Teaching Toddlers: Sensory 101

I enjoy doing fun random activities with Nico! At least once a week I search the internet for interesting new games that teach babies and toddlers all kinds of important and exciting things!

This week we enjoyed an afternoon of sensory time! We played with the sense of touch, which is when we explore new textures and get a little messy. Sensory play has MANY benefits for toddlers and even babies. 

For this activity we used shaving creme, rice, and flour.

I bought Nico his own personal shaving creme so that we don't use ours,

I separated some rice for him and marked it as play rice,

And I did the same with the flour. I saved it in a container to make play dough with later.

PLAY TIME!

Picking up tiny grains of rice aids in the development of fine motor skills 

While pouring it from one container to the other develops problem solving skills and helps him to learn the processes of physics.

Most children can't learn the meaning or definition of a certain word until they have experiences it for themselves. While attempting to mold the foam, I repeated things like "squishy," "soft," and "white!"

Do not be discouraged if baby is a bit apprehensive to touching it at first. Remember that everything is new for them, and show times new things can be intimidating. Just get your hands dirty right along with baby and show him/her that there is nothing to be afraid of. This teaches them to be brave and to tackle problems head on! Take your time and follow your baby's pace and cues. If he tries to eat it, let him, as baby will quickly learn that his actions sometimes have icky consequences.

Nico was not exactly thrilled about the idea of playing with foam at first. When I presented it to him he looked at me like "you expect me to touch that?" But by the end he was quite pleased. 

Nico dominated his play time, making most of the decisions on his own which instills confidence, as I mentioned before, and fosters creativity! As soon as he figured out what flour was, there was no stopping him. 

 

Eventually, it all ended up on the floor (which was thoroughly cleaned before this activity) and on him. 

 Have fun! And remember, 

PLAY HARD = NAP HARD!