Baby Sensory Play: Sounds with Found Objects

If I didn't have a preschool, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have any toys.  In fact, I'm fairly certain the toys are here just to make parents feel better - the kids would (and do) play with just about anything - the more open-ended, the better!

My own children, especially Bear, are fascinated with kitchen objects.  Monkey usually cooks - and sometimes builds - with things he finds in the kitchen, but Bear likes to bang, rub and roll everything he finds and delights in the various noises he can make.

In my Mom's house, there is one kitchen cabinet the kiddos are allowed to explore.  It contains plastic storage containers and a few random objects such as a pan for the grill, a stainless steel water bottle, some ice cube trays and a lobster pot.

When I introduced this cabinet to Bear, Monkey quickly stepped in and took control of a few choice items and started cooking and creating.  Bear was left with an ice cube tray and a plastic lid, in which he quickly lost interest.

BUT, a few hours later, when Monkey had settled down for a nap, Bear happened upon his creation and started exploring.

Metal water bottle lid, metal grill pan, bang, bang, bang, rub, rub, rub!!  Bear was so pleased, he babbled, danced, smiled, giggled, and entertained himself for longer than most people think a baby can.

Then he made a new discovery!  Different materials make different sounds!  More banging, more fun!

Eventually, Bear got so excited that he forgot to hang on to the table and had a little tumble, but once all the materials were moved to the floor, he kept right on exploring.  He played with these five or six objects for over 30 minutes, finding various ways to make sounds.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get in the kitchen and start digging out fun stuff!!  Let's see what the kiddos can do with it!!

Baby Sensory Play: Wax Paper Shape Discovery Tub

I certainly couldn't leave baby Bear out of the bathtub fun this week, and since we rarely use his baby tub for actual baths these days (unless they're fraught with choking hazards and non-ingestibles), I thought it would make a wonderful vessel for baby-friendly sensory items.

We do a lot of squishy, messy, wet, slimy sensory play around here, but I often feel like we're ignoring all of the other senses.  I've added sound bottles to the classroom, and have plans for even more sensory additions.  I thought I'd start with something that would engage sight, hearing and touch all at once - and knowing Bear, taste, as well.

I used the shapes from our Melissa and Doug Shape-Sorting Cube and added pieces of wax paper.  If your baby, like mine, puts everything in his mouth, be sure to use only large sheets of wax paper.

I started with all of the shapes covered by the paper, so he immediately went for a sheet of wax paper and shook it around to hear the noise it made.  He has recently learned how to clap, so he experimented with clapping while holding one sheet of the wax paper and while holding a sheet in each hand.

Soon, though, he discovered that there were other treasures hidden in this tub!

Shapes!!


Bear spent a long time playing with this invitation - longer than most people would believe possible for a 7 month old.  I left it out for three days and he continued returning to it, discovering and exploring different shapes.

Eventually, he figured out that he could take the sheets of wax paper out of the tub and crawl/slide on the floor with them, crinkling his way through the house.

Even Monkey got in on the wax paper action and asked for a few sheets so he could 'ice skate' on the carpets - try THAT one with your preschoolers!!

More baby sensory play adventures to come!

DIY Montessori-Inspired Sound Bottles

I've been perusing the Montessori materials websites lately and finding activities that I can recreate on my own without breaking the bank.  It all started with our sewing basket, which is a classroom favorite.

A few weeks ago, my son asked for 'yogurt smoothies' during our weekly Trader Joe's trip and I happily obliged knowing just what I was going to do once my lil man helped out and drank all those yogurts.

Sound bottles!

Although the sound quality isn't as good in the plastic bottles as it is with the more traditional wooden cylinders, I decided to try it out anyway using whatever was around the house to make my first set of bottles.

I used water, popcorn kernels, dried pinto beans and rice.  I measured 1/4 cup of the items into their assigned bottles because I wanted the bottles to feel the same as the kids were shaking to allow for the sound difference to be the only variable.  Once everything was measured, I hot glued the tops, just in case.

I labeled the bottom of each bottle for the children to check their work.  Even though they aren't reading, they can recognize the individual words as shapes and decipher whether or not the words match.  

My son loved the activity as soon as it was presented and I am allowing him to help out the other children as they discover the new game.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly children can not only discover a new activity, but also understand its purpose.  On the very first day the bottles were in their new home in the classroom, I heard a little guy shaking away and after a moment or two, a joyous, "That's a match!!"