I love watching my baby explore her surroundings. I get such pleasure from observing her delight in the little things—the things that adults often overlook.
Recently, I stumbled across a wonderful article about Heuristic Play… simply put, “the activity of babies and children as they play with and explore the properties of objects” (Little Acorns To Mighty Oaks, 2011).
My excitement bubbled over as I read about assembling a “treasure basket” for an infant. The basket would contain a collection of “natural” materials and objects such as an egg carton, notebook, fabric, rock, whisk, bells, etc.
Make a treasure basket for your infant and encourage heuristic play! #baby #play Share on X
This isn’t something new to me… I have used natural items in my childcare playrooms for almost two decades, but I had never thought of utilizing such items with an infant! I could immediately see the cognitive potential of such an activity!
I could envision my daughter’s excitement as she dug into the basket and pulled out an item to explore. Imagine her delight and the beautiful connections she would be making by being allowed to examine such materials safely?!
So, I sent an email to some friends and family, including the link to the article, asking them to be on the lookout for treasure basket items.
Then, I scoured my house for materials I could immediately use in the treasure basket. So far, it only has a few objects, but my daughter loves them.
We have a half-hour block of time in the afternoon (while my other child is having her rest time), during which my daughter explores her basket.
She interacts with the items in various ways. She puts them in her mouth, bangs them together, bangs them on her head, shakes them, pushes them, pulls them, drops them, and picks them up.
My role as the caregiver is to observe. I don’t demonstrate or interfere. I let her completely direct her experiments with the materials. As a result, I’ve been able to videotape our play sessions and thoroughly enjoyed my role as a quiet observer.
I’m looking forward to seeing how my daughter’s exploration of these objects evolves, and I’m eager to add new objects to her treasure basket. It’s incredible how a few mundane household items can instantly become magical!
P.S. I love coming up with kids’ activities. Check out the kids’ activities library on this website!!
Little Acorns To Mighty Oaks (2011). Heuristic Play Part I: Treasure Baskets. Retrieved May 22, 2012 from: http://www.littleacornstomightyoaks.co.uk/Articles/Treasure_basket.
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Hey, I LOVE this idea! I can’t wait to start this with the baby. Thanks so much for sharing :)
Oh yes, a treasure basket! Look at her go! I bet those bells are her favorite.
I never thought of it this way, or called it anything in particular. I honestly think I only do this because I picked it up from my mother. I watched her do this with countless babies, including my oldest. When I had Arcane, I was working and going to school full time so he spent the mornings with my mother. She always had these random (upcycled) containers in every room, with random (so it seemed) items to keep him entertained if she had to cook or use the ladies room or fold laundry… Arcane loved it, and I finally understood how she was able to get things done while taking such good care of him. Now, I am way to ocd to keep those around, so I just corral things from the room we’re in, then put them back in their perfect little places when we were done. *wink*
Thank you, Jennifer! I love your contributions to {Magic of the Mundane} so much!!!
Babies are the greatest scientists and discoverers, aren’t they? I enjoyed the pics of your little one exploring.
I’ve done this as well, although it was my son who really led me to it, as he would play with literally any old household item he found around him. I posted about his box a couple months ago here:
http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/04/02/a-greener-more-natural-toy-box-for-baby/
Thanks for sharing your experience and the pics of your lovely little one!
I love it! I have the same feelings toward my baby with regard to exploring their environment (as you know). I am definitely going to compose a treasure basket