Thinking Beyond the Toy Box: Indoor Play Ideas
When the wet weather keeps you indoors, it can be a challenge to come up with creative ideas to keep your baby engaged. The solution? Sensory activities for rainy days! These are not only fun but they also play a crucial role in stimulating baby’s senses, contributing to their cognitive and physical development.
Why Sensory Play Matters
Sensory play encourages babies to explore their environment and feeds their inherent curiosity. It fosters developmental growth, encourages fine motor skills, supports language development, encourages ‘scientific thinking’ and problem-solving, and can be instrumental in calming down an anxious or frustrated child.
Moreover, as affirmed by experts at ChickLink, sensory play experiences can be key to the development of children aged 18-24 months.
Our Favourite Sensory Activities for Rainy Days
Based on our personal experiences, here are some indoor play ideas that are guaranteed to save the day, or at least a couple of hours, when you’re all stuck indoors on a rainy day.
Soap Foam Fun
This messy indoor play idea was a big hit with our little one. It’s an activity that involves creating colourful soap foam for your baby to play with. In addition to being a wonderful sensory experience, it also encourages fine motor skills. This activity was recommended by The Workspace for Children and we can definitively say it’s one of our favourites now!
Play Dough Sensory Exploration
Play dough provides endless excitement and learning opportunities for babies. Our little one especially enjoys squishing, rolling, and shaping the dough, which not only stimulates their senses but also helps develop their motor skills. For more play dough activity ideas, we found a lot of inspiration at Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too.
Some Important Considerations
While sensory activities offer numerous benefits and can be a real lifesaver on a rainy day, it’s essential to keep safety in mind. Always supervise your baby during these activities. Also, be mindful of any potential allergies. We learned this the hard way, and you can read about our journey handling baby’s allergies here.
Additionally, don’t be disheartened if your little one doesn’t take to a particular activity right away. Remember, the goal is to provide a variety of experiences to stimulate baby’s senses. If you’re looking for more ideas and tips for encouraging fine motor skills, this post might come in handy.
Wrapping Up
Embrace those rainy days by turning them into a fun and educational experience with these sensory activities. By fostering an environment of creative play, you’re not only providing entertainment but also encouraging the development of essential skills in your little one.
More Indoor Play Ideas
The possibilities for indoor sensory play are almost endless. Besides soap foam fun and play dough, there are several other options that can help you keep your baby busy and entertained on those rainy days. Below, we share our list of favourite sensory activities for a rain-soaked day, along with useful resources for tips and inspiration.
Sticky Paper Collage
Sticky paper collages are an amazing tactile activity for your baby. This involves sticking different materials on a sheet of adhesive paper. Your little one will love the stickiness of the adhesive and will enjoy sticking and unsticking various items. This activity provides a way to introduce different textures and colors and encourages fine motor skill work. You’ll find great inspiration on this Reddit thread.
Water Play
Water play offers a refreshing indoor activity. Fill a tub with warm water and add cups, spoons, toy boats, or anything your baby enjoys playing with. Babies love playing in water, and it’s a great way for them to explore various concepts like floating, sinking, filling, and emptying.
Sensory Bins
An excellent way to engage your toddler is through sensory bins. These are a fantastic early learning tool, offering countless opportunities for exploration, creativity, and open-ended play. Filled with toys and everyday materials with different textures, shapes, and sizes, sensory bins can entertain kids for hours providing them with an enriching play experience. For more on sensory bins, check out this Busy Toddler post.
Incorporating Learning into Play
Play should always be fun, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be instructive. Here’s how you can incorporate some educational elements into your baby’s playtime:
Flash Card Activities
Flash cards with bright colors and bold shapes can engage a baby’s sense of sight. You can point and name the objects or animals on the cards, encouraging your baby to repeat the names, thus supporting language development.
Identifying Sounds
Help your baby to identify sounds through a sound-matching game. Use objects that make distinct sounds, like a shaker or a bell, and let your baby match the object to the sound. This activity aids in auditory recognition and memory skill development.
There are endless ways to keep your baby entertained indoors. You just need to be creative and make use of available resources. Remember to embrace the enjoyment of discovering the world through play with your little one. Explore other indoor play activities and toddler lifestyle discussions on these Reddit posts or check out this collection of activities from Let’s Live and Learn.