This pouring activity was a HUGE hit with my preschoolers! I was inspired by my friend Jen, from
TV-Free Toddler Time. I love her blog! She has so many simple entertainment ideas from years of experience raising ten kids.
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What you will need to pour with you kids and keep your sanity:
- A variety of different sized containers
- A big sheet to limit the mess and hopefully salvage some of the wheat
- A big bucket of wheat
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Jen used rice, you could also use dirt, a box of instant potatoes, dried beans, etc. We just used wheat as we have it on hand in big 5 gallon buckets for baking our bread.
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Opportunities for Learning with a Pouring Activity:
Practice hand and eye coordination. We got some measuring cups recently from Pourfect Bowl. They advertised them as great for kids as they are formed to make spilling a rare occurence. I was actually surprised. They made this activity a lot less messy than it potentially could have been (rubber on the bottom makes them harder to accidentally tip, and if you do tip them, the way the sides are curved makes the contents stay inside the bowl). The kids got to practice hand and eye coordination as they poured the wheat from one container to the next.
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Explore amounts. Which container holds more, the one that is deep and narrow? The one that is big but flat? The square tub? The round salad bowl? I really wish I was able to spend more time talking with them about the activity. Unfortunately, they were too distracted by the newness of this activity for many science experiments. We’ll do those in a later post, hopefully.
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Textures. This was especially enthralling to my youngest, she loved dipping her whole arm into the bucket and the feeling of the wheat squishing in her fingers. She also enjoyed helping me clean up and picking up the grains individually.
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Overall, this was a lot less messy than I anticipated! I didn’t even have to vacuum the floor when we were done, just take the sheet out and shake what I couldn’t put back into the bucket. Who knows, we might have some wheat growing in our backyard this summer.
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Added this fun activity to the collection on We Play. Check it out!
This pouring activity was a HUGE hit with my preschoolers! I was inspired by my friend Jen, from TV-Free Toddler Time. I love her blog! She has so many simple entertainment ideas from years of experience raising ten kids.
.
Jen used rice, you could also use dirt, a box of instant potatoes, dried beans, etc. We just used wheat as we have it on hand in big 5 gallon buckets for baking our bread.
.
.
Explore amounts. Which container holds more, the one that is deep and narrow? The one that is big but flat? The square tub? The round salad bowl? I really wish I was able to spend more time talking with them about the activity. Unfortunately, they were too distracted by the newness of this activity for many science experiments. We’ll do those in a later post, hopefully.
.
Textures. This was especially enthralling to my youngest, she loved dipping her whole arm into the bucket and the feeling of the wheat squishing in her fingers. She also enjoyed helping me clean up and picking up the grains individually.
.
Overall, this was a lot less messy than I anticipated! I didn’t even have to vacuum the floor when we were done, just take the sheet out and shake what I couldn’t put back into the bucket. Who knows, we might have some wheat growing in our backyard this summer.
.
Added this fun activity to the collection on We Play. Check it out!
We play with rice for our pouring and filling play but I would love a HUGE bucket like that 🙂
Thanks for playing.
.-= Christie – Childhood 101´s last blog ..Sponsor Spotlight: Dress Ups =-.
We have a big rice tub in our garage. My children love playing with all of the different size containers. It’s great for measurement too!
We don’t have a pool in backyard, but we do have bucket and large tubs. The kids get out all of the buckets and tubs and fill them with water. They have a blast measuring and playing with all of the water toys!
Hey, my kids love pouring. Ok, they really just like making messes but that goes without saying. Seriously though, I’d love to win this giveaway.
Thanks for saying hi! 🙂
I would love to win these for my boys.
Their favorite thing is to walk to the nearby Y and play in the outdoor splash pad – we’re there several times a week during the summer 🙂
.-= Jessica @ Boy Terrain´s last blog ..Couch Time – My Solution to Two Boys and Nap Time =-.
we are constantly pouring things from one place to another. how fun would it be to have these
i am already a facebook fan
.-= pam´s last blog ..Mamarazzi Monday =-.
Hi! Popping by as part of the UBP! With a name like quirky momma, I couldn’t resist!
.-= Cheryl D.´s last blog ..At the Movies =-.
Stopping by to say hi and thanks for visiting my blog! I am such a wimp when it comes to sand, but from looking around on your blog, the activities are too fun to miss out on!
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Repost for T21 Ability Monday =-.
I’m following you on FB now! yay!
.-= Kim Chance´s last blog ..All About Seeds =-.
Hey, my kids love pouring. Ok, they really just like making messes but that goes without saying. Seriously though, I’d love to win this giveaway.