Fun at Home with Baby

You have about a million toys, but baby wants to play with the doorstop, the dog bowls, your cell phone, and anything else he or she can find that was not made by Fisher Price or V-Tech.  Even in those times that baby is content dumping all of the shaped blocks out of every basket in sight, it can be hard to engage and not zone out on Facebook (guilty).  Kennedy has been in Baby Sensory classes (wonderful and for a blog post to come!) since she was 4 months old and we have learned a lot about keeping baby's interest through their senses.  This has really sparked my intrigue on the subject and I have recently spent my time Pinteresting baby play (follow me @ksquared1009).  Below are a few great play ideas that I have learned through my research & classes!

Sensory Play Items:

• Feathers- Babies love being tickled by feathers and it is great for their sense of touch!
• Shakers and Bells- Great for a love of music
• Anything with Lights- Kennedy has a light up wand from Target (Party Favor Aisle, less than $3), she is obsessed (great for sense of sight)!
• Play with Cooked Spaghetti and Jello- So fun and great for baby's sense of touch
  
• Emergency Camping Blanket- This is an item I had never heard of before Baby Sensory class.  You can find them in a very small box in the camping aisle at Wal-Mart.  They cost about $5 and are hours of fun for baby.  The material is shiny, makes a lot of noise when moved, and is nearly impossible to rip (great for mom!).  Love this purchase!  Below is a picture: 

• Finger Painting- Kennedy has tried finger painting in the past, but it is very difficult when she is constantly trying to eat the paint.  I decided to be creative and make my own finger paint out of cool whip and it was fun for the whole family (especially Cash, our French Bulldog).  Kennedy loved getting messy, but I think she loved getting a shower with the water hose afterward even more!  
• To make the finger paint, I simply combined Cool Whip with gel food coloring to make a variety of colors.  Super simple, and of course, totally edible.  The Cool Whip also washes away easily, make clean up a snap!  See our fun photos below:

Starting our messy adventure!

Bright gel food coloring is so pretty!

But it kind of turns brown when mixed together...

Finally figured out that this is way more fun to eat than play with!

Cash thought it was pretty good too :)

Finally on the paper!

Clean baby!

Please leave a comment if you have any great ideas for baby play!