Baby sensory at home

[Jcmummy32]

Hi everyone. My son is 12weeks old and since we can’t go to any classes due to Covid. I wonder if anyone has any ideas for home sensory activities? Any suggestions will be so helpful x

'The Baby Club' programme on BBC iPlayer does a different item all week with some singing and a story, so a good place to start! If you can, you find an example of what they're using that week and put it in a bag but that's not a prerequisite to join in.

Apart from that, think natural items and different textures to start with and move them around on different parts of the body - tummy, feet, hands, face. Have some gentle music playing in the background.

Make a sensory basket with different things in to explore more independently as he gets older - some jar lids, beads on a string (tied very carefully!), perhaps some dried beans in a small plastic tub (lid screwed on properly!), blocks with different colours to look through, a piece of cloth etc. Always supervised with this stuff!

Oh, and I run outside nature sessions for preschoolers. For the babies, it's worth just taking them outside, lie them on a rug on the grass or on a foam mat on, say, the ground in the woods, and letting them look at and hear everything!

Floaty scarves are good for peekaboo if you have one. Make a shaker by sticking some rice into a plastic bottle. Other than that, try mirrors and different textures like sponge, wool, metal, plastic.

Ooh and fairy lights (out of reach and under supervision obviously)

Baby groups were able to reopen from the 12th of this month so hopefully you should be able to attend one soon.
Unfortunately near me they all have waiting lists so I'm still sat at home 😔

Hanging ribbons, fabrics of different textures, floaty scarves(just see what you have in the house, doesn't need to be fancy),fairy lights in a darkened room, tin foil, bubble wrap,blowing bubbles, musical instruments to shake.

Foil blankets, they re very cheap on eBay and my baby loves his. They have started classes again but there might be a waiting list

Just be careful with foil blankets as they can be ripped so potentially small pieces in the mouth. But obviously any of this stuff is done with supervision!

Floaty scarves, foil blankets (both already mentioned by PP, I, just agreeing). Toys that make different noises e.g. a rattle, a bottle full of pasta, a bottle full of rice (google “making sensory bottles”) for ideas. Different pieces of fabric for different textures - or you can just read “that’s not my” books for this aspect. Disco balls etc for lights - there’s lots of different types on Amazon, mine love the cheapest ones and they are battery powered, so very portable for play. Look around your kitchen for different textures e.g. one wooden spoon and one metal spoon of a similar size. Different smells - get different tea bags (mint, chamomile) to wave under babies nose and get a couple of fresh herbs e,g. Basil, rosemary, lavender. Or if you prefer, get a humidifier and different scented oils.

Bubbles bubbles bubbles. Use the same music over and over again for play so that they start to associate it with playtime, then they get so excited!

Tummy time can be very good sensory time. Get different things for them to lie on - I’ve got a woolly mat, a fluffy blanket, some smooth scarves, foil blanket... I’ve also got some of those ones you can put water in. Sometimes I make it warm, sometimes I make it colder (but this limits how long baby can be on it). You can also sort of roll them over a big ball for tummy time to help them develop Balance,

Classes are now open though. We went to our first one this week (did it a few years ago with eldest). It’s not as good as pre-COVID, but I thought it’d be good for my little ones to see other babies and I’m sure it was.

Hartbeeps have resumed!

We were given a sensory box at Christmas and it’s been really good, I don’t think they’re hugely expensive if you want to get one, we’ve had loads of use out of it.

Ours had a pompom (like a cheerleader one), bells, different shakers, ribbons on a teether ring, bubbles, foil blanket, light up spikey ball, balloon with confetti in, shiny paper, mirror, floaty scarf, feather