Tot School: Purposeful Play with Babies

A few weeks ago, I came across an awesome new blog devoted to homeschooling children of all ages, including some ideas for “Tot School” with babies. Early learning is something that I strongly want to encourage in our household. I don’t think that I’ll choose to homeschool forever, but I always planned on doing some form of home pre-schooling before Corbin and Lynley head off to Kindergarten in 2018 (OMG that seems like forever away!). Now that they are 10 months old, it’s the perfect time to begin our first Tot School activity- discovery bottles.

How to create pursposeful play for babies: fill empty bottles with balls, pom poms, glitter, confetti, etc to create a sensory activity for babies 6 months and up.

I found the idea for discovery bottles from another blog that I follow, and you can find the original pin on Pinterest here. This activity can be used for babies as young as six months. Simply, collect a few empty Gatorade bottles and fill them with balls, water, confetti or anything else you can think of. We started out with four bottles containing the following: birthday confetti/sequins, pom pom balls, “pokey” bounce balls, and glitter in water. We ended up having to ditch the glitter water because it leaked after trying to hot glue the top on. It was my favorite of all too! I plan on remaking it without trying to glue the lid, and deeming it an outside only toy.

Lynley and Corbin both raced over to the bottles as soon as I set them down in their play room. Corbin loves toy balls of any type, so I knew that he would go for the bottle with poms or balls. I also knew that Lynley would favor the confetti because she loves rattles. They did exactly that, and I snapped a few precious photos. Here’s their story in pictures:

How to create pursposeful play for babies: fill empty bottles with balls, pom poms, glitter, confetti, etc to create a sensory activity for babies 6 months and up.
“Ooh, shiny!”
How to create pursposeful play for babies: fill empty bottles with balls, pom poms, glitter, confetti, etc to create a sensory activity for babies 6 months and up.
“Hmmm, which one do I want?”
How to create pursposeful play for babies: fill empty bottles with balls, pom poms, glitter, confetti, etc to create a sensory activity for babies 6 months and up.
“I think I’ll take both!”
How to create pursposeful play for babies: fill empty bottles with balls, pom poms, glitter, confetti, etc to create a sensory activity for babies 6 months and up.
About five minutes later… “Enough of that, let’s go dig in that box!”

Overall, I’d say this activity was a success. The point was to create purposeful play where they are focusing on a skill instead of just playing mindlessly around the room. Of course, babies are always learning, but it was fun to have them focused on those toys for a few minutes and listening to me explain cause and effect, colors, sounds, and shapes.

Stay tuned for our next Tot School lesson- Hide and Seek.

What do you think about this activity? Any ideas for other games for babies under one? Don’t forget to “Pin It” if you like!

Linking up at 1+1+1=1; Tuesdays with a Twist; Create with Joy; My Organized Chaos; Tots and Me

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Comments

  4. says

    Cute! I am a director at a daycare center (part time) and we made bottles like this for the toddler room. The kids LOVE them!

    Becky :)

  7. says

    Hey there! I found your post over at Create It Thursday and wanted to stop by. Your babies are adorable! I have 3 year old identical girls and love to read about other people who got a 2-for-1 deal lol. I’ll definitely be following your blog!! Have a great night :)

    Stephanie
    SimplyLovelyLumber.Blogspot.com

    • says

      Hi Stephanie! I feel the same :) I love reading about how others handle twins, and even better that yours are older because you’ve “been there, done that.” Following along with you via Bloglovin’.

      Have a great weekend!

  9. says

    Your babes are just too cute. Thanks so much for sharing on my homeschool link up. I love the idea, and will do this with my babe.

    For Bubba, I do a lot of unstructured stuff, just letting him wander and discover for himself. This is why I like this activity so much. You can use different things – sand, poms, beans, etc – and stimulate different senses (sound and eyes). Love it!

    Thanks so much for sharing and for linking up.

    We are twitter friends, but I will friend you on your other channels as well. Your twitter link on your sidebar doesn’t work. You should change the destination address.