Thursday, May 31, 2012

Baby Play: Pouring Station


Coming up with creative play prompts for your baby or young toddler can be challenging at times. You have to be mindful of what they're likely to put in their mouths, make sure it is stimulating but not so challenging that they lose interest, and at that age they develop so fast that it can be tricky for play opportunities to keep pace.
With that in mind, I thought a sensory tub centred on pouring would be appropriate for my little Ava. She enjoys pouring and drizzling water when she is in the bath (that is, the water left in the tub that miraculously didn't end up on the blinds, the floor or me), and I thought this new interest may translate well into her playtime.
I was wrong; she had a better idea.
I had pulled out an underbed storage container, and supplied coloured rice (see here for the how-to), pearl barley and chickpeas to pour, and play teapots and cups, eggcups, a plastic jug, a sieve, a play saucepan, a coffee pot and funnels to pour with.










Ava couldn't get her little self in there fast enough! For the first few minutes, she contented herself with plunging her hands into the rice and chickpeas and revelling in the feel of them, running them through her chubby little fingers and clenching them in her fists.














That very quickly developed into a fun new activity - not pouring, oh no, - but banging things together to make new sounds. The delight on her face was so sweet! I just let her go at it, and wished that my ears had a mute button, 'cause let me tell you, my girl is loud.
When noise-making lost a little of its charm, Ava discovered the joys of climbing in and out of the tub.






Well, it's true "the best laid plans of mice and men do oft go astray", although I would suffix "especially where kids are concerned". Personally, it puts a big ol' smile on my face when my children adapt a game/activity like this to suit their moods. It is their play time, after all - not mine!
I hope you give this a go at home; try it out with water in the bathtub if you're hoping to contain the mess.
Thanks for reading! ~ L.

8 comments:

  1. Love these ideas!!! Thanks for sharing at Thinky Linky Thursday!
    Lori

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  2. she looks so intrigued by it all. what a wonderful learning experience disguised as fun! :) thanks so much for linking this up to tip-toe thru tuesday!

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    1. Thanks Andie, she was very focused on her task - whatever it was! :D

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  3. I love that you used a container big enough for her to sit inside! I'm going to have to try this with my little guy!

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    1. Melanie, I've learned the hard way that even if the container is not really big enough to sit in, she'll sit in it anyway! I figured using a bigger container was preferable. Hope your son enjoys it! :D

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  4. What great ideas you had. I loved that she climbed right in. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!

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    1. Thanks Carrie, sitting in the tub seems to be the best part! Have a great weekend! :D

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