Calming Sensory Space...AKA the Safari Room!

 

I created this calming sensory space for my grandchildren, and they LOVE it! They call it the Safari Room. It is a small space under our staircase that I previously used for storage.

I painted a safari mural with lots of animals and added several stuffed animals. The shelves were already there, and that worked out perfectly, because we now use them as a bookshelf. I found the cute leaf rug and safari table and chairs on Amazon, and I made the pillows myself.

This is the perfect space to read and book, chill out, or take a nap!

Entertaining DIY Activity for Infants & Toddlers

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This DIY actvity is an inexpensive way to entertain your infant or toddler while they work on their visual motor and bilateral skills! It's a nice way to work on grasping, placing, and releasing in a controlled manner. All you need are popsicle sticks and a clean to-go coffee cup and lid.

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After a bit of practice, this little one progressed to holding the cup with one hand and placing the popsicle sticks with the other hand. Well done!

Busy Board for Baby: Another Great Developmental Toy!

This Kitchen Busy Board is a fun interactive toy that will definitely entertain your little one! It plays music, lights up, and has lots for opportunities for your baby to improve their fine motor skills. You can also teach your child the concepts of open, close, in, and out while the two of you play with the busy board.

Playing with the Busy Board will also promote your baby's problem solving skills! This would make the perfect birthday or Christmas gift for your little one, so check it out!

Developmental Baby Toys: Easy Grip Ball Activity...Another Favorite!

 

I'm excited to tell you about a fun activity to carry out with your baby using an Grasp Classic Ball and some cloth or organza tissue squares. All you have to do is stuff the cloth squares inside of the ball, and show your baby how to pull them out. This activity will help teach your little one about the concepts of "in" and "out." It is also a great activity to help them use both hands together and to work on their pincer grasp. You can also name the colors of the cloth squares as they pull each one out of the ball. Eventually, your baby will gain the skills to stuff the squares back inside the ball, but that may take a little while. If you don't have any cloth or organza tissue squares, you can just purchase some colorful cocktail napkins, and they will serve the same purpose. Your child will love this activity and it will fully entertain them!

Developmental Baby Toys: Another of My Favorite Things!

Here is another developmental baby toy that I highly recommend. This musical baby pop-up toy is fairly inexpensive, and it promotes a variety of skills, including problem solving, understanding cause-and-effect, and eye-hand coordination.

I also love that it lights up and plays music! Playing with this pop-up toy is a great way to teach your baby the concepts of "open" and "close." You can talk about colors with you little one by pointing and telling them to push the "red" button.

This particular pop-up toy include a variety of animals, so parents can teach their babies about those animals and the sounds they make. This musical baby pop-up toy is available on Amazon, so go check it out now! It would make a wonderful gift for any baby.

 

 

 

Developmental Baby Toys: A Few of My Favorite Things!

In this post and several future posts, I'm going to share a few of my favorite baby toys that are great for promoting your child's development! The toys that I will be featuring are wonderful for the development of a variety of skills, including cognitive, and fine and gross motor skills.

 This Country Critters Wooden Activity Play Cube will keep your baby busy! Each side includes a different activity center with wooden balls, a shape sorter, and much, much, more. My favorite thing about it is that is is sturdy enough for a baby to pull up on and cruise around the edges.

 The activity cube is recommended for ages 12 months to 6 years and will entertain your baby for hours. It is available here on Amazon. 

Fun with a Variety of Sensory Activities!

 

Check out these easy recipes for a variety of fun sensory activities. The dough or sand can be used to create a sensory bin. Just add additional items for tactile exploration such as pom poms, marbles, different types of pasta noodles, and a scoop!

Sensory Bottle: Use an empty water bottle with the label removed. Add water, vegetable oil, glitter, and food coloring. You can also drop an Alka-Seltzer tablet in to create bubbles!

 

Cloud Dough: Mix together 1/3 cup of lotion, 2/3 cup of cornstarch, and a couple of drops of food coloring.

 

Salt Dough: Mix together1 cup of all-purpose flour, ½ cup salt, ½ cup of cold water, and a drop or two of food coloring.

 

Moon Sand: Mix 1 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, and several drops of food coloring.

Note: Provide direct supervision for children who might put the sand or objects in their mouth. 

This project was completed by a Master of Occupational Therapy student at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center and posted with permission.