When I first started teaching my son how to recognize different shapes, I would draw them on a piece of paper, point, and tell him what each shape was. Before too long he would get bored and move on to a toy with wheels or sound and leave me in the dust. It didn’t take me long to realize I was going about my teaching style all wrong. He needed something to touch and feel in his hands to be more interested in learning his shapes. So I turned my original boring shape activity into a reusable, hands-on, and very easy-to-make Shape Recognition Activity with colorful felt shapes that can be stuck on and peeled off over and over. [Read more…]
DIY Colored Beans for Sensory Play
I first learned about sensory development when my son turned about 14 months old. This was right around the time when he started walking and getting into everything he wasn’t supposed to. His curiosity to touch, feel, and taste everything in sight prompted me to do a little research on this particular stage of his development. This is when I noticed the phrase “sensory play” became a common idea among mom bloggers, educators, and psychology blogs. It’s a phrase I think I’ve always heard but never really bothered to understand.