Babies love sensory play, but it can certainly get messy 🙃 Sensory bags are a great compromise: they allow your baby to explore without the mess that can come with open containers. Here’s how:
Fill a resealable plastic bag with tactile materials like hair gel, pumpkin seeds, shaving cream, or marbles. Reinforce the seal with strong tape, then use painter’s or washi tape to secure the edges of the bag to the floor or a table where your baby can play.
As they squish the bag and move its contents around, your baby absorbs new information about the world through their fingers, eyes, and ears—maybe even their mouth. This is perfectly okay, but do be sure to closely supervise your baby when they’re playing with a sensory bag ❤️
You can introduce sensory bags like the blue food coloring and cooking oil version pictured above when your baby is about 6 months old and can reach and use their hands. It’s a fun activity to continue throughout their first year 🙂
Here are a few more sensory bag ideas:
Robot sensory bag
Colored water and oil
Seascape bag
Frozen peas
Pumpkin seeds
Pom poms and hair gel
Buttons and hair gel
Ice
Straws
