Baby Play: Fabric

One of the ideas I saw a lot online is the idea of baby treasure baskets.  The idea is that for heuristic play, fill a basket with items around the house and let the baby explore it.  I was especially inspired by the baskets posted at The Imagination Tree.  

So, I gathered some pieces of fabric in all different textures from around the house.  I ended up with:

• a washcloth
• a piece of felt
• a silk scarf
• a basket-weave cloth napkin
• a handkerchief
• a minky burp cloth
• a piece of netting

Will could sit for a very long time and go through the bag, pulling each piece out, feeling it, tasting it, playing peek-a-boo with it...lots of fun for something different and free to engage that little baby brain!

Pinterest-Inspired Discovery Bottles

I love Pinterest!  So this week I'm actually turning some ideas into reality.

First task: Discovery Bottles.  I saw a great post at Modern Parents Messy Kids.  These are Pinterest-inspired, too!  I modified mine for a six-month-old.  I realized that a full-size water bottle filled with water was way too heavy for Will to hold on to.  So, I used smaller bottles.

I made a couple bug shakers:

I glued the lids shut on old spice bottles and filled them with colored rice and plastic bugs from the Target dollar bin.

I made an oil and water shaker (food coloring in the water and canola oil, not baby oil...just in case).  I hot glued the lid on this one, too!

And a glitter bottle.  This one is too big for Will to hold, but I shake it up for him and he watches the glitter float around.

I love all the ideas I've seen for Discovery Bins and Sensory Tubs.  I can't wait until Will is old enough for all this fun stuff!