to play with our children.

We are experiencing the terrible two’s right now and potty training.  Let me say that it is just not right for these two things to happen at the same time.  I am still learning what correction methods work with my son and which ones don’t.  I have a very strong willed/stubborn 2 year old, so the disciplines that work for him, probably won’t work with my 1 year old who is laid back and easy going.  I must be doing something right though because when my 2 year old has to sit in timeout, he always comes and gives me a hug when he gets out.  As for potty training, this has been a huge challenge for us.  I think I have tried every bribery tactic there is out there.  I have finally accepted that my child will use the potty when he is ready.  As frustrating as that is to hear from other people, I believe it to be the truth.  However, when my child went to the potty for the first time and had success, it gave me such great joy.  I was so proud of his accomplishment!  Yes, that’s right, I am one proud mommy that my kid went pee pee in the potty!  Take pride in the little things!

I would be lying if I said I wasn't exhausted 90% of the time with this crazy life I live, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I love being a mom.   I love when my son gets mad and crinkles his nose when he says “NO!”  I love that my kids and I have a dance party every night in our kitchen.  I love cuddling with them.  I love singing to my kids.  I love hearing them say “momma/mommy”.  I love that my kids are so close in age.  I often times get told “Bless your heart” or “You have your hands full”, when people hear that my kids are 17 months apart.  I usually respond with “Yes, I am blessed!” 

Having young children so close together can be challenging, but the love and memories I make with my children are totally worth it.  Life with small children is a constant roller coaster, so hang on and enjoy the ride!  

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Developmental Toys (Part 4 of 4)

Belinda @ Kids Matter

A toy is just a piece of household clutter until in the tiny hands of a child, where it becomes a significant cog supporting their world of imagination and educational development. Toys that combine play with education can be used as effective tools in teaching children social and cognitive skills as they mature emotionally and gain self-confidence. Toys motivate fitness, imagination, education, and increase ones skillset’s in life.

1.      Fitness Dice – Toddler+: I absolutely love this game concept. There’s nothing like rolling dice to get the fitness started. Roll the dice to determine which exercise you must do and how many times to do it. (Example: Jumping jacks x 4)

2.     My Giant Busy Box – Age 3+ yrs.: This is a clever idea! Just perfect for those days when the children are confined to the house due to the weather. A box of crafts is a great place to learn and to be extremely creative.

3.       Disney Planes U-Command Supercharged Dusty – Age 4+: This is an excellent toy to increase hand-eye coordination and to learn about aeronautics at the same time.

4       Vtech Innotab 3S or Leap Frog Leappad Ultra – Age 3-9 yrs.: If you click on the link you will see a side by side comparison of the two and it would be up to you to determine which better meets your child’s need and skill level. Either one will be a great “first tablet” for this age range.

5.     Leap Frogs Leapreader – Age 4-9 yrs.: This is a very nice next generation tool to aid in the learning of reading and writing. Children can learn to write the alphabet with interactive guidance.

6.      Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Crawl Around Car – Age up to 3 yrs.: Stimulate your child’s desire to learn and have fun with this stationary car offering 75+ songs, tunes, and phrases. The child can sit in the car or play from the outside. The shape sorter is great for building motor skills.

7.   Playskool Sesame Street Big Hugs Elmo – Age up to 4 yrs.: Big Hugs Elmo sings, hugs, and wants to play. Hugs are important, what better a toy than one that hugs when you need a hug.

8.      Hasbro Furreal Friends Cuddles My Giggly Monkey – Age 4+ yrs.: It is a lifelike and engaging friend for your little one. The monkey giggles and reacts with over 100 sayings when swung, rocked, tickled and fed. 

9.      Wooden Blocks and Large Legos – Age up to 5 yrs.: Building anything is always a great way to entertain and educate your children. They are only limited by their knowledge and imagination. There is nothing more exciting to a little child than when a parent plops down in the floor with them to build a King’s castle.

10.   GeoSafari Animal Eye Viewers – Age 3 – 7 yrs.: This fun toy allows the child to see the world through the eyes of an insect, chameleon, and shark. The eye viewers provide fun through exploring the world with a different perspective.

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Favorite Books (Part 3 of 4)

Belinda @ Kids Matter

“The more you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go.”  - Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

Open a book and go exploring with your child. Take your child to places money can’t buy, on adventures one can only imagine, and through time at your leisure. If eyes are the window to our souls then books are the window to our imaginations. The Literacy Company states, “Out-of-school reading habits of students has shown that even 15 minutes a day of independent reading can expose students to more than a million words of text in a year.” Exposure to words is a step to greater achievement in life. Read to your child, read with your child, and share happy experiences found only in a good book. Visit your local library and allow your child to pick out a book while you bring your childhood classics to the literacy party. Bring the book to life with great enthusiasm. Add character voices and sound effects to increase excitement. The book is just the foundation from which to build your imaginary world. Don’t be limited by the words on the page, but instead, use the essence of the emotions of the writer to create a reality within the covers of the book. Enjoy your imaginary world and the wonderful time spent reading to your child.

Who doesn’t love Dr. Seuss and his whimsical enthusiasm in bringing characters like Cat in the Hat to life? One can’t help but smile just looking at that green ham.  If you are a grandparent, you have spent years reading that story many times to many children. It’s just a classic fun story loved by millions.

Eric Carle not only writes this wonderful story, but also illustrates, animates, and provides insight into the life of a caterpillar. Children are always fascinated with caterpillars and butterflies and when they learn one becomes the other the search is on. 

Karen Katz beautifully combines affection with counting and winding down a child for bed time. Hugs, kisses, and some serious sleep is nature’s cure for the cranky child. The book is handsomely illustrated.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and charmingly written by Michael Rosen. The book is a delightful comedic drama of a family going on a bear hunt.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was written and illustrated by Ron and Judith Barrett. The couple provides a hilarious look at a town called Chewandswallow where the weather is constantly raining some type of food.

Written by Ruth Krauss and cleverly illustrated by her husband Crockett Johnson. It details the life of an egg until one day POOF, it’s a bird and its whole life changes. Suddenly everything it couldn’t do as an egg it can now do as a bird.

Written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz, this book is an inside look at how bad days can sometimes be to us and yes, to everyone.  

This epic tale was written and illustrated by Leslie Patricelli. With fantastic illustrations the reader is captivated from page one. The book teaches the difference between things that are yummy and things that are yucky.

The Purple Crayon gives a very simplistic view of a very complicated and thought invoking process. If you could take a crayon and color yourself anything, what would it really be?

Shel Silverstein takes us on a journey deep into the heart of love and friendship. The Giving Tree is an exceptional story. The illustrations are minimal yet add to the depth of the piece. This book is an opportunity for those lost in life to find a way back. The tree represents a very special person and the sincerity of love.

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Educational Videos (Part 2 of 4)

Belinda @ Kids Matter

This week we take a look at the top 10 online educational videos for your toddler to preschool aged child. The following list was composed by choosing the most entertaining video from several different categories to illustrate the depth which learning spans. The most important thing to get out of the videos is that they are doors to open and go exploring with your child. There is no limit to learning. If one method doesn’t work, then another one will. Be mindful that learning must be fun; otherwise it becomes work that the child doesn’t have the mindset to continue. Always practice the four “Ls” with your child… Live, Love, Laugh, and Learn.

1. Preschool Curious George Book and Workout Video: This is an awesome video that promotes two very important venues for our children… literacy and fitness. Combining the two with a common theme brings new life to them. Just imagine how much fun your child will have following Curious George through a book and then exercising right along with him. Books can open up a whole new way of teaching as you carry the theme throughout the day. How about drinking a nice tall glass of grape juice like Curious George? The possibilities of exciting a child about reading and exercising grow exponentially when you make it a themed event.

2. For Toddlers - Learning Animals, An Educational Video for Preschoolers - This is an interesting methodology of teaching different animals. The video starts by asking, “What’s that?” directly followed by the name of the animal or insect then is followed by a cartoon image of the animal which transitions to a video of the animal in its natural surroundings. This is a good tool to show the little ones the difference between real and not real, i.e., one has the ability to move, eat, sleep, and make all kinds of funny sounds while the other is merely a pretty picture.

3. Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed Nursery Rhyme - Cartoon: This is a classic song about the five little monkeys presented in a colorful setting to a sweet tune. Little ones will love this version and parents will carry the tune around all day. This video teaches counting one through five in a whimsical manner that keeps the children entertained.

4. "Color Songs Collection Vol. 1" - Learn Colors, Teach Colours, Baby: This video teaches colors through sing song melodies, chants, and colorful animation. It is a little on the lengthy side, so you will have to remember to monitor computer time.

5. Phonics Song 2: This video is designed to teach children the alphabet through phonetics (sounding out the word), brightly colored pictures, and an alphabet song. It shows the child the letter (capital and lower case), a picture and its matching word, and places emphasis on the first letter of the word during pronunciation.

6. The Calendar Song - Kids + Children Learn English Songs: This video takes a unique approach at teaching children the months and seasons of the year as well as the days of the week through the ice cream song.

7. The Shapes Song: This video teaches children the basic shapes. What’s cool about this video is that it points out the shapes in everyday life.  Take for instance a triangle… the roof is a triangle. This could lead to an exciting game of find the shapes in your own home.

8. Adventures from the Book of Virtues: Respect: It’s never too soon to introduce manners. This is a great series for teaching children how to be good people. Remember, pointing out bad behavior isn’t enough… they need examples of good behavior. “The Adventures from the Book of Virtues” series ventures into responsibility, honesty, self-discipline, and courage to name a few.

9. Opposites - Opposites Songs for Children - Kids Songs by The Learning: This video is a very cute introduction of opposites. Children are entertained by the song while seeing why and how something is opposite. The idea of seeing how something (up) can have an opposite (down) is very thought inspiring.

10. Milk Explosion Toddler Science Fun: Who doesn’t love a good science experiment? This video is just the door you need to open for scientific exploration. Notice how the effects start to happen quicker when the child shakes the third tin? Or how the reaction time with the color red is much quicker? Science is so fascinating and your child will just love doing experiments.

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Top 10 Toddler to Preschooler Series

Educational Websites (Part 1 of 4)

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Is it time to introduce your toddler to the World Wide Web? Don’t be afraid. It’s the age of technology and you knew this day was coming. The first thing you have to know is that you will need to be heavily involved in computer time… for the safety of your child and your computer. Establishing time limits on the computer or gaming system is important and essential in the development of your child. Children need access to many educational activities such as exploring a book. Delving deep into how a book is made, who the author and illustrators are, and who the characters of the book are can help excite the child for the world of reading.

Below is a list of sites that fit the established criteria for this age.  First, it had to be user friendly and easy to navigate. Second, it had to be age appropriate. Third, the site must be colorful and exciting with lots of great sound effects. And, the fourth criteria was a big one… the site had to be FREE.

Top 10 educational sites for toddlers and preschoolers

1. Poisson Rouge - Poisson Rouge is an artistic creation allowing intellectual stimulation through exploration.  This site is phenomenal for encouraging the imagination of a child and their desire to learn and explore.

2. Happy Clicks – The site starts with basics by teaching toddlers how to use the keys on the keyboard and advances up to how to direct the mouse through movement, drag and drop, and point and click.

3. Owlieboo – This site is extremely simple for the beginner. It’s very colorful and has great sound effects. Little fingers quickly learn how to move the mouse, press the keys, and do simple click and drag tasks.

4. Starfall –  Starfall is, “Where children have fun learning to read.” Starfall describes it best, “Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a free public service to teach children to read with phonics.”

5. PBS Kids – A place where kids can watch videos and play games with their favorite PBS character like Curious George. The site is very user friendly and colorful, but the main draw is the characters your child will love. 

6. National Geographic Kids – Excellent place to teach your child about the great outdoors. Explore countries and animals through pictures, videos, and games. During the days when you can’t take your child outdoors, this is the next best option to introducing nature.

7. Fisher Price – With feather like introduction to piano this site is a good place to introduce your child to the alphabet, through animal sounds, and to numbers with rhymes.

8. Sprout – Spend some fun time with Caillou and the Sprout friends watching videos, coloring, playing games, and opening up a new world of crafts and fun recipes. There is nothing better than being hands on with the fun.

9. Nick Jr – Go on adventures with Dora and crew through games, activities, videos, and coloring sheets. This site has great preschool activities which are infused with abundant energy and sing song lyrics.

10. Babygamer – Basically, this site is a list with links to a lot of great sites, some educational, some just plain fun such as SNM#1. This is a good place to help you research sites to explore with your child.

 “It’s not so much what children learn through play, but what they won’t learn if we don’t give them the chance to play. Many functional skills like literacy and arithmetic can be learned either through play or through instruction – the issue is the amount of stress on the child. However, many coping skills like compassion, self-regulation, self-confidence, the habit of active engagement, and the motivation to learn and be literate cannot be instructed. They can only be learned through self-directed experience (i.e. play).” Susan J. Oliver (author, Playing for Keeps)

 Always remember… education matters because our kids matter.

Childhood Emotions and How to Cope

Children frequently have a hard to putting their emotions into words or into acceptable actions. If they become angry they will frequently turn to hitting or kicking instead of words. This is not because they are violent; it is because they do not have the social skills yet to voice their anger or frustration.

Listening is an important life skill and one of the most difficult to teach. Many adults are not good listeners but we must make the effort to listen to our kids. When your child speaks to you, show her that her opinion and her life are important. Hang up the phone, stop what you are doing and give her your undivided attention. Ask questions about her day and her stories.

Teach your child empathy for other’s point of view. Ask your child how he would feel if Tommy took the truck away from him. It is important for kids to realize that other people get their feelings hurt also.

If you see your child being kind or considerate to someone else, let them know you saw it. Being nice should be praised as much as a new skill. You do not have to stop the action to praise them but later, let them know you saw the way they were being nice to their friend.

Taking turns is usually very hard for kids. Role play with them; let them play with a toy and then you ask to play with it. This will not only teach them to share but will also show them an appropriate way to ask to play with something.

Explain to your child that all of his emotions are okay but all of his actions are not. It is never appropriate to hit, kick or bite someone and it is dangerous to run away from you when they are upset.

Sometimes children become frustrated that things are hard for them to do. This is when you explain that something else that they can do easily now, used to be hard for them to do. They just have to practice to make it easier.

Children need to develop reasoning skills. Use everyday activities to encourage that. When you wake up in the morning, tell him that it is raining outside, what should you wear today? If your child asks you why all of the time, turn the question back on him by saying, “I am not sure, why do you think it is that way?” Then discuss his thoughts with him.

These can all help us through the tough times of dealing with emotional children. Just take a deep breath and try to explain to them. This is not the time for you to act irrationally. If you become upset or frustrated, how can you expect your kids to know how to act appropriately? Take a deep breath and then smile and help your child. These are reactions that you want your child to learn and children always learn at home first.

Coloring Rice

I have seen lots of blogs that talk about coloring rice for your kids and I really wanted to give it a try with my son. I pulled out a bag of rice, the Ziploc bags, the food coloring and then I realized I did not have enough alcohol in the house to do this activity.

I did already have my heart set on it though and since the rice is inexpensive, I decided to go ahead and wing it. I did not have alcohol in the house however I had lots of hand sanitizer in the house and it is mostly alcohol so I decided to use it in place of the alcohol.

I divided my rice evenly among 5 Ziploc bags for red, blue, green, yellow and purple rice. In each bag I used about 7-8 squirts of food coloring and about 2 squirts of hand sanitizer. I then squished the bags around until all of the rice was colored. Next I set the rice on the counter, in the bags to dry some. I came back about 1 hour later and things were colorful and dry. I poured it into our container with each color in a pretty row and it looked so beautiful! I was immediately glad that I did this project.

When my son came home, I showed him how pretty it was and then I dropped a few of the decorative erasers that you see everywhere in there and asked him to get them out with the measuring spoon or the ice tongs. He did pretty well but in about 35 seconds, it was no longer the pretty box I had made, it was his new creation and fortunately I thought it was pretty too!

Monday Meanderings - Fall Crafts

Well, Fall will be here soon so I thought we could look at a Fall Craft Meandering today.

First up is the Frugal Family Fun blog. They made the cutest leaf necklaces. They used green leaves but as the leaves change colors, the leaves would be beatiful colors to make more necklaces with. I love this and will be doing it soon.

This link is from Wee Folk Art where they are working on a Fall Homeschool Curriculum that you can also download for free at thier site. This week they made some great salt dough vegetables. I love teh look of them and the curriculum guide is great.

This last link is from Crafts 'n Activities for Kids and I have to say, I wish I had a straw hat on me right now. He is so cute that I need one right now instead of having to wait to go buy a hat tomorrow.

Make Your Own Fossils

The other day I was talking to my neighbor that is 6 years old. She was telling me all about how she went on a hike and the great things that she saw. As she continued to talk she told me that she found a really neat fossil while hiking. She was very impressed with the fossil so that got me thinking. My son is not ready to go hiking yet but there is no reason why we can’t make our own fossils.


Supplies:

Air Dry clay

An item to be your fossil print

We molded our clay into a disk shape and then we used a small plastic dinosaur as our fossil. We just laid the dinosaur on his side on the clay and pressed him in. We then pulled him right back out and set the clay over to dry. The clay will usually need at least 24 hours to dry. Since this was not a big challenge, I guess my son felt shortchanged because he then wanted to fossilize everything that was not nailed down. We also kept the frog fossil we made but the others he wanted to continue playing with them while they were soft so no pictures of those.

Setting the Table for Kids

As your kids are getting older it will be a good idea to teach them how to set the table for a meal. Not only will this assist you at a busy time of your day but the kids will get a sense of responsibility too. It is always a good idea to work on proper table manners.

Supplies:

Construction paper (darker color)
Fork
Knife
Spoon
Cup

Set the paper in a sunny spot outside. Put the fork on the left hand side, leave an open spot for the plate, and then place the knife and the spoon. The cup belongs up above the spoon and knife. Leave the setting in the sun for about 3-4 hours. The sun will fade the paper in the areas that are not covered leaving a perfect outline for a place setting. We only left ours outside for one hour, but it is good enough to be a sample now.

Once you bring the "placemat" inside, it will give your kids a model to work with while setting the table for a meal. Everyone likes to feel as if they are contributing in some way and setting the table is the perfect way to let the kids contribute.

Tuesday Teachings - The Letter K

Another week, another letter. We are moving on to the letter K this week. Please feel free to download your copy of the letter K below.

Letter K

Words that start with the letter K: King, Kangaroo, Kite, Keep, Kids, Kiss, Kelp, Kind and Kick

As our first craft, I really wanted to make a kangaroo but could not figure out how to make one from the letter K so we did the next best thing. We made a Kangaroo pouch! It is very cute. Stack two pieces of brown construction paper together and cut them out in a pouch pattern. Trim the front of the pouch a little across the top so that the back of the pouch is taller. This will make it easier to get in the pouch. Once they are cut out, punch holes all the way around the perimeters. You will then take yarn (we only had blue) and wrap tape around one end and use it as the "needle" to stitch the two pouch sides together. You will want to leave a 6"-8" tail on each end to tie around the waist. Once it is stitched together, write a big K on the front and tie it around a waist.

Next up, we used our Dot Markers to decorate a letter K. While he used the markers, I cut out two crowns from yellow construction paper. Once he finished coloring I let him glue on the two crowns and turn his K into a King.

This next project was a bit aggravating but he used the Dot Markers again on three Kleenex. We then tore the Kleenex into pieces and glued them on to the K.

For our final project we wanted to make a Kite. I let him paint two of the letter K printouts. Once dried, we cut them out and put them end to end to form the diamond of a kite. We used crepe paper for the tail of the kite.

Foods that start with K: Kabobs, Key Lime Pie, Kit Kat, Kool-Aid, Kiwi, Kohlrabi, Ketchup and Kielbasa

We went with an old classic, rice Krispie treats! I won't post a recipe as almost everyone has made them before and the recipe is right on the box. We did spice it up a little and add sprinkles!

Have a great week and have your kids point out the letter K to you this week!

We are linking up to:

Tuesday Teachings - The Letter J

Another week, another letter. This week we are moving on to the letter J. Please feel free to download our letter J to use.

Letter J
Words that start with the letter J:
Jungle, Jump, Jolly, Jewish, Jab, Job, Joke, Jug, Jar, Junk, Jackal and Jamboree.

For our first craft, we decided to make Jellyfish. This was a great project and my son even talked my husband into getting in on the action, hence there are three Jellyfish. We used markers to color on coffee filters and once we finished we sprayed the filters lightly with water to allow the colors to bleed a little. We waited for that to dry and then we took a pony bead and thread it on a piece of yarn, this ends of the yard were then put through a disposable cup bottom that had a hole poked in it. The bead kept the yarn in place. Next we cut a hole in the center of each of the jellyfish and put them on the yarn and tied the yarn in a knot at the top to hang it up. We then used ribbons and crepe paper to make the tentacles, we just taped the tentacles to the bottom of the coffee filters.

The next project was Jewels. We glued jewels to a letter J. My son really enjoyed getting to use the glue. We usually use a glue stick but with all of the back to schools sales, we stocked up on some white glue too and this was his first chance to squeeze glue.

For our final craft, he colored a letter J with markers (his new preferred medium). I then cut it out and we glued it to another piece of paper with a little extension of construction paper to represent the cockpit.

Some foods that start with the letter J:
Java, Jelly, Jellybeans, Jalapeno, Java, Jawbreakers and Jambalaya

As a snack, I had big ideas about making some homemade Jam. I found an easy recipe that called for just thawed berries, honey and lemon juice. Sounded easy enough but my son "misplaced" the honey since he loves the bear jar and when I blended up the berries, they just turned into juice. I had been working all day, my son was cranky and the whole process was making me Jittery (another J word)!

I quickly changed gears and pulled out the frozen package of Jamba Juice Smoothies Mix, added some apple Juice and blended it all up for a refreshing snack. I hope you can forgive me considering all of the J words I included in the excuse.

Have fun working on the letter J with your kids.

Monday Meanderings - Sensory Tubs

I am sure that if you have spent much time around learning/Mom blogs you have probably seen some great Sensory Tubs out there. I thought we would feature some great ones this week.

First up is this great tub from Counting Coconuts. This is a yellow tub that she came up with and it is very creative. She has a strawberry huller in there for her son to pick out the items and work on his fine motor skills. I have to be honest though, my favorite thing about this tub (other than the color) is the bingo card that she created to bump up the learning. She also has a great section on her blog of past tubs she has created.

The Mom Blog has some great ideas also. I love the cotton balls and turkey baster idea. What a great way to work on fine motor skills. If you have a child that has not mastered finger control yet, let them work a turkey baster for awhile.

With Fall upon us, I also love this Apple and Acorn Tub at No Time for Flashcards. Not only is the tub lots of fun, but she also includes some great books to read as a follow up on the theme.

And last but not least, Child Fun has a great list of items that can be used as the "filler" in a sensory tub.

I would feel awful advising you to have a sensory tub without some pointers on how to contain the mess.

• If you are going homemade, I suggest the plastic containers that are wider than they are deep. It is easier for the kids to get their hands in there.
• As our house we have several vinyl tablecloths that I picked up for cheap. They are flannel backed which means if you have carpet, they stick right to your carpet and will not slide around. We set down a tablecloth and then put the messy activity on top of it.
• You could also get a container that is bigger than your sensory tub and put the tub inside the larger container with hopes that most of the mess falls into the bigger container, just to be poured back into the sensory tub.

Have fun!