Orbeez!

Someone gave these to us a long time ago and we just found them when we were reorganizing our garage. They're kind of awesome.

They come as tiny little beads, the size of sesame seeds. You let them soak in water for a few hours and they turn into these tapioca-like balls. The box says ages 5 and up, but Rowin (2) loved them! So did his buddy, Taft, who just turned three. 

Rowin was pretty content just squishing them around with his fingers-makes a good little sensory activity!

It also came with these plastic trays so that you can make different designs.

If you want to make it an educational activity, you can make letters or numbers on the tray and have your child tell you which letter/number it is...OR...if your child has good fine motor skills and already knows all of the letters and numbers, you could have him or her form the letters/numbers on the tray. That would probably be closer to a 4-5 year old. 

Whether you just squish these around (which is kind of theraputic) or use these for practicing a skill, they are super fun!