Treasure basket

Today we took an activity from Elinor Goldschmied whose key person system and emphasis on thoughtful, child-focused play fits in perfectly here at Brightly Living Headquarters. Elinor believed that children should have access to everyday, real world objects and materials in play instead of toys.

Putting together treasure baskets for your child could not be easier, or more enjoyable - and infancy is a fantastic time to start. Just drop in some objects with interesting textures, shapes, and colors. What happens with the objects is up to your child, which provides the perfect opportunity for open-ended learning!

Today's fabulous treasure basket included a whisk, a baster, a ribbon, and a seashell that we collected from our most recent beach day. Bee explored these items by touching, holding, dropping, seeing, sucking, and smelling. I let Bee take the lead in the investigation of our objects, so the experience was stimulating without being over-stimulating as it allowed her to control the amount of time spent inspecting each item, and also to return to her favorite ones!

How did I know those sweet little hands would especially love the cold feeling of the metal whisk? I was so pleased that she grabbed this item first, and then raised it up as if to show me how fascinating it was!

went down to the beach(to play one day)

The sweetest bee by the sea. Beach days are one of our favorite things, filled with so many opportunities for play! Bee has taken an especially active interest in heuristic play here at Brightly living headquarters lately, so I brought some items from the kitchen for her use in the sand and water: a bowl and a scoop. 

Filling something up and pouring it out is endlessly fascinating for babies, and bee is no exception! This sensory stimulating task is great for those developing fine motor skills and eye hand coordination. The beach is a particularly wonderful setting for this game, but you can have a great time introducing it at home, as well! Cups, bowls, pans, jars, boxes and vases all make great containers to fill, dump and pour. 

First, we see some gentle encouragement from dad in the form of demonstrating the task at hand - this is very exciting to bee! 

Bee catches on after a couple of tries and is absolutely thrilled that she can scoop the sand on her own! I love how deep in thought she is in this photo. Who knows what she's thinking, but we can see she is thinking!

Delightfully messy play!

Bee was so captivated by the water spilling in and out of her bowl.

Soon she abandoned her tools to dive straight in with her hands - what fun! I loved her expressions changing between the stark contrast of the hot, dry sand and the cool, wet sand. She definitely had a preference for the squishy, wet sand, so we played at the edge of the ocean while the waves reached her little hands and feet.