Time to use your noodle--Easter Sensory game

Easter is a fantastic holiday, but it can certainly be overwhelming in many facets: the sugar highs, the running to and from egg hunts, church services, and family gatherings.  We try to keep it simple: I don't usually do candy in the baskets, but instead focus on props and "evidence" of an Easter bunny.  This year, it was dollar store bunny ears, ties, and bunny footprints. 

After a full day of visits with the family we needed a very calm sensory active.ity to help the kids wind down.  The swim noodles I had cut up for the "beading" in the Egg Olympics are great for sensory play.  NOTE; for kids under 2, just make sure they don't bite/swallow the material.  Otherwise, these things are great: quite, cheap, colorful, soft, and STACKABLE.  While I tried to find all 600 plastic eggs my kids threw about the house this morning, I dumped a bag of 3 cut up swim noodles in the middle of the room.  My 2 yr old and 1 yr old began gathering and stacking towers.  This is great for counting, learning size, colors, and sorting. 

The best part of the game was when they decided to build, then knock them down.  AGAIN AND AGAIN.  But, instead of legos and blocks, this was not loud, and no one got hurt.   When it was time to clean up it took them less than 2 minutes to put them in the toy bin.  This kept them all entertained for over an hour.