Baby Exploration Blue
I started doing color sensory themed days with Peanut when he was 8 months old! I was inspired by his desire to explore the world around him as he started to crawl. My intention of these color explorations is that he gets to feel new objects that he has not been exposed for in a structured, safe way. The color theme is to help Peanut notice color similarities and make it fun!
We did these activities when Peanut was 8 months old but I strongly believe that babies can do supported activities at any age, they will just explore with their current developmental abilities! Read about Red Day and Yellow Day here!
NOTE: A lot of these objects I would NOT let Peanut touch or explore himself if he found them crawling around. I included these types of things to expose him to touching them with my support. Always supervise babies during any type of object exploration.
What I included in our blue basket:
- tissue paper
- plastic bowl
- silicone cupcake wrapper
- crocheted snowflakes
- baby spoon
- toy car
- plastic cookie cutters
- ribbon
- bead necklace
- lanyard
- dinosaur bath toy
- construction paper- folded into accordion
- plastic plate
- scarf
- bunny stuffed animal
- cloud build a bear
- snap lock toys
- silicon spatula
- paper napkin
- stacking cups
- Cookie Monster bath toy
- mini heart pillow
- baby plastic bowl
- plastic photo box
- Beanie Baby bear
BOOKS!
I picked out some special books to read with Peanut on the color days! If you know me at all, you know I LOVE books. So any excuse to do a themed book day is a great day for me! I used books I have around the house already and shared them below!
- I Love Colorsย *uses real photographs which Peanut LOVES!
- Pop- Up Peekaboo Colors
BLUE BOOKS- THEY DONโT TEACH BLUE BUT HAVE A BLUE OBJECT
- Cookie (Cookie Monster)
- Little Blue Truck
- Never Touch A Shark
SONG & VIDEO
OUR BLUE DAY SCHEDULE
In the morning: -read color books -watch blue video
In the afternoon: -explore blue basket items – read books about blue things – play with regular toys on blankets/ roll around on the blankets
Often when I think of sensory exploration I mainly think of Peanut using his hands to explore. This blanket activity came from brainstorming how he can experience with his whole body! Blue Day was the perfect time for it because we have SO MANY BLUE BLANKETS. Not just because we have a baby boy, almost all of our blankets are blue too!
Peanut started with squishing and rubbing his toes across the different blankets. Then he laid on each of them and had biggest smile as he enjoyed the different fabrics.
Here are some of Peanut’s favorite blankets!
LESSONS I LEARNED DURING BLUE DAY
- The blue plastic plate was Peanut’s favorite thing!
- At 8 months he was very into the sound objects made when he would tap or pat them with his hand or two objects together. He ended up playing the spatula and plate and we danced!
- The paper folded as an accordion was a huge hit! He loved moving it like a fan and an accordion.. until he tried to eat it.
- Sensory activities are for your WHOLE BODY!! Peanut loved rolling around the blue blankets! He would lay on one for a minute, crawl over to one with a different design and texture, lay on that and so on. At this stage he never played down in his play area like that. Also, I love sitting on the comfy blankets too. (I also learned my family has A LOT of blue blankets).
- Despite Peanutโs constant desire to stand and crawl right now, he sat still for 45 minutes looking at this basket!
- Peanut was so interested in his regular toys at the end of Blue Day because he hadnโt seen them in a while.
- At 8 months, Peanut was not ready to explore the beaded necklace independently. I think he could tell those beads would feel great on his poor sore gums, so I had to hold the necklace and let him touch it.
ADULT RED DAY SONGS ๐
- Blue Suede Shoes
MORE IDEAS
Here are some ideas for more center activities that I thought of throughout the day to try in the future or when I do this again when Peanut is olderโฆ
- wear blue clothes
- find blue objects in books
- lay and look at the sky outside
- play dough to write b, l, u, & e
- rhyme with blue
I hope that you have fun doing these activities! Tag me on instagram so I can see your little ones exploring!
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