Discovery Bottles
A Discovery bottle is a great way of getting children and babies to
experiment, explore think and talk.
They are cheap and easy to make and suitable for a range of different ages and
those with additional needs too.
Discovery bottles can stimulate different senses by making sounds, emitting aromas or
presenting small worlds.
All you need is a variety of different shaped and sized clear bottles and
and variety of objects to fill them with
I've used mini pom poms, sequins, coloured water, coloured rice, glitter, feathers,
and any think I could find in the craft and sensory play boxes.
Once you have filled your bottles make sure you secure the lids with some strong glue
before allowing the children to explore.
Song and Rhyme puppets.
I wanted some finger puppets to use as visual aids when singing songs and rhymes
to the younger children. But I found them to be very expensive and not a
wide variety, so I set about making my own.
I found pictures to represent some of our favourite songs and rhymes
backed them onto some bright card and laminated them, I then taped a lolly stick
to the end of each picture to make puppets.
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| "5 Little Speckled Frogs" |
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| "5 Little Firemen" |
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| "Old MacDonald" |
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| "5 little ducks" |
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| "Incy Wincy spider", "Humpty Dumpty" , " Dingle Dangle Scarecrow" and few more of our favourite rhymes. |
Fun with Odd socks!
Are you forever wondering where that other sock has gone?
We always keep the "odd" one because the other one will turn up! Before you know it
your have your very own pile of odd socks for the little ones to explore. This kept the babies occupied for ages whilst they explored all those different textures and materials.
This activity can also be a lot of educational fun for older toddlers too,
they can learn the colours, pairs, sizes organising and role play
or life skills by even trying a few on for fun!
How much fun can a little bit of washing up liquid, water and a straw be??
watch these 2 videos to find out ...
Peg Play
A simple activity where Children can use their imaginations to create what they wish
can also encourage counting sorting and colour recognition whilst developing their Fine motor
skills too.
I used a old sweet tin filled it with the clothes pegs and left it out for the children to
explore independently
Make your own musical instruments
egg shakers
I brought some plastic "craft eggs" at a local craft store for £1 for 6,
filled them with 100s and 1000s and sealed them with cello-tape to make
fun egg shakers like we've been using at our Music groups.
Threading with Cotton Reels
Playing with objects from around the home
You don't have to spend a fortune on new shiny all sing all dancing toys with
those flashing lights and irritating tunes to keep a young child happy.
Your kitchen cupboards have plenty of "toys" for them to explore and experiment.....
Plastic bowls, pans, and spoons allow children and young babies to investigate and examine whilst learning. This activity provides a range of sensory stimulations
too such as Sound - ringing, tinkling and louder banging sounds as the spoons
crash against the pots (like a drum). Touch - the different textures
weight shape and even the temperature and Sight - through the different colours shininess and form or shapes of the objects.
Ensure all objects are clean and undamaged before giving to your
baby or young child to play with !
Most importantly let them explore whilst you sit back and observe what they create.
Playing with torches
Science for little ones.
There are many games and activities you can play with a torch.
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| Shining the light onto different objects |
Trying to catch the light as it shines on walls and different surfaces.
You could also use different sized torches,
taping cellophane to the lens to create different colours and patterns,
use a dark room and torches to create shadow puppets.
Let your little ones explore a torch and see what fun they have create with it.
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