I've been wanting a sand box or table for Adelaide for a while now. I think I will probably end up making something for her, inspired by so many images I've seen on Pinterest, but who knows when that will be.
We do, however, have a baby pool that we picked up at Babies R Us when we went to buy her a nice, new, more comfy carseat. It was only $7.
I didn't have any sand, but I did have a huge bag of white rice that was still halfway full. I'd bought it and used some to make rice warmers a few years ago for Christmas presents, and the unused rice has sat in my craft closet since.
I dumped it in the baby pool, threw in some bowls, spoons, etc. and let Adelaide explore. 
She.Loves.It. It is a source of independent entertainment for her. I'm able to prep dinner for a whole 20-30 minutes with no interruptions! It did take some redirecting when it came to throwing the rice OUT of the pool, but we don't have problems with that anymore. And even I can't help but squat down and play in the rice with her... it's a very nice tactile experience! 
A perfect fix for a sandbox-less household. And when the weather decides to warm back up, I'll throw the rice back in the bag, and fill the pool up with water... and won't that be fun too!
What a great idea! How old is Adelaide? My son is 10 months and I'm always looking for some new sensory activities to keep him busy :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! Adelaide just turned 16 months old (hard to believe!).
DeleteDid she try to eat it? When do babies grow out of that stage? I keep wanting to do things like this with L but inevitably it all ends up in her mouth... This is a brilliant idea that I am bookmarking for later!
ReplyDeleteCourtney, she is out of the eating everything stage, though she did experiment with putting a few pieces in her mouth. She was quickly deterred, though, due to the odd feeling of hard rice in her mouth, and stuck out her tongue for me to get them out for her! :)
DeleteSo neat! This is motivating me to go get one for my son...
ReplyDeleteDo it! It's so much fun!
DeleteI actually enjoyed reading through this posting.Many thanks. Fill in Pool
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting!
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