At 10 months old, Little's day consisted of feedings every three hours, exploration of solids as well as morning and afternoon naps. Everything was planned around these essentials. I was adamant about establishing and maintaining predictable routines, therefore most days were spent at home. I didn't want to deprive her of sleep or a predictable routine and I chose to be very intentional about how our time would be spent, as a result sensory activities were done on the days I didn't work. A sensory activity is ideally therapeutic because as babies absorb information through their senses the activity helps them improve motor skills, gives them an opportunity to gain awareness of how the world works, and contributes to language acquisition as well. Here are a few photos of Little enjoying sensory activities.
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The easiest activity to prepare was water play. In fact, it was also the most engaging. Little enjoyed exploring different temperatures of water which made it easy to extend this activity, and so I took the opportunity to introduce the words: ice, cold and warm.
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To vary her water play experience, I added bubbles, animal replicas and a few cups for pouring. Of all sensory activities, water play was by far the activity that would hold her attention for the longest time. Most times, 20-30 minutes. Even now at 15 months, this is by far the easiest and most engaging. I would say it's her absolute favorite.
She also loved painting, but since she was extremely oral at the time I made the paint by whisking 1/2 cup gluten free oat flour, 4 heaped tablespoons of sugar, and 2 cups cups water in a pan until warm and free of lumps. Afterwards, I divided the mixture equally and added vegetable food coloring to each mixture.
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To avoid a big mess I enclosed paper in a zip lock bag and squirted some paint inside. She was thrilled with the added texture and making the colors spread across the paper.
| On our first snow day, I made snow. Little was super excited about it. Surprisingly, it was easy to make. I simply mixed baking soda and shaving cream. |  |
 | Shredded colored paper and miniature animal replicas only engaged Little for a short while. In fact, she was least interested in this of all the activities we've done. Now that she's older, I think I will try it again. |
Little enjoyed experimenting with the texture of beans and pouring them too. However, this is another activity I decided would be saved for later because she put them in her mouth a few times. She's 15 months now so it's definitely time to try it again.
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Sensory experiences provide a grand opportunity for little ones to absorb information about their new world. What are some of your favorites?
