PALEO
SENSORY BIN
A sensory bin is a great way for
younger children to learn and explore
through hands-on play. Sensory bins
are super easy to create and might even
give a tired parent a break as it can
keep kids occupied for quite a while.
Add cornstarch to your container
and pour the cool water over the starch
slowly, mixing constantly with a fork.
You’ll want the mixture to be about the
consistency of pudding. If it gets really
thick and too hard to mix, add more wa-
ter. Add more starch if it is too thin. You
may need to add more solution depend-
ing on the size of your container. Use
two parts water to one part cornstarch.
Once you have enough solution, put the
dino in and push down so that it is no
longer visible.
Allow to dry for 1-2 days. When
the surface starts to crack, unmold your
cornstarch solid onto a plate or baking
dish to catch all of the debris when the
dino is chipped out! You may need addi-
tional dry time if the surface feels damp
to the touch.
When it is dry, allow kids to be ar-
cheologists and dig out the dino. Use
butter knives or spoons to chip away at
the surface. Offer dry paint brushes to
brush off the bones while excavating!
ICE
EXCAVATION
This activity presents a fun way to
play paleontologist on a hot day!
Supplies:
• A shallow baking dish such as a
9x13 inch baking pan
• Several small plastic dinosaur toys
Instructions:
Arrange a few plastic dinosaurs on
the bottom of the pan, and then fill the
pan two-thirds full with water. Place pan
in the freezer and freeze until you have a
solid block of ice.
To excavate, remove the ice block
from the pan and put it outside. Let the
kids chip out the toys with metal spoons
and butter knives. They could also ex-
periment with melting the ice by pouring
small amounts of warm water over the ice.
Supplies:
• A container — something with
enough space for kids to get both
hands into and sift through rice or
sand and find objects. Suggestions:
a large bowl, a plastic storage con-
tainer, a sandbox, a sand table, etc.
• Dry beans, rice or sand
•
Items for kids to find such as small
and large plastic dinosaur toys,
small rocks, shells, plastic eggs,
play moss. A variety of sizes, shapes
and textures is best for this type on
hands-on play.
Instructions:
Fill the container halfway with sand,
dry beans, or rice. Add in toys and other
objects. Allow kids to dig in and play!
ERUPTING
VOLCANO
No Jurassic-era play activity would
be complete without a volcano! This one
is made of clay and the eruption is creat-
ed with a vinegar/baking soda reaction.
Supplies:
• Air dry clay, about one pound
• Small glass candle holder, these
small glass cups used for votives
can often be found at Dollar stores.
• Tempura or acrylic paint. One color
for the volcano, such as brown, plus
red, yellow and orange to represent
lava flow.
• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Baking dish - dis-
posable aluminum
baking
dishes
work well for this
project.
• Red liquid food
color
to move it later. Place the glass votive
holder in the center of your baking dish
and then mold the clay around the glass
votive holder in a mountain shape, leav-
ing the center open. Paint with acrylic
paints if desired. Allow to dry — this clay
is thick so it will probably take 2-3 days.
I recommend painting the clay right after
molding because it saves a step!
To erupt the volcano:
Add 1/4 cup baking soda to the glass cup
inside the volcano. Add a few drops of
red food color to ½ cup vinegar and mix.
Pour a little of the colored vinegar into the
glass cup and watch it erupt! When the
fizzing dies down, add more vinegar. This
amount is enough for 4 or 5 eruptions.
Save your volcano to use again later!
Any of these activities will keep
kids busy — and learning — during the
slow days of summer.
Tiffany Doerr Guerzon is a thrifty mom
of three who is always looking for inex-
pensive ways to sneak fun and learning
into long summer days.
Instructions:
Build your volcano
inside the baking dish
so that you don’t have
August 2019 WNY Family 13