My son HATES to color.  He doesn’t see the purpose in it, knows he’s not great at it (getting better since starting OT for fine motor skills) so he literally looks elsewhere while he is coloring.  That said, it is something that I have tried many different ways to make purposeful for him and haven’t been too successful.  While I was at the teacher store (Teacher Heaven), I came across these textured rubbing plates, which are basically plastic pieces the size of a sheet of paper with raised parts so when colored upon, they reveal different patterns and shapes.  I got one package with these three sheets of nature patterns to see if he would be into them but they also make sheets with animal prints.

We tried them out and it worked!  He colored for almost a whole minute, which for us is HUGE!!!

This is also something that you could do with other things such as leaves, place mats, coins, corrugated cardboard, etc. – basically anything that has a good texture to it.  If you are like me and like to have things contained, you could create a texture bin to store different textured items that you come across.  This would not only help you store materials for a station activity like this, it could also be part of a station activity where your child chooses 2 or 3 textured items to experiment with and color upon.

So Thanksgiving has come and gone, we are all wishing our pants had that wonderful stretchy fabric found on maternity pants and we are dealing with all of the leftovers.  Here is an idea for a leftover you may have that will not add any inches to your waistline, a foil pan you can use with your children either as an Obstacle Course station or as a “keep them occupied” activity.  This is a fun and easy activity that can be made even more fun with a few basic add-ons.

Leftover Foil Pan + Shaving Cream = Fun Space for Drawing, Writing or Just Playing

How to make your own:

Easy Add On:  Food Coloring

Some of you out there will have children who cannot wait to get their hands into the shaving cream as soon as it is squirted into the foil pan.  I do not have one of those children, he’s getting better, but he’s more likely to do something like this if he has some tools to protect his hands from getting gooey.  I have used pastry brushes, both silicone and the regular kind, with him so he can “paint” the shaving cream across the bottom of the pan.  A spatula also works well for this activity.  I like to add some drops of food coloring around the shaving cream so he can experiment with mixing in the color as well as combining the colored cream to make different colors.

Since the foil pan (or roasting pan if you prefer something heavier) has very deep sides, it makes it a great container for things that otherwise would get all over the place.  When doing station activities like this, activities kids can really get into, there are things you can do to make your life a bit easier.  Place a towel, placemat, tablecloth, etc. underneath the pan, bin or tray so you can just dump anything that spills over into the sink, garbage can or out in the grass.

Idea #2:  Salt Writing/Drawing Station

It is so easy and provides some sensory input while promoting the fine motor skills of drawing and handwriting.  If your child does not like touching this, try using the non-spoon end of a wooden spoon.  The salt writing station allows children to play, draw and write in a sand-like material without the icky feeling of having sand sticking to their hands. Knowing my child’s love of salty things, he may end up licking his fingers just to get to taste it!

Here’s how you get your very own salt writing tray!