Sensory Balloons: Sensory Play Craft for Babies and Toddlers
During the last Intellidance Babies class of every session, we have a sensory day. There are finger paints, a ball pit, a sensory blanket, musical instruments, and an assortment of other sensory-related materials. As my fall session was coming to an end, I wanted to start to prepare for our sensory day. I thought it would be novel for the babies to have something they could hold in their hands that felt different. It needed to be about the same size as an egg shaker since that’s about all they can hold in their hands, and the sensory objects inside it needed to be protected from tiny mouths.
Eleanor and I decided to create sensory balloons. Now, I know that a balloon doesn’t exactly sound like the safest object to be giving a baby, but they aren’t inflated, so they can’t pop. And, they are also being supervised by their caregivers, so there is little risk of the babies injuring themselves. That being said, I would never leave a baby alone with one of these sensory balloons! Here’s how we went about creating them:
