8 Great Sensory Activities for Babies and Toddlers
I have recently took a deep dive into sensory play so I thought today I would give you guys my top sensory play ideas that could be fitting for infants AND toddlers. My son is currently 11 months old and he is enjoying all of these a ton right now.
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What is Sensory Play?
Pretty much exactly what it sounds like, anything that stimulates senses. This form of play is extremely important for all kids since that is how they are meant to explore and learn in the world. Sensory play can be so many things and really all things are stimulating some sense in young children but designing activities for our babies is meant to help with engaging multiple senses at once while improving language and fine motor skills.
Sensory Bags
These are great beginner options for young babies but also loved well into toddlerhood. You can tape them down to the highchair or once they start to sit up and or stand you can tape them to a window.
Water Bead Bag
- Plastic Bag
beads are great for multiple sensory activities but when your babies are young you can just put them in a bag with some water, watch the grow to size and let your babies move them around in the bag.
Water and Oil Bag
- Water
- Oil
- Glitter
This was the first activity we did as far as sensory goes. I used a sandwich size bag and taped it to his high chair. You could tell how much he loved it.
Edible Activities
YUM right? We all know babies put everything in their mouth so having activities that are safe for that is important.
Jello Dig
- Sugar Free Jello
Jello Dig was my least favorite out of edible activities but it was still fun. Added the jello to a large bin in layers so the animals would be through out it and not all stuck to bottom. It was just a little too messy for my liking.
Finger Painting
- Yogurt
- Paper Plates
Personally think this is the best sensory activity I have came across. Just add as much or as little food coloring you want to yogurt and let your baby play. Its perfectly safe to eat and really fun.
Sand Box
- Cheerios
I may have loved the yogurt finger painting but my son definitely loved the sand. I put the cheerios in a blender and it made PERFECT sand that was still safe to eat. We added measuring cups to pour the sand in and out of, little animals to hide and find in the sand and little cups with holes to watch the sand come out of.
Misc. Sensory Activities
Sticky Note Wall: Simple and something you can pull out quick when you need something to do. I put a bunch of sticky notes randomly around his play area for him to pull off and ball up. This activity in courages him to stand which is really helpful at this stage. I also plan to in the future write the alphabet, colors, numbers anything we can practice on the sticky notes so we can write out his name, count, or learn colors.
Painting: This is a great option for indoor fun that isn’t messy. I add drops of paint all over a piece of construction paper and stick it in a bag taped to his high chair. He gets to explore with color and feel the paint move around with out the mess. We use this as a way of entertainment while I cook and he loves it.
Tape Board: Super simple and all you need is masking tape and something to stick it too. We use animals, shapes, anything you have laying around. Tape it down and let your baby figure out how to get it off.
Thats it Beauties! My current 8 Sensory Activities! Im currently working on more but I’m still testing them out and ill share in a future article. Let me know your favorite sensory activities over on Instagram, I post whatever we are doing most days if you want anymore ideas. Love you all and make sure to check out my Lovevery articles if you like this one!
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