Our Latest Sensory Boxes

Spring Has Sprung and Ocean Fun are our two latest sensory boxes. I have changed my set up a bit and I am finding these to be much more user friendly.

As you can see we have lots of scoops and funnels and pots to plant things in. There are magnifying glasses and bugs galore. The dirt in this box and the sand in the other are made from a mix of wheat flour and baby oil. You just dump in a bag of flour and work in oil till it is the desired consistency. It feels a little like wet sand. I adore it because it holds shape for building castles and cleans up so easy. It also smells wonderful.



Our Ocean Fun box is half "sand" in the form of flour/oil and half aquarium rock. I got a piece of coral from the aquarium section of Walmart and some sea creatures and buckets from a discount bin at the craft store. I also got a tube for added fun.


I used to use a shoe box sized tub in an attempt to keep them on the table top but it was not working for us. Little hands got frustrated in such small spaces and the tubs ended up spilling. Also with so many kids in the house they all inevitably want to play and there is just not enough room for that in a small box. I upgraded to three large thin tubs from Walmart. They are just what we needed.





I found these adorable monkey rugs at Target in the dollar section. I bought four and put them around the tub. The rule is you pick a spot and stick to it. everything in the tub stays in the tub. Period. Spills are ok and inevitable. The box is about exploring and fun, but no throwing or dumping allowed. Also no taking the toys elsewhere to vanish into the abyss.

San Diego

The last few months have been filled with upheaval for us. Daddy went on the road and we do not get to see him everyday anymore. We moved to a new house. Revamped school and I decided to go back to school and finish my degree. We have been very busy and had a few bouts with some gnarly illnesses. So, when Daddy called and asked if we wanted to come to San Diego to visit him and our extended family, we jumped!

My sister and her husband have a boat and we were fortunate enough to be invited to go out deep sea fishing for the day. What a fun adventure.

The kids were so excited. They had never been out in the open ocean in a boat before.

The baby was happier with Daddy in the cabin at first.


But after awhile she decide it was ok to lounge with me and soak up the California sun.


The bait fish proved to be way more fun than the actual act of fishing.

The kids decided to try to catch birds instead.





Anna decided she had no fear and was running all over the boat which caused me to be terrified and enjoy exactly zero relaxing in the sun!



Wyatt decided to be king of the world and had an absolute blast seeing how far he could hang out of the boat.




It was an amazing day and we were so blessed to get to experience it! Thank you Captain Matt.

Reno Children's Museum

My prayers have been answered Reno has a children's museum. Wait, it gets better, the family membership is $85. and for once in my life with a big family that covers all of the kids in your household! I was ecstatic!


The Da Vinci Corner has a clear canvas and arts and crafts area. Ava shut the place down and talked the assistants out of extra supplies to take home so she could keep crafting.

The Under The Stars exhibit is like camping outdoors at night. There are tents, gear and wildlife to touch and explore.
You can go fishing and dance in a digital stream too!
Playing in the 80 foot long model of the Truckee River is a huge hit.

So was climbing in the clouds although it gave me claustrophobia.

The Nevada Stories exhibit was interesting too with a ton of information and hands on learning about mining, the railroad and local Indian culture.

There is a lot more to see so we will be going again and again with my membership. The kids had a ball and the environment was clean and relaxing.