Beans, Beans, the magical fruit

Yesterday, I finally got around to a project that I've been meaning to do for months.  Creed loves playing in the sand so we set out to put together an indoor version for him.  My friend Shauna made a bean box for her son to play with in the winter months and it was a great success.  I let Creed pick any dried beans that we wanted at the store and then we went home and poured them out in a cookie sheet and large muffin tins.  Ideally we would be using a shallow tupperware bin with deeper sides so the beans don't spill everywhere and we can just pop the lid on and store it when Creed's done playing.  We'll pick one up soon but we couldn't wait to play.

Creed got out the measuring spoons and cups that he so dearly loves and got busy.  He could have sat there all day if I would have let him.
It was a great way for him to work on his small motor skills and also something to keep him busy while I am cooking and he wants to "help".  Granted they were instantly scattered everywhere, but they are a lot easier to cleanup than sand and Creed liked sweeping with our little hand broom just as much as playing with the beans.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't go for the tiny split peas, I would try to convince Creed to pick the biggest beans, which are the easiest to clean up.  I saw someone who only used split peas and know of another friend who uses rice, but the larger beans are a lot easier to deal with and Creed doesn't care either way.