Halloween is right around the corner and we have been having so much fun with all the Halloween themed activities! Whilst out at Godstone farm, I came across a load of cute Halloween toys. I decided to buy a few a put together a little Halloween Sensory basket for Bug and see what she thought of it! We do Sensory stories at work, so I wanted to merge the two together!
Babies gain sensory experience through sucking, handling and putting items in their mouths. By doing this they are also learning about weight, size, shape, texture, sound and smell. A baby’s concentration on a sensory basket can sometimes last an hour or more. The contents stimulate a baby’s curiosity and allow them to discover objects through first-hand experiences. The baby will also enjoy the independent decision-making involved in choosing the items they want to explore next.
I got some of the pumpkins that we had got from our recent trip to Garsons farm and placed them around the basket. Just to give her something else to explore. It’s safe to say she rather enjoyed chomping away on a munchkin pumpkin stalk and got rather upset when I took it away from her because she bit it off!
Molly really enjoyed pulling everything out of the basket to see what was inside. I had little zombie monster heads that if you squeezed them, one of the eye’s would pop out! Gross, but amazing at keeping Molly amused for a good 10 minuets. There was also a squishy eyeball, some bats, mini spiders, munchkin pumpkins and squash’s, a large spider made out of pompoms and pipe cleaners and a pumpkin light up toy that only worked if you pressed the button.
As I said above, In my work setting we create sensory stories for our young people. The “That’s not my” books are the perfect sensory stories for babies and young children. Each page has a different piece of material that you can touch and feel, perfect!!
What Is A Sensory Story?
A sensory story is usually quite short, with each sentence of the story being accompanied by a sensory stimulus. When choosing stimuli it is important to try and think of ones that fit in with the story you are reading!
You can put anything into a sensory basket, you don’t have to follow a specific theme. Use your imagination with items you think will best enhance and stimulate your child’s senses!
