Which one makes a sound? ~ baby play

Babies love to explore new things and this is a fun little game any tiny tot will enjoy!!

Suitable ages:

6mths- 2yrs (at the end if the post I will give some examples on how you can extend this for toddlers) 

Learning opportunities:

Exploring their senses

Fine motor control

Language 

 

To set this little game up I used four old film canisters. These particular ones have great lids that are very difficult to open and well sealed. Inside one if the canisters I 1/4 filled it with rice but you could use a small bell, dried lentils or anything of that nature. You can also use any small containers. Just make sure your baby is able to grasp the container easily and that it is well sealed so the contents do not be one a choking hazard.

More often than not any new item goes straight to the mouth. This is your babies preferred way to explore items. Encourage your baby to 'shake' the container. Model this and reward your baby with your facial expressions and voice. When your baby finds the container that makes a 'sound' congratulate them. Let them discover how some don't make any sound but this one does. 

 

When your baby is holding one container try passing them another one and observe what they do. Do they drop the one they have to hold the new one or do they grasp the new container with their spare hand? Your baby may pass the container back to you in a little passing game.

Bubba Finn enjoyed banging two canisters together!!

 

To Extend on this

For older babies and toddlers increase the learning opportunities by adding colours to the containers so they can discover which colour container makes a sound. You could do this with shapes and numbers also.

Use more containers, have two with the same objects inside for your child to match up. For example you could have two with rice inside and two with a bell inside. Ask your child which two make the same sound.

Enjoy

Play and Learn

Katey 

Balls in a Bowl ~Baby Play

Super simple and super entertaining (for both baby and parent) way to play that you must try today if you have a baby who can sit up unassisted.

 

Learning Opportunities

Eye Hand coordination

Fine motor development- grabbing

Sensory exploration

Language development

Social development

 

Suitable Ages

For babies who can sit up unassisted +

Can you catch a ball?

Ooh look at them rolling all around

 



oops where did it go?

Reach for the ball

 



Bubba liked taking the balls out.

 



 

Where are the balls gone mum?

 

You could also try

 with pom poms (make sure your supervising and they are a safe size)

add square cubes or blocks

add other sensory items

 

This has been a favourite with all my babies!

 

Enjoy

 

Play and Learn

 

 

Katey

 



Water beads ~ The fun we had!

 

I have been wanting to get some water beads for the kids for a long time. It's something I used in the classroom occasionally and the children always loved the sensory experience and so much spontaneous learning happened through their play.

I have not been able to locate any water beads in the shops recently but I know I used to get them from $2 shops. You can purchase them online and I know through eBay, I just had never got around to ordering any. Then walking through my local shopping centre the day before Hman and Miss M were having their surgeries (grommets, tonsils and adenoids) I bumped into a little store selling them! Woohoo- perfect timing as I knew water bead play would be the perfect thing to keep their mind off the pain while we were stuck at home during their recovery period. 

Water Beads before you soak them in water. This is how they look when you buy them.

They come in various sizes and are non toxic making them safe for children to play with. They do swell when added to water so if ingested by your child will swell. For this reason I suggest sticking to the marble sizes water beads. Easily passed if they happen to be ingested, however I advice constant supervision when playing with water beads with children. I was very clear with my children, 2yrs and 4yrs, that they were for playing with and not for eating. They both understood and even my 2yo did not attempt to try one out even though he has been known to eat all sorts if things- he was too busy enjoying the incredible sensation of them!!

Depending on the size of your beads leave then to soak for around 4-6hrs till they have swelled to final size. Drain any left over water and you are ready to play!

Marble sized water beads ready to play with!

Hman smiled and laughed and laughed and smiled the whole time he played with them! He was totally engaged, it was so much just to watch!!

 

To start with I put the water beads out with a selection of scoops and containers and let them play and explore them!

This was great for language development and extending vocabulary. 

Action words 

Scooping,

Pouring, tipping, dumping, filling etc

Describing words 

Wet, slippery, slimy, cold, tickley, squishy, colourful, round, little balls oh balls ...

... Bouncy balls!!

Do be warned, they are very bouncy and very roly and disappeared under all the furniture very quickly!! Of course Gmsn thought throwing them in the floor was hilarious and I had to put a stop to it once it got out of hand as I didn't want baby Finn finding a stray one. Perhaps play outside or put the tub into a bigger tub, or play in the bath tub. 

So much language... I could go on!

Miss M came up with her own little game.

Which kept her mind off her pain for a long time!

We moved onto some colour sorting.

An Alphabet hunt.

Using some tongs

 

Try picking up the water beads with the tongs. What happens, why? 

Of course you could add other resources to your water beads depending on your child's interests and level. Such as 

*plastic animals

*numbers

*dinosaurs

*variety of objects for sorting and classifying. 

Baby safe ways to explore water beads!

 

Of course 6month old Finnboy was curious what all the fun was about, we couldn't let him miss out but of course I needed to make is safe for him! Here are some of the ways I came up with, but constant supervision and common sense is essential.

Testing them out with his feet!

What a wonderful sensation. Remember to model lots of language for your baby such as wet, cold slippery, feet, toes, tickle etc.

 

Water beads in a secure plastic container.

 

Oooh they look interesting!

Water beads in a ziplock bag.

Baby is able to enjoy the sensory experience of the beads, however be very careful because...

 

He straight away took it to his mouth. Constant supervision is essential. 

Although two year old Hman enjoyed exploring them this way too!

These are the ways we have played so far, however we aren't tired of them yet. I will add more ideas to this post as we discover them!!

Always supervise children when playing with water beads.

Enjoy

Play and Learn

Katey