| photo via The Imagination Tree |
Remember the sensory box? Well, say hello to his little brother, the treasure basket – a super simple sensory box for babies. The concept is easy – just fill a container with objects of varying texture, weight, shape, etc. and let baby go at it.According to Anna, an early education and art specialist from The Imagination Tree, treasure baskets benefit babies age 6-18 months by:
- encouraging them to use their senses to discover, explore, investigate and examine new materials/ shapes/ colours/ tastes/ textures/ sounds/ weights/ quantities
- developing their thinking skills
- promoting open-ended and independent play
I’ve been intrigued by this idea for a while now and have already set up a few mini-treasure baskets for S around the house (tip: upcycled wipes containers work great for this). I read up further on them here and was surprised to find that it’s recommended to fill your baskets with 50 – 100 items!
For a detailed list of what’s in the basket above (meant for a 12 month old) check out Anna’s full post. She also provides a nice introduction to the philosophy behind treasure baskets here.
When you’re done reading up, come back and tell me what you’d put in your basket.