Sensory activities are such a hit for babies! Here are 18 activities to try.
1. Sponge time!
I thought it’d be neat to introduce a natural sponge to Hayden. The verdict is in: he loved it! He held it in his hands and turned it around and around, intrigued by the texture, shape, and all of those little holes to stick a finger into!
Then the real fun began.
I filled a small bin with water and dropped the sponge in. He moved it around the water. It eventually got saturated and it sank. So he pulled it out and squeezed the water out of the sponge and onto his lap. This repeated for several times. (He got soaked, but it was okay. It was only water!)
There are a few interesting things you can do during this activity. I squeezed out all of the water from the sponge and balled it up into my hand so he could see how the sponge could change shapes.
I also filled the sponge with water and lifted my hand high above the bin. Then, I squeezed the water out of the sponge so Hayden could see, feel, and hear the water drip out.
Suggested Items:
Bin of water
2. Fun with gelatin
This sensory activity was such a hit! I made gelatin for Hayden one evening once he went to bed. We explored it the next day and had a blast.
I used unflavored gelatine. Instead of juice, as the recipe on the box suggests, I used water. It’s a snap to make.
I’ve done this activity a few times. Once I poured the mixture into a baby food ice cube tray. So Hayden had large chunks of gelatin he could grab with his hands. Most recently, I poured it into a glass bowl and let the mixture settle in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, I cut the gelatine into pieces.
Either way, exploring is the fun part!
He just poked at it initially. Then, he grabbed a chunk, felt it squish in his hands, and saw it crumble into pieces. I held up another chunk and wiggled it, so he could see how it moved. I also broke a piece in half so he could see how easily the gelatin changed shapes. And of course we both experienced how sticky gelatine can be.
Overall, it was a ton of fun!
Suggested Items:
3. Edible play dough (with oats)
I loved playing with play-doh as a kid. So I was thrilled when I came across a twist on it: a recipe for homemade and edible play dough.
The fun began with Hayden helping me make the play dough, which contains three simple (baby friendly) ingredients: oats, water, flour. I filled a measuring cup with oats and Hayden “helped” me dump it into the bowl.
Running his fingers through dried oats is one of Hayden’s favorite sensory activities. So he played around with the oats for a bit before we added the remaining ingredients.
The play dough got clumpy. It got sticky. It got a bit messy. But it was a blast! Hayden loved taking clumps of the mixture into his hands and squeezing it.
I recommend doing this activity on an old blanket or bed sheet. Then, pop it in the washer after the activity. Otherwise, it'll probably get play dough all over the floor as you can see in the picture during our first attempt with this activity.
Suggested Items:
Flour
Bowl
4. Fun with tape and other stuff
I’m a huge fan of using simple, everyday items with baby. That’s because you have much more freedom with simple toys and objects; you’re often constrained with complex ones.
So one day I decided to experiment with painter’s tape.
I put a few pieces of tape on top of a plastic container in Hayden’s playroom. He pulled himself up to the container and ripped them off.
I took it a step further. I took a few plastic balls and taped them down to the container. Once again Hayden pulled himself up to the container and ripped them off, though he had trouble getting the tape off of the ball.
Then, I took a piece of tape and placed it on his hand. He had to figure out how to rip it off, which proved to be a challenge -- it kept sticking to him each time he touched it!
Simple. Fun. Educational.
Suggested Items:
5. Splish splash water time fun
Here’s a fun sensory experience for baby: put some water on a cookie sheet and put a few objects, like measuring cups, on top. Or you can fill a small plastic bin with water.
Sit on the floor with baby sitting in front of you. The cookie sheet or bin should be in front of baby, who can now explore!
Baby will love touching the water. He’ll also like seeing how familiar objects move differently in water.
Measuring cups are a fun choice for this activity. With your help, baby can scoop up some water and pour it out -- hearing (and sometimes feeling!) the splash this makes.
Once baby learns he can splash, you’ll likely find that water goes everywhere. So I found it useful to lay a towel on the floor before starting this activity.
Suggested Items:
Cookie sheet
Small plastic bin
Measuring cups
6. Water Art
Water art is simple but a lot of fun!
Fill a small paper or plastic bowl with water. Put baby in his high chair, or sit with baby on the floor. Help him dip his fingers into the water.
Then, let him touch or grab the paper.
It’s fun to make hand prints, too. You can also use large art brushes to make water marks.
Suggested Items:
Jumbo Children's Tempera Artist Paint Brushes
7. Finger Paint (with taste safe paint)
I like this simple recipe to make homemade finger paint (that's taste safe), though I opted for plant-based food coloring.
Have plenty of paper on the table and the paint in a paper bowl. Place baby in his high chair and let him go at it!
Baby can dip his fingers or hands into the paint. Or you can introduce a paint brush.
As fun as it is for baby to decorate the paper with paint, it’s equally enjoyable for him to squish the paint in his hands. It’s definitely a sensorial experience!
You can also put some paint into a Ziplock bag and have baby squish the paint that’s in the bag. It’s another sensorial experience!
To keep things relatively clean, put baby in a mess-proof bib.
Suggested Items:
Jumbo Children's Tempera Artist Paint Brushes
365 by Whole Foods Market, Food Coloring (plant-based)
Tiny Twinkle Mess Proof Baby Bib
8. Sensory boxes: touch, feel, pull
Help baby develop his senses by creating sensory boxes, using everyday items from home.
It’s fun to create themed sensory boxes. Just take a small box or basket and fill it with a handful or so of times.
Here are some sensory box ideas to consider:
- Kitchen box, which can include an oven mit, spoon (for eating), wooden spoon, spatula, whisk, and placemat.
- Bathroom box, which can include a roll of toilet paper, toothbrush, floss container, loofa, and a box of tissues.
- Soft-items box, which can include a loofa, pair of socks, wash cloth, and towel.
- Ball box, which contains toy balls of different colors, shapes, and textures.
- Toy box, which contains toys and teethers of various colors, shapes, and textures.
Then have baby sit up and pull out each object from the box.
Babies love to empty a box full of things. They’ll have as much fun pulling everything out as they will touching and exploring each object.
9. Spice it up!
Want a great way to introduce baby into the world of food and enliven their sense of smell?!
Then, grab some spices and herbs and explore them with baby.
Hayden loved this activity! Here’s how it works.
I sat in a chair next to him, who sat in a high chair, at the kitchen table. I opened up one spice at a time, and smelled it. Then let Hayden smell it.
I did the same thing with herbs. I talked about the spice or herb, what it smelled like and what dishes we used it in.
Fresh herbs, like basil, parsley, rosemary, garlic, thyme, and oregano, work great for this activity. So do spices like cinnamon, garlic powder, cumin, and nutmeg.
10. Bake me a cake!
Hayden loves all things related to the kitchen -- even baking, even though baked goods aren’t part of his diet yet.
Apple spice cake is one of our favorite recipes. He loves being part of the process.
He'll smell each ingredient and touch each utensil (the measuring cups and whisk continue to be his favorites!).
He’ll also help me along the way. I’ll fill the measuring cup with flour, for example, and he’ll help me pour it into the bowl.
After all of the ingredients are together, he’ll help me mix everything together. He’ll hold the whisk and I’ll put my hand on top of his. Round and round and round we go until the batter is smooth.
It’s so much fun for him (and me!). But it’s also teaches him useful things, like hand-eye coordination and hand dexterity.
Suggested items:
Simple recipes and a dose of patience!
11. Experiment with rolled oats
Pour some rolled oats into a bowl and sit with baby on the floor to explore them. This is one of Hayden’s favorite activities!
He loves the texture. He runs his fingers through the oats -- over and over and over again.
Iterate on this activity by having a second bowl filled with water. Leave it next to the dry oats. Once baby has had enough of the rolled oats, you can mix some water to give the oats a different texture.
You can add yet another texture to this activity by blending some rolled oats into a powder consistency in advance.
The older Hayden got, the messier this activity became. So I recommend putting the oats in a bowl, and placing it in a plastic bin to contain the mess. You can also put a sheet on the floor in case oats go flying!
Suggested Items:
Large bowl
12. Ice cubes on a baking sheet
Put some ice cubes on a cookie sheet or pan and let baby explore. It’s so simple, but so fascinating to baby!
Hayden was hesitant at first with the cold sensation from the ice cubes. Then he got really into it, and loved moving the cubes across the pan because they moved so easily!
This activity is great for hand-eye coordination. The cubes glide quickly across the pan, which makes them hard to grab and pick up.
I made my own ice cubes by freezing water in a freezer tray that I used to hold pureed foods. I found these cubes to be a good size for Hayden to hold and maneuver.
Suggested Items:
Ice cubes
Cookie sheet
13. Sink vs float water activity
Water time outside of bath time is so much fun for baby!
I took a rectangular shaped storage bin, filled it with water, and placed a bunch of toys in it. I used this type of bin because the sides were short so Hayden could easily reach into the water. It also provided plenty of space for him to explore. But I’ve also done this activity with small bins. So use what you have!
Some toys sank. Some floated. In part that’s what this activity is all about: learning that some items sink and others float. Baby will also see that familiar objects move differently in water: they’re harder to pick up.
Measuring cups are one of my favorite water time objects to use with Hayden. It’s fun to help him fill a cup with water. Then, pour it out like a waterfall: hear the water, see the splash, put baby’s arm underneath and feel it.
So much fun -- for mommy and baby!
Suggested items:
Storage bin or small basin
Water-proof toys, teethers, or balls
Measuring cups
Storage bin or small basin
Water-proof toys, teethers, or balls
Measuring cups
14. Warm vs cold: ice cubes in warm water
Help baby learn about warm versus cold with this simple activity.
Start with two small containers or bowls. Fill one with warm water. Fill the other with ice cubes. I made my own ice cubes by freezing water in a baby ice cube tray that I used to hold pureed foods. I found these cubes to be a good size for Hayden to hold and maneuver.
Let baby touch the contents in each container.
Then, help baby pick up an ice cube and plop it into the warm water. Have him touch the dissolving ice cube, and feel the changing temperature of the water.
I’ve also done this activity by adding a third container: one filled with cool water. Feel the temperature gradations (warm, cool, cold). See what happens when baby drops ice cubes into cool water compared to warm water.
Suggested items:
2 small containers or bowls
Ice cubes
15. Lemon soup
This activity combines two things Hayden loves: water and kitchen supplies.
In advance, I set out a towel on the floor (in anticipation of water going everywhere!) with some kitchen supplies on top: measuring cups, spatula, whisk, pot, and a colander of lemons.
I chose lemons because they’re easy for babies to hold and explore. Limes are another idea to try.
First we explored the colander of lemons: picking up the lemons, touching them, holding them, counting them.
Then, we dropped each one into the water (splash!) and stirred them around in the pot.
Fish out the lemons with the measuring cups and do it again to baby’s delight!
Suggested items:
Measuring cups
Spatula
Whisk
Pot
Colander of lemons
16. Ball grab
This ball grab activity is not only fun (after all, water is involved!). But it’s also great for hand-eye coordination.
Fill a small basin with plastic balls. Sit down with baby and he’ll try to grab them. The challenge is that these balls are slick in the water and move fast.
Hayden loved to pick up a ball, lay it on the towel, then drop the ball back into the basin of water -- splash! See the ball drop, hear it drop into the water, feel the water splash as a result.
Dropping a single ball was so much fun for Hayden that I took several balls and dropped them into the water all at once. He loved it!
Tip: put towel under basin of water.
Suggested Items:
Small basin or storage container
17. Play with goo
This two-ingredient recipe -- cornstarch and water -- resulted in a ton of fun for baby and mommy! Plus, the set up is minimal: drizzle some water into a bowl of cornstarch.
I put about two cups of cornstarch into a small bowl. Then, I slowly add water until the cornstarch becomes liquid.
The first time we did this activity Hayden dug right in and took handfuls of the mixture. Once he had a fist full of it, however, he seemed unsure of the texture and tried to wipe his hand clean on his shorts.
This goo has different textures. And if you haven’t tried it, you should!
Once you add the water, the mixture becomes a liquid. Then, it gets clumpy. And then it turns into a solid. The goo that hit the sheet hardened and looked like a Jackson Pollock painting.
As he explored, goo got on his clothes, arms and legs. He loved it! So I got in on the act and took a fist full of goo and drizzled some on his hands. This resulted in a ton of smiles!
I admit, this activity can get messy. That’s why I recommend putting a sheet down underneath the materials to contain the mess. Then, drop the sheet into the wash after the activity is done (and stick baby in the bath!).
Suggested Items:
Small mixing bowl
Bedsheet
Water
18. Transform everyday things
This activity was such a hit with Hayden. Once again it’s an activity geared around real world objects, and once again he was completely engrossed!
I took a piece of aluminum foil, parchment paper, paper towel, and a napkin. The process was the same with each.
I shared each piece of material with Hayden: letting him touch and feel each one. Then, I ripped the material in half. He could hear the rip and see the results: two halves. I showed him how the two halves come together to form a whole.
I took one half and made a ball with the material. So we had a ball of aluminum foil, a ball of parchment paper, and so on. We explored each ball; slid it across the table; squeezed it; dropped it on the table.
Finally, I opened up each ball so Hayden could feel the wrinkled parchment paper, for example, and compared it to the other half that was still smooth.
Suggested items:
Aluminum foil
Parchment paper
Paper towel
Napkin
18. Kitchen exploration
Hayden and I have been exploring things in the kitchen for months. At this age, we took kitchen exploration to a new level.
I washed a colander full of produce containing fruits and veggies like an apple, lemon, carrot, potato, red bell pepper, onion, and squash. We explored each piece.
He’d pick the lemon from the colander, for example, and he’d hold it. I’d talk about it.
Then, I cut large pieces of each item to engage his senses in a different way. I cut a chunk of the lemon and held it under his nose. Then I let him touch the inside of the lemon.
And so it went. The apple was his favorite, and the onion caught him the most by surprise!
Suggested items:
A variety of fruits and veggies
Cutting board and dull knife (for parent or caregiver to use in the second part of the activity)