Another Great Sensory Activity For One Year Olds

We are on a sensory activities kick.

The great thing about sensory play is that you can use just about anything. I won't say that this sensory example is the most unique in the world, but definitely one of the most simple ones to make.

I literally took some pasta and a couple random things around the house that I thought I could mix in there. It contained pasta, Q-tips, Pom-Pom balls, crayons, a couple of cookie cutters, ice cream scoop, measuring cups and a couple tuperware containers for scooping and dumping. I put down a blanket inside for our exploratory play.

When it comes to this activity I have 2 rules.
1. Nothing is allowed in the mouth.
2. Nothing leaves the blanket. (Really I'm more concerned about the pasta).

Here's why - dry pasta, q-tips, and poms are easy chewing targets, which also makes them choke hazards. I of course had Canden in my sight the whole time we played. This leads into rule number 2 - if everything stays on the blanket, I can keep track of it. Canden like to string his toys and whatever else he can get his hands on, all over the house. It is a lot harder to keep track of all the pasta bits if they leave the blanket - making a perfect opportunity for him to later find some pasta and attempt to eat it. Not happening.

So, on to the fun learning opportunities with the activity!!

Canden and I worked on "full" and "empty." He loved taking the ice cream scooper and measuring cup to scoop up some pasta and pour it into another container.

Because he was only on a blanket, we would often work on "soft" and "hard" or "rough." This didn't just involve feeling with our hands, he also loved walking on all the different textures too! Feet are very senstive and any part of the body can be used for sensory learning!

There are so many more options when you add all the other sensory items. Such as "smooth" from the crayon, "bumpy" from the pasta; "short" for the pasta, "long" for the q-tip etc. 

As mentioned, just get creative. Kids want to explore anything and everything, and they should get to within safe reason. Everything is a learning opportunity!