Following on from the playful success of the Shiny & Reflective Treasure Basket I decided to create another purposeful collection of objects to encourage AJ’s hands-on exploration of a fascination I have recently observed – at fourteen months she loves exploring everyday objects to see what sounds and noises they make.
Into our basket went…
Items to shake to make noise:
- Two small, clear juice bottles – one with a small collection of buttons, the other a small amount of macaroni. The lids are fastened securely. If you are worried that your baby or toddler might be able to remove a lid be sure to glue it into place or to chose items that do not constitute a choking hazard.
- A wooden curtain ring with four bells securely attached with short lengths of ribbon (see below)
- A wooden curtain ring with four plastic shower curtain rings attached (see below)
- Two small plastic canisters with lids – one with a small amount of rice and the other with sand
Items to tap and bang:
- A soup spoon
- A wooden tapping stick from a commercial instrument
- Two pot lids from toy pots – one metal, one plastic
- One metal toy pot
- Two flat stones (AJ likes to tap stones together)
- One seashell
First to capture her interest were the juice bottles. AJ would shake one and then the other, then return to the first. As she continued to explore the other objects in the basket she would return again and again to shaking the bottles. They have quickly become much loved ‘toys’ and I will definitely be adding more with different objects inside that generate a range of different sounds when shaken.
The curtain ring shakers are carefully examined.
The spoon is used to bang the pot and the juice bottles. The wooden tapping stick is enthusiastically banged on many of the objects in the basket.
It’s wonderful to watch her compare the noises made as she bangs on one object and then another.
One thing I have enjoyed with this basket is watching Immy come along later to explore the basket herself, interacting with AJ and exposing her to even more ways to combine the objects to make noise (for example, banging the pot lids together). This basket has been lots of shaky, bangy, tappy, noisy fun!
Tell me what fascinates your baby or toddler right now.
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Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.
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