Snow Day & Pinterest Victory... {Kiddie Things}

It wasn't until we could see the school, after walking on unplowed sidewalks, that we found out it was a snow day from a friendly stranger. I think it's one of those new-parent misfortunes that I didn't know sooner than this... but it's one that offered a good laugh.

And it's spontaneous, unedited moments like this with an unscheduled day ahead with my 3- and 5-year-old and I (the three musketeers) at home that let the imagination breathe.

I think I pinned this idea to Pinterest ages ago, but it was one of those pins that always stuck because I thought it was clever - a construction sensory box. Fun, simple, contained, and an activity that nudges the imagination.

So today, between the falling snow, shoveling, and snow angels, my 3-, 5-year-old, and I hit up our local Dollarama and came home with eight bags of stones. There were four versions of stones and we picked a few of each totaling $9.

Of course, it would have been ideal to gather rocks outside (and we might just do this when the weather warms), but given that everything is covered in a few feet of snow right now this was the next best thing.

Awhile ago, with this idea in mind, I purchased this under-bed storage box on sale from Solutions. It's low in height and long and narrow (28 inches long, 17 1/2 inches wide) so our two kiddies can play comfortably together.

It was so fun to tear open the bags of stones and dump them in the box. The kids were enamored with this and we were pleased to see that the rocks covered the bottom of the box quite well. This part took just a few minutes, and then the kids pulled over their cart of cars, dump trucks, diggers, fire trucks and police cars and all got an introduction to the new rock box.

The construction box has been a hit all day... in fact, the playroom/TV room has become a treasured place to be. It's coming along really well, and even in it's "during phase" the kids love it. We even got a few thank you's today from our little ones for their new playroom. So this sensory box just adds to making this space interactive and enjoyable.

See how we're updating our blah-basement here and here, with more updates on the way.