Items to put in 'Treasure Box'?

[CastsSpellsWitchySpells]

Following on from Franny's suggestion on another thread of putting together a treasure box for babies, I thought we could use the MN collective to come up with ideas of what to put in one - we need around 100 items in all.

So, apart from the specific ideas already suggested on the linked site, what ideas do you have, or have you used if you've already made one?

plastic toilet brush

This is the list of suggestions I give in my handout to parents who attend my treasure basket group:

Natural objects: Pine cone, large pebble, loofah, large shell, pumice stone, large feather, large cork, natural sponge, citrus fruit.

Wooden objects: egg cup, clothes peg, curtain ring, nail brush, small bowl, coaster, wooden spoon, napkin ring, small ornament, small lidded box.

Metal objects: spoon, bunch of keys, egg whisk, small sieve, length of chain, jar lid, small bowl, curtain ring, bracelet, bicycle bell, egg cup, bulldog clip, lemon squeezer, garlic press, small mirror in frame, metal keyring, tea strainer.

Aromatic objects: Citrus fruit, leather purse, lavender bag, rubber door stop, leather glasses case.

Noisy objects: Bell, whistle, piece of cellophane, chime ball, harmonica, castanets, small maraca, other shakers made from wood or metal, bean bag, rattle, bunch of keys, tin or box filled with dried beans and glued firmly shut.

Fabric pieces: scrap of velvet, fur, silk, corduroy etc.

Other interesting items: paint brush, toothbrush, ribbon, small thick glass jar (eg individual sized jam jar), marble egg, empty salt pot, string of ?pearls?, raffia mats, small baskets, shaving brush, wicker ball.

A Note on Safety:

Supervise your child at all times while using a Treasure Basket.

Do not place anything in the basket that is small enough for your child could choke on. Choke detectors, small gadgets that enable you to test the size of an item to see if it is safe, are available free of charge from ELC Head Office: telephone 01793 443322.

The types of object used in the Basket are not toys and are only suitable for play under adult supervision. They can become worn or broken during play, and need to be checked over carefully before each session to make sure they are still safe for exploration.

Some items, while safe for use by a seated baby who is not yet able to throw or poke, could be dangerous in the hands of an older, more mobile child. If you have older children at home, make sure they do not misappropriate items from the Basket while your baby is playing.

All items must be suitable for a baby to suck. Painted items must be non-toxic ? in the case of charity shop items this is not usually possible to establish for certain, and so should be avoided.

Anyone who is interested can get more info on treasure baskets from me by emailing frannyandzooey at india dot com. I have a word document with pretty pictures I can send you. I don't check this email terribly often but will get round to you in the end

sorry could resist...
bottle brush then?

crikey, that's impressive.
saves us all the hard work, thanks!

Ooh no I am very much hoping other people will pitch in too (I want to pinch the ideas for one thing )

This is only a few ideas to start off with really.

thanks for the inspiration!
am now driving dh nuts charging round living room looking for 'treasure'(slightly lubricated by glass of vino)
My star find was 2 wooden cotton reels

that a great list...
all i can think of right now is old mobile phone, door knob.. ummm will keep thinking...

i've got an old metal door hook in dd's, which she finds utterly fascinating. and zips, ribbon, old socks, an old rubber plug, some very large wooden buttons, a bone salad server (ancient, used to belong to my grandma, a leather glove, a child's coat hanger... these are probably a bit 'processed' but she likes them. i also cut bits out of old knackered clothes, so she's got a pocket of a pair of jeans which she likes getting her hands into.

i got the basket for £6 in Au Naturel, it's quite soft but deep enough that she can get a real root about in it. i give it a good mix around so that new things appear. not sure we've got anything like 100 things yet but i'm always on the lookout.

we're also doing baby led weaning and i kind of think there's a link as i see her touching and turning her food and inspecting it in the same manner as she does her 'toys'. she's learning about how heavy things are, what textures there are, and in both case she's learning what happens when she puts them in her mouth. in a way that she wouldn't if everything was plastic and homogenised (or even blended, with reference to food), iyswim?

anyway, treasure baskets, i rate them...

Ah wonderful ideas ladies. I'll add the cardboard tube from the inside of toilet roll/kitchen towel, a ball of scrunched up tin foil, a little glass paperweight, and a conker (that would be big enough not to choke on wouldn't it?).

Oh and one of those little maglite torches.

You might thread the cotton reels onto a piece of string and knot it in a ring/circle type thingie?

Ooooh, Franny, those sound great - want to do one for me, never mind dd2-to-be.

dd1 has been enchanted with 'treasure boxes' of all descriptions since early toddler-hood, I removed unsafe bits and let her play with my jewellery box (supervised) as a special treat (ie when I needed to dry my hair) once and it was a big hit. I also have boxes with small carved animals in, shells, beads etc. And she now has one of her own, she can store treasures in. But she is nearly three - I hadn't thought of a baby-safe one.

Perhaps I will make one for the baby-to-be, in due course, and meantime make a 'big girl box' for dd to play with when I'm b-feeding

Thanks for the inspiration!

To add to list: IME, dd when younger esp. liked finding smaller boxes inside the big treasure box...treasures within treasures. And soft cloth bags, like the kind you get jewellery in, with things in them.

Might be for slightly older babies, though, not the wee ones.

Try to avoid plastic items in the basket if possible - not because there is anything inherently evil in plastic, but because a huge part of the Treasure Basket is about provding a rich variety of sensory experiences, especially textures, and plastic objects are almost without exception all the same - hard, smooth, rather cold, unpleasant smelling or odourless.

There's nothing wrong with letting your baby play with plastic toys, but when that's all they get, it is a rather limited experience for them. The treasure basket is a sort of antidote to that, so try to concentrate on objects made from other materials: wood, stone, glass, metal, wool, rubber, and natural items such as pine cones, shells, feathers and so on.

Oh and CastsSpells, you could certainly find a big conker that would be ok as far as choking goes, but the insides of conkers are poisonous to humans, so I would take great care to check the conker each time for splitting, and I wouldn't give it to a child with teeth.

Plus am jealous of wooden cotton reels. Anyone got a supply of these?

i'm really excited by all of this! will start gathering stuff together today! just like i'm thinking of starting to gather stuff for DD to make things with (bottle tops, yoghurt cartons etc) although i think she's way too young for that kind of stuff yet. i remember loving this kind of stuff when i was small.

definitely will like the treasure chest. come on DD, hurry up and learn to sit up on your own!

will let you know if i find something not already mentioned.

is a walnut big enough?

This sounds great. Is it just meant for babies as I reckon my two boys (3 and 22 months) would love a 'treasure box'?

Actually i don't care if it's meant for babies, I'm going to do one anyway

Missy a large walnut should be ok. Get a choke detector as mentioned earlier, from ELC head office - just phone them and they will send you one.

Calebsmummy, the Treasure Basket was developed by educational psychologists for babies aged between 5 and 10 months, but I have had great success using them with all ages - older children play with them in a completely different, imaginative way and can be just as absorbed by them as a baby IME.

Sorry, when I said all ages, I meant, all ages of preschoolers . I don't know if a 10 year old would be very keen (but you never know).

F&Z, rang that number and they didn't know what i was talking about! After checking they said they couldn't send one out, i'd have to go into the store to get one. Anyone else tried this morning and had success?

Franny, what should the wanky basket itself be like? ordinary small wicker baskets can be a bit sharp ime.

Remember reading about these years ago in Junior (heuristic education) then of course promptly forgot when dd3 came along! Thanks for bringing it back to my attention. Off to gather stuff up now.

Calebsmum, see my post below - dd is nearly three, and loves treasure boxes in a general way - am going to make her one using a slightly adapted Franny-list!

Actually, I remember being a lot older than that and enjoying playing with my mother's jewellry box, my father's cufflink box, etc. And being about 10 and making my own treasure box with a piece of blown glass I'd found, some shells, etc. Boxes that aren't there to play with all the time, and have unusual/different/fascinating objects in....they always felt like a treat.

Judging by our reactions on this thread, I suspect we're never too old Franny....