Let's Explore Jello

Many of my families are worried about doing sensory bins because they're worried their children will put the items in their mouths. I love sensory bins for exploring, it encourages vocalizing, can work on pretend play, and has tons of great vocabulary. Since my baby is only 8 1/2 months old he explores everything with his mouth but it doesn't mean he can't play in a sensory bin.

I got a little water table from the Target dollar spot that he loves to play in on a hot summer day. The problem is he can also push it over and dump it on himself fairly easily. He loves it but it ends sensory time pretty quickly when there isn't any more water left. A kiddie pool will be our next adventure.

This time though we did some Jello in just a regular 8x8 pyrex pan. I put his rings in it and let him explore. I made sure to feed him lunch before we did it to make sure he wasn't hungry and wouldn't just try to eat it as a snack. He did taste it of course but not much as he probably would have if he was hungry. It could have also been because I accidentally made sugar-free cherry jello and it was kind of gross in my opinion. I used a blanket under it that I didn't mind staining. You could also use a disposable plastic table cloth as well.

When I made the Jello the rings just floated to the top. He pulled the rings out. Then I took them and buried them under the jello for him to dig more. He was entertained for about 5 minutes before he wanted to stand up.

Now for older kids to work on vocabulary I'd model, "dig, in, hide, out." if there are plastic toys that could hide in there it would be good to work on identifying. If you used blue jello you could put fish in it, which is on the to-do list. You can work on action words like "swimming." I can't wait to do more sensory bins with my little guy.

So my tips for sensory play

-make sure they are not hungry less likely to eat it

-use a blanket or towel to try to contain the sensory mess

-be prepared for a mess, it happens.

-Have fun!