As your baby's physical skills develop and they become more mobile, a new chapter begins in their life. They enjoy seeing the world from a different perspective now, and their curiosity motivates them to move around and explore. This stage opens up new, exciting opportunities for more independent sensory play exploration. With the new mantra of 'the world is your oyster' you will see your baby enjoying exploring exciting new activities. Here are a few ideas to add to your sensory play repertoire: Baby led weaning and exploring new textures, smells and tastes When I think about the sensory play we do with babies at the nursery, I think of all the meal times they have and the time spent tidying up all the mess! Tasting and eating food independently is such an exciting and pleasurable time for all children. I love seeing their faces tasting new foods for the first time, and I am sure that you also have lots of photos of your baby pulling the most hilarious faces at you when trying new foods. Eating and feeding themselves is the best sensory activity there can be. Was meatball thunderstorm on the weather forecast today? Sensory bags and bottles These are excellent for tactile, visual and auditory stimulation and so easy to make. There are many variations and you can use simply anything you can think of. Most importantly, these are usually items that you have in your kitchen cupboard such as rice, popcorn kernels, buttons, paint, water, glitter etc. You need to remember, though, to have the bottles and bags securely closed and to never leave your child unsupervised whilst playing with them. Needless to say, they will provide months of fun and you can reuse them to create new ones. Bubbles These get everyone excited ALL the time. You can have bubbles on for hours on end and I am sure that your child will continue getting excited, observing them closely and giggling when they pop. Peek-a-boo using colourful see-through organza fabric This is one of my favourite activities. Babies love all peek-a-boo activities, but these add a special magic touch. The child can see you under the scarf, and this makes them even more excited to pull the scarf off your head and put it on theirs. Organza see-through coloured fabric is also great when paired with tissue boxes: your child can pull the fabric out of a tissue box. It helps them to practice their fine and gross motor skills as well as problem-solving. Play trays filled with rice, lentils, pasta Any shallow tray will do. The bigger the better so that your child can comfortably sit or crawl inside it. We fill these up with such an amazing array of materials from rice, lentils, sand, water, paint, to squishy cellophane-like materials, cooked spaghetti... You name it and I am sure we have tried it. Possibilities are endless. Our recent favourite are chunky root veggies and herbs. Water play with various sea creatures and shells Water play is wonderful for children and provides them with so many different sensations. You can use the same water tray as above or do these activities in your bath. In hot summer months, a sea creature sprinkler outside is always a winner with the children. Try adding some food colouring to the water to create a different sensation. How about adding some herbs and tea bags? Music band using a variety of instruments All children love singing and playing musical instruments. At the nursery we use a great musical programme called Boogie Mites. It provides some lovely songs to engage with for all age groups. Who knows, maybe it will encourage your child to tidy up when listening to Tidy Up Tango! You can find some details of Boogie Mites here: Boogie Mites Parent Education Courses Body painting Yes, I do not mean painting, I mean BODY painting. This activity comes with a warning - it will be super messy! But super fun at the same time. All you need to do is stick a large piece of paper on to the floor, squirt some paint on it and after undressing your child to nappy only. Close your eyes (figuratively) and let them turn the house into a young artist's studio. Not for the faint-hearted. At this age, the number of sensory play activities knows no limit. Observe your child and their interests and they will guide you in what to prepare next. Some of the ideas I mentioned above you can see demonstrated in the video below. Happy watching and even happier playing and exploring!
