If you follow me on Instagram, then you know I’ve been posting the DIY activities I’ve been doing with our 11 month old girl. With the influx of lockdowns in states across the country, we are home with our babies A LOT more. Now is the time to do all of those activities with your babies that you pinned months ago. Here are my 3 activities that we gave a go in the past week! These activities get their neurons firing and senses overloaded.
Keep in mind, the attention span is 3 to 5 minutes per year of age. So don’t be surprised if your little one only finds joy in these for a minute or so.
Mess Free Painting
You will need:
-Paper
-Gallon Baggies
-Paint (preferably washable)
-Packing tape (a strong tape)
Take a sheet of a paper and put dabs of paint all over it. Carefully place in a gallon bag and zip. Tape bag down flat on a high chair, table or the floor. Then let your babe “finger paint”, moving the colors around, feeling the texture and explaining each color. When finished, take out the paper of the bag and let dry!
Sensory Spagetti
Things you’ll need:
-1/2 box Spaghetti or any pasta
-Pot (for boiling spaghetti)
-Strainer
-Food Coloring
-Baggies
-Oil (vegetable/olive)
Okay, this has been our favorite. Cook spaghetti as you normally would but leave it a little more al dente so that it doesn’t mush. Strain pasta and let dry a little. Separate the pasta into baggies (as many colors as you’d like) and place 10-20 drops of food coloring with a 1/2 tbsp of oil into each bag and shake up! Once coloring is even on pasta, rinse and strain so theres no excess coloring on it. Lay on a pan with paper towels to dry and soak additional colorings. Then place in a tub/container and play! It’s fun to point out colors and let them feel the textures. Warning: they will probably eat it!!
Colored Bag Hanging
Things You’ll Need:
-Gallon Baggies
-Water
-Food Coloring
-Strong Tape (I used packing tape)
Fill each bag with about 3 cups of water. Place 5-10 drops of food coloring in each bag (as many colors as you’d like). Zip bags up and tape to a glass door or even the stove window! Babies will love squeezing and seeing the colors shine. Our girl loved this and we kept it up for a few days!
Sensory activities are a great way to introduce new things to your child. They help stimulate the brain and create nueron pathways to improve sensory processing. It may take a bit for time to gather these activities but I’m sure they’ll be a hit to keep our crazy kiddos busy!