I’ve been waiting years to explore the world with my own child, and now that she’s finally here I’m having so much fun putting all of my expertise in Early Childhood Education to work in my own home after nearly a decade of sharing the fun with other kiddos as I nannied and taught two year olds/toddlers.

This week’s round up included 5 sensory and fine motor activities for young babies/toddlers, but could also be used for older toddlers who are in need of some extra sensory attention. Carolyn, at six months of age, has approved and loved them all!

[Please note that you should always supervise your babies with these activities, and I definitely encourage a hands on approach.]

1. Cornflakes Sensory Bag

What you need:

Gallon Sized Freezer Ziplock bag

duct tape

cornflakes (or similar crunchy dried cereal)

This is so basic, but really great because you can use what you have at home. Plus, there are multiple ways to interact with this activity. It can be used to encourage tummy time with a boppy, for high chair or tray play, or you can hold baby up and allow them to crunch the cornflakes with their toes.

It’s all mess free and you don’t have to worry about baby eating the small pieces of cereal! [As long as you duct tape the top of the ziplock closed and pay close attention that baby does not bite through the bag]

2. “Walking On Water” Sensory Bag

What you need:

Ziplock Gallon Sized Bag

Blue Glitter Glue

Duct Tape

A Cute Baby

Once again, this is so simple. Just fill a Gallon Sized Freezer Ziplock with half of an Elmer’s bottle of Glitter Glue (or more) and duct tape the top of the bag closed. Then hold your baby upright and allow them to squish the bag between their toes. The glitter glue gives their toes a squishy cold feeling and the blue sparkles make it seem like ocean water.

This activity pairs really well with the Bible story about Jesus walking on water, for all of you church nursery teachers out there!

3. Sticky Puffy Fine Motor Activity

What you need:

Large Puff Balls

A Roll of Colored Masking Tape

High Chair/ Tray

A Cute Baby

This activity requires a bit more supervision because babies are likely to mouth the pieces involved. I went for the extra large puff balls from the craft store just to be safe. All you do for this activity is place a few large puff balls and loops of masking tape (sticky side out) on a tray and let baby explore. This encourages both fine motor skills and sensory exploration.

4. Pipe Cleaner Pull

What you need:

A Large Colander

Pipe Cleaners

Cute Baby

For this activity simply loop the pipe cleaners through the colander to create different pulls/handles. Be sure to twist and fold together the pipe cleaners on the inside of the colander (as seen in the photo below) so your baby does not get poked with the sometimes pokey ends.

This activity encourages fine motor skills (grabbing and pulling) as well as sensory exploration. You can use this activity as either tummy time encouragement with a boppy, or practice sitting up while playing.

5. Combination Sensory Bag

What you need:

Dried Rice or Beans

Gallon Sized Freezer Ziplock Bag

Search and Find objects (for us it was these little yellow ducks)

Duct Tape

This combination sensory bag is awesome because it encourages sensory play but also leads baby to explore a bit more. Just fill the ziplock with rice and search and find objects and duct tape the bag shut. (Be sure to watch baby so they don’t bite through the bag if they have teeth or sharp finger nails!)

You can use this activity for tummy time, high chair play, or lift baby upright and explore with their feet! For that last option simply squeeze the search and find objects to the side of the bag to create more room.

Take note that most fillers for the sensory bags can be reused for future projects! So don’t throw out the rice, cornflakes, or dried beans. You can probably use them again!

Also, I prefer the Gallon Sized Freezer Bags to using plastic bottles for the younger babies because they are easier to explore and they don’t have to hold them. Make sure you buy the freezer bags because they are thicker material and less likely to rip open.

I bought the cute rubber ducky duct tape and colored masking tape at my local craft store.

Happy Play Time!