Last week the Lullaby Trust celebrated one year since they changed their name from the Foundation of the Study into Infant Deaths (FSID). I was part of their launch campaign, writing a lullaby alongside lots of others bloggers for one reason mainly. To remember a beautiful little girl who should not have died. A very real victim of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. A daughter. A sister. A niece. A god-daughter. A grandaughter. A very special blog baby.
Matilda Mae.
So last week’s yellow and blue play was for the Lullaby Trust. But the pink and purple water beads could only have been for Matilda Mae.
I used one of the side trays from our sand/ water table to make a small ocean filled with blue jelly stones and water beads. We added some pink and purple water beads too, and some submersible lights for an extra sensory experience. I also popped in some yellow ice fish (we got the mould from Ikea and added coloured water before freezing) and a range of nets, pots and sieves.
At first, The Toddler loved exploring the water beads and jelly stones. We soaked them in warm water and she exclaimed that they were “nice!”. She obviously loved feeling them under her fingers and was happy to play like this for a while. Then we added the fish, and changed both the temperature and the colour of the ocean. Jelly stones quickly take on new colours and soon were a lovely shade of green, while the water beads retained their original colours. The Toddler noted that the ocean was now “cold!” and switched to using different tools to scoop and pour instead.
The lights were a wonderful addition to this sensory play experience as The Toddler loved fishing for them with the net and the pots, and watching them change colour.
After a while, she concentrated hard on scooping the lights and fish and pouring them from one pot to another. This kept her amused for quite a while, as The Preschooler and The Big One had a wild time bouncing the water beads on the Tuff Spot and splashing the ocean around the tray!
After a while, we decided to add some warm water to the ocean to see what would happen. The Preschooler correctly guessed that the fish would melt- and they did! The ocean was a truly green fluid affair now and the play became quite messy indeed. The Toddler loved scooping and pouring even more with the ocean in its altered state, and announced “splash!” each time she transferred the ocean from one pot to another.
To finish the activity, I brought out our frozen water beads and invited The Preschooler to melt them. He chose to use warm water and poured it quite efficiently from a large plastic jug. The water beads took quite a while to thaw and The Preschooler was amazed to see tiny ice crystals (“snowflakes!”) formed on top of them as the water began to thaw them.
Our yellow and blue play was simple, messy and fun. Please take a look at Jennie’s yellow and blue play too, and do take a moment to read back through some of the posts linked up to Messy Play for Matilda Mae. Be inspired to get messy today!
