masher, corrugated cardboard, or screen or netting.
Mini-Pots
Your child will develop fine motor skills as she explores ways to work with clay.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 30–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Playdough or craft clay
Show your child how to roll the clay into a ball. Have her use her thumb to create an indentation in the middle and then pinch the sides out wider and higher to create a basic pinch pot.
Show your child how to roll sections of the clay into thin coils and then place the coils together to build the walls of a pot.
Bubbles
Bubbles are usually a good choice for entertaining young children. Toddlers especially love to watch them float, to chase them, and to pop them. All you really need is a nice breeze and a vial of bubble solution, but you can enrich bubble play with these activities.
Bubble Catch
Here is a fun and cooperative game that you can play with your young child.
The best part is that you will have pretty pictures when you are done.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 15 minutes
Food coloring or tempera paint
2 small containers of bubble solution with bubble wands
2 sheets light-colored construction paper or poster board
Add 1 or 2 drops of food coloring or paint to each container of bubble solution.
Let your child gently blow bubbles toward you. Hold out the sheet of paper to catch the bubbles. Take turns blowing and catching the bubbles.
When you are done, each player will have a picture made by the bubble residue.
Homemade Bubble Solution
Save money and have fun at the same time. You can make as much bubble solution as you need when you need it. Just adjust the proportions to make the amount of solution you desire.
Activity for an individual child
Makes 5 cups
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
½ cup liquid dish soap
2 tablespoons glycerin or light corn syrup
5 cups water
Mix all ingredients together. Don’t be afraid to alter the proportions and experiment to create the perfect bubble solution.
Store in a spill-proof covered container.
Bubble Bonanza
This is a fun activity for a hot summer day.
Consider having a bubble bonanza at your next family gathering.
Activity for an individual child or a group
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 20 minutes
Enough Homemade Bubble Solution (see recipe above) to fill a small wading pool about 4 deep
Jumbo-sized wands and other tools, such as hula hoops
Fill a small wading pool with bubble solution to a depth of 4. Careful supervision is needed should a child step into it as the pool will be very slippery.
Gather large items for kids to use as wands. Try this fun idea: Have a child stand in the center of the pool. Place a hula hoop around her feet and slowly pull it up over the child to encase her in a bubble.
Bubble Tools
You do not need to rely on the traditional wands that come with commercial bubble solutions.
When you make your own bubble tools, you can control the size of the bubbles.
Activity for an individual child
Age group: 18–40 months
Duration of activity: 10 minutes
Here are just a few ideas for making new bubble wands and tools:
Twist together two pipe cleaners, then form them into a loop. Dip the loop into the bubble solution.
Show your child how to hold a plastic berry basket and dip it into the solution and wave his arm around to make lots and lots of bubbles all at once.
Tie a string to one loop of an unbroken six-pack holder and dip the whole thing into the bubble solution. Wave it around like a kite to get many, many gigantic bubbles.
Miscellaneous Materials
There are many materials that you can use for your child’s sensory play. Remember, the most successful activities are ones where your child is directly involved. Perhaps these activities will inspire you to explore some new things with your child.
Shaving-Cream Finger Painting
Toddlers love the feel of the shaving cream squishing
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley