Today I set up what is now my (and the boys') new favorite toy: the bean/maize bucket! I bought about 15lbs of whole corn cernels (whatever was cheapest in the Winco bulk bins), added some beans and lentils for interest, and then also added magnet ABCs and plastic (dollar store) bugs! The boys played with it for 2 hours while I baked!
At first Sean was scared of the sound of the beans and corn in the bucket, but then he really loved it.
Mark had fun discovering the bugs etc. that I had put in there!
Score!
This is the most cooperatively the boys have played for a long time. I loved it! ( For the record, Sean does NOT have a faux hawk. His hair came out of nap looking like this.)
I was glad to have swept the floor beforehand - it did make a mess. When they were done, we swept up the spilled beans, and put them back in the bucket. Next time I'll put a sheet underneath for easier clean-up.
I think we have a new favorite rainy day activity!
I think I'll look through their bath toys and see what might work well with this. I purposefully got a deep bucket (rather than e.g. a shallow rubbermaid etc), because I wanted them to have the experience of putting their whole arm in. Also, a 5 gallon bucket is light enough that I can carry it out to the garage.
