It’s hot outside, and Roo has been bouncing off the walls (and couch, and beds…) I’ve been trying to find ways to calm and focus her as well as giving her opportunities to release all that energy. We have playdates, play in her little pool, play at the aquatic park, play in the sprinkler, play play PLAY! Sometimes, I need her to just chill for awhile and do something that doesn’t involve screens. So here are a couple things we tried!
1.) Make something out of clay
I originally bought some Sculpy Clay to make Mother’s Day gifts with Roo, but it was just too hard for her little hands. Then I found some Crayola air drying clay on sale at Joann! It was soft and could be dried to save her project or put in a sandwich bag to reuse. Meanwhile, I used the Sculpy for my own projects.
She ended up making several lumps and explained what they were to me, but she didn’t want to keep any of them. I made a couple of ring bowls and Roo asked for a bunny!
2.) Sensory/Calm Down Bottles
Roo has been having trouble with staying calm enough to focus and behave during her gymnastics class. So we had our craft time just before we left for class and made some calm down bottles. Seriously it took maybe 15 minutes to make two bottles!
We made one with 1/3 baby oil and 2/3 water. We mixed in some food coloring, glitter, and gems and gave it a shake. It’s pretty watching the oil separate from the water and the glitter swirl as it settles to the bottom.
My favorite calm down bottle concoction is the 1/3 clear glue, 1/3 glitter glue, and 1/3 warm water with LOTS of fine glitter. Roo added some beads to this one and tries to find the beads after giving it a good shake. It’s great for focusing a hyper kid! Honestly, she was much more interested in getting into class than playing with her bottle outside the classroom. But I do think the activity helped reiterate that she needs to calm down and focus during class.
What are some of your favorite quiet and calm activities, to do by yourself or with kids? I’d love to try some. I want to make some lavender scented playdough and maybe try making soap or bath bombs next! But I love things like the sensory bottles that really engage and take very little time to do.