it's all fun and games until yogurt hits the fan

After my last post about looking for ways to stay entertained during the winter months, I had several good suggestions from friends. One was a reference to this website that has tons and tons of great ways to play with your kids and give them hands-on learning experiences! Seriously, it's a good one. BUT do pay special attention to the photos that accompany each play activity. They're important.

After reading the post about Yogurt Play, I just had to try it. Like, immediately. So I stripped Henry down to his diaper, drug his high chair into the kitchen, brought the space heater along to keep him warm, and plopped a big 'ol dollup of yogurt onto his tray. The idea is that you use yogurt and food coloring to let kids experiment with mixing color and touching/spreading the yogurt is a good sensory activity. Henry was very hesitant at first. He kinda poked the yogurt and then made his 'yuck' face. I tried to help him along by spreading it around his tray a little. And then, just as the 'I'm all boy' lightbulb clicked, he raised his little hand above his head and SMACKED it down right into the pile of yogurt. All at once, yogurt hit the refrigerator, the cabinets, the oven, the floor, and the mom. My brain said 'panic' but I knew I needed to embrace the mess. The blog post said so! SMACK, SMACK, SMACK. The yogurt is flying as I nervously laugh and scoop a little of the excess off his tray. I grabbed the camera, snapped a few shots, and then off to the bathtub he went with Daddy so I could mop the kitchen from ceiling to floor. Afterward, I reread the post to see just how messy her kid got cuz I failed to notice that the first time around. And that's when I saw it. Her kid having yogurt play on a tarp in the backyard. Ohhhhhhhhhhh....now I get it.