Discovery Basket: Shiney Things

This was a really fun basket to use with L and one in which we were able to adapt and expand playtime through the week.

It started with a five minute dash around the house looking for shiney things.

Our basket contained

An old CD
A metal whisk
A set of spare keys
A small metallic purse (a cracker prize)
A bell
A selection of different sized spoons
A small sieve
Some scrunched up foil
A metal jar lid

This basket was out for about a week. The first few days L sat upwards of 15 minutes simply taking things out, shaking them, tasting them and banging them together. She would turn them around in her hand, switch them between her hands, find her reflection and wave to it, kiss her reflections and put the spoons repeatedly in her mouth. 

 

We extended this basket by using a rescue blanket picked up online for under a £1. When we went to baby sensory L used to love these blankets to scrunch and hide in and look at. I laid the blanket out putting the basket in the centre and adding our play mirror, pots and pans and different whisks.

L would work her way through all of these, she played with the pans and whisks making different sounds, she loves the mirror anyway to this was popular and the small pot L began putting things into and taking them out of, repeatedly. This was really interesting and is one of the few times she follows an instruction.

I also made a small disco cave using a giga box of nappies, the foil, mirror and some small LED lights picked up at various places. We also used the light up balls. This was all amazing and the way the lights reflected off the walls of the box covered in foil was really interesting to watch.

A very successful basket.