At Sonas, the children have been busy exploring Spring Flowers and Bugs. children have been able to explore a range of sensory and creative activities:
Flower Rice Tuff Tray – Children explored a tray filled with different coloured rice, petals, and scoops. They poured, sprinkled, and ran their hands through the rice, showing curiosity and focus. Some babies filled small cups, while others listened to the sound of rice falling, smiling and babbling in response.
1. Honey and Sunflower Chickpeas Tuff Tray – This tray combined dry and sticky textures. Children touched the chickpeas, exploring the sticky sensation with fingers, while others used spoons to mix. A few giggled as the honey stretched between their hands, expressing sensory delight.
2. Colouring Cotton Flowers using Droppers – Babies were given coloured water and droppers to decorate cotton “flowers.” They squeezed and released the droppers, watching colours spread through the cotton. This supported fine motor skills and cause-and-effect understanding.
3. Citrus Soup – A tray with lemon and orange slices floating in water was set up with spoons and cups. Children squeezed citrus, smelled the fresh scent, and splashed the water. Some tried to taste the slices, showing engagement through multiple senses.
4. Sticking Flowers to Make a Tree – Using paper flowers and glue, babies worked with educators to stick flowers onto a large tree collage. They pressed flowers with their palms, developing coordination and participating in a collaborative art piece.
Throughout the session, children expressed joy, curiosity, and engagement. They interacted with educators and peers, imitated pouring and squeezing actions, and responded to verbal encouragement with smiles and babbling.
Analysis
These activities provided rich sensory, fine motor, and creative experiences supporting multiple areas of development. The sunflower and nature theme offered opportunities for babies to connect with natural elements and experiment with textures, colours, and scents.
- Language and Social Skills: Pretend feeding animals and shared play in sensory trays prompted turn-taking, new vocabulary, and cooperative problem-solving.
- STEM Foundations: Children observed cause-and-effect (e.g., goop changing consistency), explored volume (rice scooping), and categorised by colour and texture.
Overall, the session successfully engaged children through play-based learning, allowing them to explore at their own pace while building key developmental skills.