As I prepare activities for Riley, I envision how they will go, and what they will be like. This activity did not go as I envisioned, but I don’t count it as a fail. It still worked the areas of development that I wanted, but the way Riley interacted with the sponges was different from how I envisioned. That’s totally okay! Riley's vision for the sponges was as more of a teether than a squeezer.
Materials
- Fresh, clean, non-abrasive sponges (rinse before use)
- Heavy container that can’t be flipped (I typically use a 9 x 13” Pyrex dish)
- Plastic table cloth or water proof mat
- Painters’ tape to tape down the table cloth
Directions
- Spread out your table cloth or mat on the floor. Tape it down so that baby doesn’t pull it up during the activity.
- Rinse the sponges well and cut them into strips or different sizes. For this activity I used three sponges. One I left as is, the second I cut in half, and the third I cut into fourths.
- Saturate the sponges with water.
- Place sponges in heavy container and set in the middle of the mat.
- Play time!
Riley's experience
This activity was meant to give Riley practice squeezing and working her hand muscles. She did get practice squeezing the sponges as she was soaked by the end of the activity, but she preferred to use them as a teether. Since the sponges were new and rinsed well ahead of time, it was okay that she decided to mouth the sponges. She also loved playing with the water that was squeezed out in the container. As I have said in other posts, Riley loves water play! Unfortunately, I did not use my heavy Pyrex dish this time and Riley flipped the plastic container over and sent the water everywhere. Play isn’t always neat and that’s okay. It’s all part of the experience and the learning! I should really pick up a second Pyrex dish though so that I always have it available for sensory play.
Benefits
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Fine motor development: Squeezing strengthens baby’s hand and finger muscles.
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Language development: Riley was exposed to new vocabulary as I narrated her experience. She heard words such as wet, cold, sponge, green, blue, yellow, squeeze, squish, water, splash.
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Cognitive development: This activity focuses on cause and effect. As Riley squeezes the sponge (cause), water comes out and she gets wet (effect).
Links to materials
