We’re excited to announce our first ever Rad Dad story time this Thursday (March 26th) at 2:30 pm Central Time on Instagram Live! We will be The theme is Rainy Days and we will be reading from Lucy Cousins’ “Splish, Splash, Ducky!”, which was included in our August 2019 box. After story time, please also feel free to participate in a few rainy day-themed activities below.
With many dads and parents now working from home due to the coronavirus outbreak, we wanted to help make this time easier for you and your children with what we hope will be weekly themed story times and activities. This way, you don’t need to scour the internet for activities – simply go to our site to see suggestions! We will try our best to choose activities that use items found in most households, to reduce waste and prevent you from buying lots of needless supplies. We’ll also make suggestions on substitutions, where appropriate. Read below for the activity instructions and supply list for “Rainy Days.”
Theme for Week 1: Rainy Days
Supplies needed:
– Book: Splish, Splash, Ducky! by Lucy Cousins (if you don’t already have this book, you can buy it online or listen along during our story time)
– for baby activity: shallow tray for water, water, sponges (if you don’t have play sponges, you can also use seashells, or animal bath toys)
– for toddler activity: clear plastic or glass jar, shaving foam (NOT shaving gel), food coloring, pipette
Baby Activity: Sensory Water Tray
Babies love water exploration! This sensory water tray activity is a great way to help them develop their sense of touch, learn about cold (and warm), and cause and effect. For our activity, we suggest using play sponges (similar to the ones we included in our May 2019 box), but this can also be done with seashells or rubber bath animal toys. (In fact, you can re-enact the Splish, Splash story with animal bath toys!) This activity is best for babies who are comfortable on their tummies, so roughly 3 months and up.
- Fill a glass tray with water. Set on floor.
- Place sponges in tray. Soak in water. Lift up and squeeze so baby sees the “rain” falling down! (bonus tip: squeeze the sponge over baby’s hand so she can feel the rain!)
- Let baby play with the water to her heart’s delight!
- Bonus tip #2: If you have an older child, this is a great way to involve them in play as well. Our son liked squeezing the water out of the sponges!
Toddler/Preschooler Activity: Rain Cloud in a Jar
The idea behind this activity is to teach children about how clouds hold rain, and then release them. The shaving cream acts as the cloud, the food dye/colored water acts as the rain, and the water in the jar acts as the air.
- Fill your jar with water.
- Squirt shaving cream on top of the water.
- Mix food dye with water and have your child pipette the colored water into the shaving cream – or squeeze the food dye directly into the shaving cream. (Bonus tip: you’ll see results faster if you squeeze the water on the side of the “cloud”)
- Watch the results!
Our son wasn’t so interested in the science, but he did enjoy seeing me squirt the shaving cream and playing with the shaving cream, too! He also didn’t have the patience to watch the “rain” fall down and actually became interested in pipetting the shaving foam into the colored water. However, when he was playing with his finger puppets later, he did have them take a trip to admire the rain!
In addition to these weekly story times, we’re also preparing a blog post with ideas for activities you can easily do with your children during your self-isolation/quarantine at home. Stay tuned!