Glow in the Dark Pumpkin Slime Party Favors

Simple to make glow in the dark slime pumpkin party favors.

Halloween Party Favors - Glow in the Dark Slime

Halloween is rapidly approaching!  You know what that means?  Candy!  I'm fine with my kids having treats here and there, but I really don't need them overloading.  It seems like everywhere you turn there are pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin pie, Halloween cookies, and yummy fall drinks loaded with sugar.  Wouldn't it be nice to give kids sugar free party favors instead of more treats?  We love making slime, so I decided to make glow in the dark slime to give away as party favors.  This pumpkin slime is really the perfect non edible treat for kids.  It's so much fun!

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Candy Corn Playdough Recipe

My boys are obsessed with candy corn this time of year, so I knew they would enjoy making candy corn playdough.

Fall Recipe for Play - Candy Corn Playdough

I love making my own playdough, and the simple playdough recipe I use make perfect playdough every single time.  Our fall playdough is still going strong, but with Halloween just around the corner I was inspired to make a batch of candy corn playdough!  This is the perfect fall recipe for play since playdough lasts long, it builds fine motor skills, and what child doesn't love candy corn?  The best part of all is that this candy corn playdough recipe is super simple.  Last spring I discovered the secret to making the perfect playdough.  Seriously, this recipe is fail proof. 

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Pumpkin Spice Rice - Fall Sensory Play

How to dye pumpkin spice rice for fall art and sensory play.

Fall Recipe for Play - Pumpkin Spice Rice

As you might have guessed by now, we love fall sensory play.  We've been on an apple kick, but as we move into October I'm ready to focus on pumpkins.  Rice is one of my favorite materials for sensory play.  One of the many benefits of rice play is that is lasts.  I am a huge fan of any sensory material that lasts, because it saves money and time when you can reuse something for play again and again.  If you saw our candy apple rice you may be wondering why I'm making another sensory rice post.  Well, one day Tank and Peanut (26 months) played with our candy apple rice bin after they had been in the play pool and were therefore wearing swim diapers.  With a large amount of the rice on the ground next to the bin, Peanut urinated.  While I typically scoop up any spilled rice and put it back in the bin, this time around I, of course, threw it out.  I did save the dry rice that was still safely in the bin.  Since it wasn't a large enough amount to play with on its own I decided to make some pumpkin rice to go with the rice we already had.

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Apple Crafts and Educational Activities {The Sunday Showcase}

Apple Crafts and Educational Activities featured on The Sunday Showcase

Apple Sorting Sensory Bin from Munchkin and Bean

Fall Sink or Float Science from B-Inspired Mama

Felt Apple Tree and Counting Activity from Where Imagination Grows

Apple Tasting Picnic from Munchkins and Moms

Water Beads and Apple Sensory Play from Little Bins for Little Hands

Easy Apple Sensory Table Activity from Fun-A-Day

Comparing Apple to Apples from What Do We Do All Day

Apple Math Activities from JDaniel4's Mom

Stuffed Paper Apples Craft from Buggy and Buddy

30+ Apple Sensory Tubs from Living Montessori Now

Apple Counting and Math with Water Beads from 3 Dinosaurs

Apple Crafts and Educational Activities from Learn~Play~Imagine

Kindergarten Apple Unit Study including apple tasting, apple graphing, homemade applesauce and apple pie, an apple craft and science with apple slices.

Fall Playdough Recipe

Apple Scented Quick Paint Recipe

Apple Unit Study for Preschool including apple sorting, apple tasting, and an apple tree hand print craft.

Candy Apple Puffy Paint Recipe

For more apple crafts and educational activities follow my Fall - Halloween - Thanksgiving board on Pinterest.

Be sure and check out the 15 Apple Crafts and Activities featured on The Sunday Showcase two weeks ago!

Now it's time to link up your best child centered ideas!

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If you are here for the first time please read this informational post for the full details.

Follow the Sunday Showcase Features board on Pinterest for more incredible ideas!

*Important*  Please note that by linking up you are giving us permission to use a photo (with proper link to you!) in our featured section! If you prefer not to be featured comment below or e-mail me.

Be sure and stop by and see the features from my co-hosts:

* Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas * Here Come the Girls * Inspiration Laboratories * 

If you've been featured, grab a button:

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Apple Recipes for Play

Apple Sensory Play Ideas

We have been all about the apples in the month of September.  I thought it would be fun to have all our recipes for play with apples in one place.  With all of the amazing apple sensory play ideas out there, I also wanted to include a few of my favorites from this fall.

Homemade Candy Apple Puffy Paint

Pretend Apple Pie Sensory Bin from Little Bins for Little Hands

Edible Whipped Paints for Fall from Fun at Home with Kids

Fall Finger Paint Recipe

Fall Sticky Paint Recipe

Edible Apple Pie Paints from Blog Me Mom

Fall Playdough Recipe

Apple Printing with Erupting Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Apple Orchard Invitation to Play from My Nearest and Dearest

Apple Pie Dough

Candy Apple Sensory Rice

Apple Pie Playdough from Blog Me Mom

Apple Scented Soap Foam

Pretend Apple Pie Sensory Bin from Little Bins for Little Hands

Apple Cinnamon Sensory Bin from Fantastic Fun and Learning

Apple Scented Quick Paints

For more apple recipes for play follow my Fall - Halloween - Thanksgiving board on Pinterest.

For more fall recipes for play and other fall activities click the image below:

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Candy Apple Puffy Paint Recipe

I love creating homemade paint recipes.  With all of the apple scented fun we've been having lately I decided to combine apple scents with our puffy paint recipe.

Homemade Paint Recipe - Apple Scented Puffy Paint

I'm back with another apple scented paint recipe!  I have to admit I think I might be a little obsessed with apple scents.  We just been having the best time with apple recipes to play this fall.  From apple pie dough, erupting apple sidewalk chalk paint, and apple scented quick paints to candy apple rice, apple playdough for fall and apple scented soap foam, we just can't get enough apples!  We always have a batch of no cook puffy paint on hand, so when we used up our last batch I immediately knew that I wanted to make candy apple puffy paint.  I'm so glad I did, because the paint smelled incredible.

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Apple Scented Fall Quick Paint Recipe

A quick paint recipe for fall that takes two minutes to whip up!

Recipe for Play - Apple Scented Paints for Fall

This morning my two year old twins walked into the kitchen and asked to paint.  My first thought was to grab the tempura paint, but then I saw the apple flavor sitting on the counter from a project we did yesterday.  I decided to whip up a quick batch of candy apple paints.  We've been having a ton of apple scented fun this fall.  We've made candy apple rice, apple scented sidewalk chalk paint, apple scented soap foam, and apple pie dough.  Since I hadn't even made breakfast yet I reached for the ingredient that makes paint in seconds.

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Preschool Activities for Fall

Hands on learning for preschool with a fall theme.

Fall Alphabet Activities and Math Games

I've finally comes to terms with the fact that summer is over.  I am definitely enjoying the cooler days.  I cut out these foam leaves weeks ago when it was in the triple digits in the heat of the day, but I didn't have the energy to set up the preschool activities I had in mind until the weather cooled off a bit.  We finally had a cool day last week, and I went outside and set up a leaf hunt for J-Bug (4).  He really thrives on one on one time with me, and he gets so excited when we do hands on learning!  A few of his favorites include ABC eruptions, gross motor math games, and gross motor phonics games.

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Small World Play {The Sunday Showcase}

Ideas for Small World Play featured on The Sunday Showcase

Invitation to Play: Under the Fall Tree Small World from Buggy and Buddy

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Fall Activities for Kids

Our favorite fall activities for kids.

A Collection of Fall Activities for Kids

The past two days I didn't run the a/c at all.  You know what that means, fall is here!  Okay, the first official day of fall isn't for a few more days, but it is basically here.  I've said it before, I love summer.  I have a hard time when my favorite season comes to an end.  The miserable heat wave that we get mid August through mid September helps tremendously.  By the time it passes I am ready for fall.  To welcome the season we have been enjoying a ton of fall themed sensory play around here, most of which centers on the wonderful scents of fall.  I've gathered those ideas as well as ideas from around the web to bring you over 100 awesome fall activities for kids!

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Apple Scented Soap Foam - Fall Sensory Play

Apple scented fall sensory play with soap foam!

Recipe for Play - Apple Soap Foam

Have you noticed we've been a bit obsessed with apple scented sensory play lately?  It's just so perfect this time of year!  A few of our apple scented favorites have been candy apple rice, fall sticky paints, fall playdough, fall finger paints, apple printing with erupting sidewalk chalk paint, and apple pie dough.  I have a few more fun ideas using apples, but today I needed something fast and simple.  It was one of those days.  I decided to whip up a batch of soap foam!  To go along with our apple fun I made it in fun apple scents and colors, perfect for fall sensory play.

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Color Surprise Eruptions

Baking soda and vinegar color surprise eruptions, a twist on a childhood favorite.

Colorful Eruptions - Science for Kids

I think it's safe to say that all kids like making eruptions.  I know mine do.  We have made eruptions with Kool Aid and paint, color mixing eruptions, vinegar free eruptions, giant soapy eruptions, ABC eruptions, and eruptions with apple sidewalk chalk paint.  It doesn't matter how many times or how many different ways I set up an invitation, erupting activities are always a huge hit.  While my boys enjoy the classic baking soda and vinegar trick I like to put a spin on it now and then.  I thought it would be fun to create color surprise eruptions.

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Apple Crafts and Activities {The Sunday Showcase}

Apple Crafts and Activities featured on The Sunday Showcase

Apple Printing from Simple Fun for Kids

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Candy Apple Rice - Fall Sensory Play

How to dye apple scented rice for fall sensory play in yummy candy apply scented and colors.

Fall Recipe for Play - Candy Apple Rice

We are on a roll with these fall recipes for play. Over the past couple of weeks I've shared fall sticky paints, fall playdough, pumpkin spice latte Oobleck, fall finger paints, apple printing with erupting sidewalk chalk paint, fall clean mud and apple pie dough. It seems like our apple scented recipes have been huge hits with my boys, so I decided to mix up a batch of apple scented rice for fall sensory play.

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Apple Pie Dough

Open ended fall recipe for play made from real apples and perfect for imaginative play.  My boys had a blast making apple pie dough and setting up a pretend bakery.

Fall Recipe for Play - Apple Pie Dough

We've been having fun creating fall recipes for play.  Over the past couple of weeks I've shared fall sticky paints, fall playdough, pumpkin spice latte Oobleck, fall finger paints, apple printing with erupting sidewalk chalk paint, and fall clean mud.  What do they all have in common?  They are all overflowing with the scents of fall.  To continue with the scented fall sensory fun I set up an invitation to play pretend bake shop with apple pie dough.

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Rhyme and Paint - Preschool Literacy Game

Preschool Literacy - Rhyme and Paint Game

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We are kicking off a new year of the Virtual Book Club for Kids. The author for the month of September is Bill Martin Jr.  We have many favorites written by Bill Martin Jr. including Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? and Chicka Chicka 123.  Each month for the Virtual Book Club I like going to the library and choosing a new to us book to read.  This month we found Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up?  I am using All About Reading Pre-Reading Level with J-Bug (4), and this week we have been focusing on rhyming.  Since each page of Kitty Cat, Kitty Cat, Are You Waking Up? has a rhyme, I thought it would be fun to set up a rhyming game for him using words from the book.

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Cool Eruptions for Kids

You know we love fizzing fun for kids.  My boys could play with baking soda and vinegar every single day and not tire of it.

Anything that erupts, pops, explodes, fizzes, or bubbles is a huge hit with my boys, and I'm guessing the same holds true for just about any kid.  Many of our favorite recipes for play include making something erupt.

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Fall Clean Mud Recipe

Did you know there is such a thing as CLEAN mud?  Better yet, clean mud that sparkles?  This unique, fall recipe for play will dazzle you!

Fall Recipe for Play - Sparkly Clean Mud

It's the final day in our Fall Recipes for Play series, and we have thoroughly enjoyed kicking off fall with play.    Monday - Playdough, Tuesday - Paint, Wednesday - Glowing, Thursday - Scented Play, and Friday - Nature.  Today we have a fun play recipe involving nature.  We don't really see a big change in seasons in southern California, so I came up with an idea to make our own fall leaves.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte Oobleck

I love pumpkin spice lattes, and my boys love Oobleck.  Sensory play meets mama's favorite fall treat in this fall play recipe!

Fall Recipe for Play - Pumpkin Spice Latte Oobleck

We are back for day four of our Fall Recipes for Play series.   Monday - Playdough, Tuesday - Paint, Wednesday - Glowing, Thursday - Scented Play, and Friday - Nature.  Today we having a fun scented fall recipe for play.  The theme of the day is fall scents.  I don't know about you, but when I think of fall the first scent that comes to mind is a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.  If you don't drink coffee you probably can't relate, but for most of us who love coffee, Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes mark the start of fall.  I wanted to incorporate the scent of a pumpkin spice latte into our play, and after toying with a few ideas I knew that Oobleck would work well.

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Glowing Magic Milk Experiment

Glowing science is too cool and fun for all ages.  We love making magic milk, so I knew my boys would be thrilled to make dancing milk that glows!

Recipes for Play - Glowing Magic Milk

It's day three of our Fall Recipes for Play series, and we are having the best time!   Monday - Playdough, Tuesday - Paint, Wednesday - Glowing, Thursday - Scented Play, and Friday - Nature.  Today we are sharing a cool, GLOWING experiment for kids.  We love GLOWING play, and as the days get shorter in the fall we are ready for GLOWING fun at night.  While brainstorming for our GLOWING theme I remembered a favorite science experiment for kids.  "Magic" milk is an experiment sure to delight children of all ages.  My boys love the traditional experiment, so I knew they would be impressed with GLOWING magic milk.

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Erupting Apple Sidewalk Chalk Paint Recipe

You've probably noticed by now that we love erupting sidewalk chalk paint.  With fall in full swing I decided to put a seasonal twist on one of our favorite play recipes and do some apple printing on the sidewalk.

Fall Recipe for Play - Apple Printing Eruptions

We are back for day two of our fall play series with the best fall activities for kids!  Monday - Playdough, Tuesday - Paint, Wednesday - Glowing, Thursday - Scented Play, and Friday - Nature.  The theme for today is paint.  You know how much we love to paint!  We have a huge collection of homemade paint recipes and are always experimenting with different materials to make more.  Since this is a Fall Recipes for Play series, I wanted to take one of our favorite recipes and give it a fall twist.  One of our all time favorite paints is sidewalk chalk paint.  In addition to the standard recipe we've added scent to it and made it erupt while practicing the alphabet.  For this fall sidewalk chalk paint recipe I decided to combine all of our favorite elements, and I mixed up a batch of erupting apple sidewalk chalk paint!

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Fall Playdough Recipe

These fall playdough recipes capture all the best aromas of fall.  Our easy, no fail playdough recipe is simple to make and lasts for months.

Fall Recipe for Play - Playdough

Can you believe it is almost fall?  I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to summer.  Thankfully I have many favorite fall activities for kids.  As I mentioned in my fall sticky paints post I am doing my best to embrace my favorite things about fall.  What better way to get excited about fall than to kick off a fall play series?  I am so excited to be teaming up with the creative minds behind Fun at Home with Kids, Blog Me Mom, and Housing a Forest to bring you Fall Recipes for Play.  This week each of us will be posting a new fall recipe for play with a theme for each day:  Monday - Playdough, Tuesday - Paint, Wednesday - Glowing, Thursday - Scented Play, and Friday - Nature.  Be sure and stop by each day to see the new play recipes each of us have planned.  I hope this fall play series gets you as excited for the change of seasons as I now am.

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