It’s time to start learning with babies!
When I was teaching, my favorite area to plan with kids was sensory. But I also hated messes – what a predicament. I think it is so, so important to expose babies to sensory activities as well. Water play, jell-o, shaving cream (in a bag), paint (also in a bag), hair gel (yep, in a bag)…anything with a feeling that is different than normal. It will prepare them for more sensory experiences as they get older as well.
Back in February I had asked if anyone had any of those wipes tops for wipes bags from Target, Huggies, Wal-Mart, whatever. I had planned on making one of these sensory boards for a while, but (big surprise) it just got away from me. So I finally hunkered down and got it done a few weekends ago.
Before you begin, obviously you need to consciously hold onto these wipe top dealies. Then, make a list of some sensory surfaces to use. Here was my list:
-Sandpaper
-Felt
-Pipe cleaners
-Pom poms
-Flannel
-Fleece
-Cotton fabric
-Paint (in a bag)
-Feathers
-Rice (in a bag)
You can put these on any board really. I was doing a small version to show you guys, but you can do it on a big poster board, foam board, whatever.
I picked out 4 from my list (cotton fabric, fleece, flannel and pom poms) and set to work. I tried the sandpaper but I couldn’t get any kind of glue to stick to it and the plastic wipe top. Not even hot glue! Can you believe it?! I give up if hot glue doesn’t work.
Glue the wipe tops onto your surface. Once your glue dries / cools (I used tacky glue for this part), cut around it with scissors.
Glue all of the tops to your board. Be careful when you do this – I used too much hot glue and it poured over and ended up gluing one of the tops shut. So I had to pry it open!
Reagan mostly just looked at it and threw it off of her high chair, so I’m going to tape it to her high chair next time.
Dylan even enjoyed playing with it!
Happy playing 🙂
