Frugal Baby Play

Today I'm feeling tired.

And a tired mummy is not a very creative mummy.

So to keep Mr T busy and stimulated, I came up with an activity that taught lots of skills, cost nothing, and kept him entertained for a VERY long time!

All I needed was a ball and a bowl.

My goal was for him to explore the sound of the ball rolling around in the bowl. Boy was I wrong! Mr T was not particularly impressed with my plan of events. He picked up the balls one at a time and threw them away, then turned the bowl upside down.

 

Mummy fail.

Until I had a brilliant idea. Why not hide the balls UNDERNEATH the bowl???

Bingo!

After showing him where the balls were and how to lift the bowl up, I stepped back and let him create his own learning.

I almost needed popcorn. The entertainment was priceless.

First, Mr T circled the bowl, pushing it around and growling when he was unable to flip it over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next he tried banging on it.

He then spent almost 5 minutes pushing the bowl backwards and forwards, enjoying the sound of the ball hitting the bowl.

 

 

And repeat. Many times.

Eventually he just sat back and gave me this look....

 

 

So before you think that you need high tech, expensive toys to keep your little one entertained....look no further than your kitchen!

 

 

What items from around the home does your little one like to play with?

Baby Discovery Bottle

This week, I have been teaching Toto about the concept 'in/out'.

 

To do this, I made a simple toy with items from around the house.

 

All you need is an empty milk bottle, scissors, and items to put in the bottle.

 

 

Firstly, I showed Toto where the toys were. Then I let him explore.

 

 

Following that, I showed him how to put the toys into the hole in the top of the bottle.

He struggled a little bit more with this concept - more with the co-ordination than with putting it into the hole. To help him, I guided his hand to the hole and he would let go of the toy. After a few times, he was able to do this alone.

 

 

After that, I let him play by himself. He enjoyed turning the bottle around and re-finding the holes to take the toys out and put them in another area.

 

Toto was able to extend himself further by taking toys out of the bottle, turning to a nearby basket, and depositing the toy into the basket, then returning to the discovery bottle and repeating the exercise.

 

What an entertaining half hour we had!

Exploration Baskets

What is Heuristic Play?

 

Heuristic play is a term that was introduced in the 1980s by child psychologist Elinor Goldshmeid. In a nutshell, it allows babies and toddlers to explore the properties of a range of objects in everyday life. The objects are from real life (not the plasticy purpose-designed toys we buy from shops).

 

Heuristic play allows children to engage all of their senses in a rich learning activity. They are able to make decisions about what object to explore further,

 

I'm a big believer in Heuristic play through treasure baskets and sensory bins. Up until now, I've not given Toto organised playtime, just allowing him to explore the world around him as he learns to move around the house. But now it is time. I'm secretly jiggling with excitement!

 

Here is Toto looking through his first exploration basket:

 

 

What is the Adult's Role in Explorative Play?

The role of the adult is to give their full attention to the baby during this playtime. You are there to extend them if necessary, but primarily remain as unobtrusive as possible. An exploration basket should never be available 24/7, as this does not encourage baby to fully engage in the activity. I like to bring the exploration basket out 2-3 times a week for no more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time. This means that baby will not bore of the objects in the basket, and are given free time to explore at their own speed.

 

What Baby Learns

make choices

how objects feel, taste, sound like, and look like

develop concentration/attention span

how to pick up / move an object

developing fine motor skills

strengthening hand muscle tone

object manipulation - pushing, pulling, up/down, in/out, scrunching, tapping, shaking, etc

and lots more......



 

What Objects Can I Use?

Paper/cardboard - egg cartons, boxes, books

Metal - large screws, measuring cups, teaspoons, curtain ring, tea strainer, whisk,

bells, small bowl, jar lids

Textile/Fabric - cloth book, small teddy, leather, knitted toy, ball of wool, bags of herbs/lavender,

ribbons, feathers, carpet pieces

Natural Objects - pinecones, raffia, wooden blocks, wooden spoon, flower, driftwood,

loofah, large stones, sheepskin, wooden beads, rope, coconut shell, etc

 

And many more!!

 

How do I Organise Them?

You can put them in the basket/bowl according to type of material or choose a theme. This week, our theme is "kitchen objects" so Toto is exploring teaspoons (metal and plastic), whisks, measuring cups, rubber pastry brush, cardboard boxes, etc.

 

What do you think you could use?