The two youngest have been asking for days to go to the playground, but the temps this past week have been in the burning hot range of 80-90 degrees.  Today has been mix of sunny and breezy, so it was finally the right weather to go.  Earlier this afternoon, we gathered up water, hats, and a picnic lunch and headed to the playground. The kids were so excited!!

After eating lunch and playing in the sun for awhile, we decided to cool off under a shady patch of Pinetrees. On the ground under the trees lay dozens of Pinecones.  My two little ones thought they looked fun to collect and play with.  They were quite resourceful and discovered that they could collect more at once using their hats to gather them up.  Papa later gave them each a shopping bag to collect the Pinecones in which made it easier to carry many at once.


My daughter, aged 4, pretended to put the baby Pinecones to bed in her hat. Her brother, aged two, loves to count things, so he spent time lining them up and counting how many he had collected.  They played with the Pinecones until they were cooled off and ready to climb and run around again.

I love how much fun they had playing in and with nature. It goes to show that the best things in life are truly free.  I also think today's family outing proved to be a success. Not only did they get to run around and move their bodies, they also did some imaginative play and even some counting too! Hopefully we can do this again soon!

There are always natural items just laying around on the ground.  What do your kids gravitate towards in nature and how do they play with them? Do you have a favorite outdoor space to take your kids?

Around the 4th of July, our local surplus store had square red, white & blue reusable ice cubes for sale for about 99 cents a bag. Recently my daughter has discovered that they make a fun manipulative. I just found her lining them up while singing, "I'm learning colors, I'm learning colors." She also loves to stack them; plunk them in a cup; and counting them.  I love finding new uses for everyday items, and apparently she does too!

The other great thing about this activity is that it can be done at the sink and in the kitchen. The more kids spend time in the kitchen, the more comfortable they will be in this space.  The ice cubes are also something that can be frozen, so it is also a great sensory experience too.


What kitchen items do your children gravitate towards?  Have they done any Math play with those items?

I've been unpacking food items to put into my new pantry.  Today I found all of our peanut butter jars. My two year old daughter immediately saw a play opportunity.  She lined them up by colored lid; made patterns (red lid, yellow lid, red lid, blue lid); and of course counted them.  She even asked me about the contents at one point. The reds were creamy, the blue crunchy, and the yellow jar contained sun butter. She even investigated the labels for letters and pictures.  She combined her play with her other new toy, an old sushi mat. Who needs expensive learning toys when you can learn in your pantry!