Activities for Up to 6 Months
Sensory Bottles
Sensory bottles are by far the most versatile sensory activity. You can pretty much add anything to a bottle of water and your baby will have fun watching the water and objects move. You can theme your bottles E.g., season bottles, book bottles or even animal bottles. The world is your oyster with these bottles.
Tape Resist
From 6months your baby will begin their weaning journey. From the age of 5months+ we started sitting our baby girl in her high chair at meal times and setting up little play activities for her, this helped to get her ready for meal times with us and made her feel a part of it. Try taping anything and I mean anything, to your baby’s high chair, watch as they move their little hands to grab and grasp those objects.
Rainbow Hoop
Tummy time and kick out time for your baby is the perfect opportunity to build that core strength they need to start sitting. By attaching string, ribbon and felt balls to a hoop – your baby will love watching the tassels move and the balls sway. They may even begin to try to reach for them. This is the perfect activity to make and play with.
High Contrast Images (From Birth)
Try making some high contrast images with black paint and white paper. They don’t have to be fancy just some lines and dots will work perfectly. Attach them to some cardboard and stick some mirror stickers on the back. Babies LOVE mirrors and black and white images, so this is truly perfect for babies from birth.
Tinsel Hoop (From 2 Months)
Tinsel curtains are easy to find all over the internet and are super cheap. Add a tinsel curtain to a hoop and hold it above your baby during some ‘kick out’ time. The rustling noise and the glimmers of light bouncing off the tinsel will excite your baby.
Photo Board (From 2 Months)
Babies love looking at faces and different facial expressions. Looking at the faces we pull and responding is their first chance to communicate with us. Have you ever noticed your baby cry when someone unfamiliar speaks to them? This is them showing you that they know who you are! Try making a photo board with photos of you and your family. They will love lifting the flap as they get older too.
Sensory Time
Babies really don’t need a lot to keep them entertained however, there’s a lot that you can get. Try adding some sensory scarves and bubbles to your play time – this is perfect for involving older children too.
Sensory Hoop (From 3 months)
Tummy time is brilliant for building your baby’s muscles all around their body. It’s great for head control, neck control and strengthening arms and legs ready for crawling. By making a sensory hoop with scarves and felt balls your baby will love moving around to look at all the different colours and textures.
Grasping Baskets (From 4 months)
Place a range of objects in baskets. Try to choose objects that can be easily held by your baby for example scarves, cardboard tubes, wooden counters, balls, wooden spoons etc. Place the baskets in front of your baby and get them to reach for them and grab them whilst they’re on their tummy.