We have just created a music wall for Sophie in her play pergola. I tried to pick some instruments that wouldn’t be too noisy. We back onto a school playing field so we have no neighbours directly behind us, but I didn’t want the neighbours either side to get too annoyed!
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A couple of weeks ago the top of our garden was an overgrown mess and the log shed had become a dumping ground!
Continue reading “Play Pergola – Music and Water Walls”
After we finished our patio makeover, we decided to start working on Sophie’s play area. This was how the top of our garden looked in April. A dangerous mess! So we have spent the last few months transforming this into a play area for Sophie. This has taken a while as we tried to do most of the work while she napped but we did manage to get some done while she was awake by keeping her entertained with some outdoor activities.
Continue reading “DIY Barefoot Sensory Path”
Sophie discovered a love for the moon last winter when she noticed it through the skylight while eating dinner. She now points to the moon in her books every time she spots it. Her baby monitor has a star show that projects onto her ceiling and I am pretty sure that that is the reason why she is happy to be left to fall asleep in her cot as she lies with a cuddly toy and shows them the moon!
Continue reading “Whatever Next – Story Box”
I bought a can of shaving gel ages ago to use for messy play and after we finished our mark making activity, I decided to use it to make some sand foam. I tipped the sand into a plastic box (approx 3 cups of sand).
I first came across the idea of treasure baskets when I searched for activities to do with a baby. The concept, which was inspired by Elinor Goldschmied, suggests putting a range of natural, household and recycled objects into a sturdy basket and letting the child explore them independently. The idea is to avoid including plastic because it doesn’t offer much in the way of sensory stimulation.
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This photo was taken before Sophie started to play with her buried treasure activity. By the end, there was a fair bit of sand in the tuff spot. At first, Sophie tried standing in it then she began to make marks using her fingers.
Continue reading “Marking Making in Sand”
Sophie loves to play with a pirate ship and some toy pirates at her Grandma’s house so I wanted to do some pirate-themed activities with her. After making a treasure chest and doing a treasure hunt in her playroom, I decided to set up a buried treasure activity in the tuff spot.
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I have tried using mega blocks and coloured squares to help Sophie to learn her colours but I wanted to do some other activities to help her to recognise colours. I cut some shapes out of felt and put them in the tuff spot with the leftover felt cut into a large square shape. When I did this activity, Sophie still wasn’t talking much so I wanted to focus on language.
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I made these sensory bottles when Sophie was a baby. They are really simple to make and support their development really well. We still have them over a year later. They live in Sophie’s musical instruments basket and she still uses them now.
Continue reading “Discovery Bottles – Sounds”
Play at Home Teacher 