Elian is now at that age where he is paying attention to objects around him and starting to play and touch things to help him learn about the world. This is the time when sensory toys and sensory play is so important for babies growth and development. We have been to a few sensory play classes both locally and when we were staying at Bluestone and he loves it, all the colours, songs and lights are just so interesting to him. So I started building him his own sensory toy box at home, to help stimulate his mind and help him learn. I am always adding to it when I find new items, as even some basic household items are great for babies. Here is a few of the items we have so far, there are too many to list them all, so there are his favourites:
Finger Puppets – I picked up this great little finger puppet set from Flying Tiger a few weeks ago and Elian loves it when I sing Old MacDonald and make the animal noises.
Voile/Silk Scarves – These scarves are amazing when babies are smaller as they love having them placed over their heads and then pulled gently down across their faces, or balled up and gently rubbed over their legs or arms. When Babies get older they will enjoy waving them about or pulling them through objects. Plus they are all bright and colourful so really eye-catching.
Spikey Balls – You can find these balls in all shapes and sizes, hard and soft, bouncy and with flashing lights and babies all seem to love them. We have a collection of them in Elian’s sensory box now that I have picked up in multiple places like B&M, PoundLand, Flying Tiger and Home Bargains
Foil Blanket – These are the first aid type of blankets and I got them from Amazon. Elian went through a phase of being totally obsessed with his foil blanket. He liked to shake it and crunch it up in his hands, to play peek a boo with it and to simply hide underneath it in his ball pit.
Glitter Wand – These are both mesmerising and calming, I could spend ages watching the colour and glitter spiral down the tubes. Again the best place I found to pick them up was Amazon. When Elian was younger he always played with one in Playgroup so I had to find one for him to have one at home.
Pompom – The Cheerleading Kind! I managed to pick one of these up at Poundland in the kids fancy dress section and it is one of his fav things to play with at the moment, he loves to shake it and wave it about. Plus as its made of a foil type fabric it makes a nice noise too.
Lastly at one of our Sensory Play classes we made Glitter Sensory Bottles, which are really cool. Here’s a little DIY video I found using the same technique to make them as we did.
I’m hoping to be doing lots more fun sensory activities with Elian now he is getting older, so keep an eye out for DIY’s and crafts. Does your little one have any favourite sensory toys?
