Babies are constantly exploring their senses – it’s one of the main ways they learn and form neural connections from the moment they are born. It’s so fun to watch! I put together my top 10 DIY sensory activities for babies.
These activities are easy to put together and allow babies to explore their sense of touch, sight, hearing and smell. I left out taste for this one, but feel free to include tasting activities if you feel comfortable doing so with your baby.
Check out all of these activities in action in this video:
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No Mess Bubble Wrap Painting
The first activity we have is “No Mess Bubble Wrap Painting.” To set this up, I cut the corner of a bubble wrap pouch, then sealed one side with duct tape. I then dropped the colors into the pouch (a little spread out) and sealed the last side before taping it down to Luke’s high chair.
Babies have fun watching the paint smear around the bubble wrap, while also feeling the bubbles and if capable, popping them.
Our son, Luke, didn’t really understand the concept, so my husband and I tried our best to show him. Luke tried to rip the pouch off of his high chair, but he enjoyed feeling the bubble wrap. I’ll definitely be trying this activity again in the future – and I LOVE how easy clean up is!
Pipe Cleaner Pull Box
Next is a pipe cleaner pull box, which is one of two different types of pull boxes I made.
We took a small cardboard box and spray-painted it. Next, my husband poked random holes around the box with a pair of scissors. I then took pipe cleaners and threaded them through the box in different ways, knotted the ends, and then folded the ends over so the pointy metal wouldn’t be exposed. Next, I put tape around the knots in order to prevent the pipe cleaners from being completely pulled through the holes.
Luke definitely liked experimenting with the box and feeling the pipe cleaners. He’s been doing really well with his pincer grasp (when babies use their thumb and index finger to grab an item), so he’s been really liking picking up and grabbing smaller items.
Fabric Pull Box
The next pull box is a fabric pull box. I ordered these 8X8 fabric squares from Amazon and used a reusable wipe container. You can use any type of fabric. I liked these because they were all different patterns and colors.
I stuffed them in the container and pulled some through the opening a little so Luke could see them, then showed him how to pull them from the box. He loved pulling them out and then he was happy just whipping the fabric around in the air.
This is a great activity for strengthening fine motor skills and for your child to explore different patterns and colors. You could also put different textures of fabric in the box for an added sensory experience.
Sensory Bottles
The next activity we have is Sensory Bottles! They are so versatile and fun to make. You can make a variety and basically put anything you want in them that will appeal to baby’s sense of sight and hearing.
I grabbed a 12 pack of these wide water bottles from Amazon, but the Voss water bottles work really well, too. You can use any water bottle, but I like these because they are stable and have a wide opening for filling with different objects.
We made “liquid” bottles with glitter, sequins and food coloring and made some “dry” bottles with shells and pony beads for sound and pipe cleaners and water beads for sight.
Luke really loved these. He loves making noise, so I think he preferred the sound bottles over the liquid ones. You can experiment and put whatever you’d like in them! Check out my YouTube video for more info on how we made these.
Water Bead Sensory Bag
The next activity is super easy! You just place some water beads in a Ziploc bag and tape it to a window. The light coming through the window looks really cool and they feel awesome. Luke really enjoyed this activity!
Just a word of caution: be REALLY careful with these water beads. I went to rip off the tape after this activity and it made a hole in the bag and they started bouncing EVERYWHERE.
Edible Kinetic Sand
The edible Kinetic Sand Activity was really easy and fun! I just used two ingredients, which were baby cereal and coconut oil.
I started off using 1 cup of baby cereal and 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, but while I was mixing it, the “sand” still didn’t have a good consistency, so I added 3 more tablespoons of the coconut oil to make it a little more cohesive.
You obviously can play around with the measurements to your liking, however, that was the measurement I liked. I also used baby oatmeal instead of rice cereal, so I’m not sure if the type of cereal you use makes a difference when it comes to measurements.
Luke tried to eat the sand, but spit it out. I recommend doing this outside if you can, because it definitely gets messy.
Sensory Windows
Children who like lift-the-flap books will LOVE these Sensory Windows!
We saved the lids from some packages of wipes to use as the windows. My husband cut out a piece of cardboard and then covered it with some white cardstock. He then put a pencil mark where he wanted to place each little window and cut his materials to the size of the windows before gluing them down.
You’ll want to pick different textures to place under the little flaps. We chose to use a towel, tin foil, fine-grit sandpaper, duct tape (the sticky side up), felt, and one of those rubber liners from our kitchen drawer.
Luke is OBSESSED with lift-the-flap books and touch and feel books, so I was pretty confident he would love this activity. He definitely did!
Not only is this a great sensory activity, but you could also make this a simple toddler memory game or tool for learning colors.
This activity also helps to strengthen fine motor skills, as baby opens and closes the flaps.
Jello Play-doh
Next up we have this edible Jello Play-Doh recipe. I used this recipe. It was super easy and fast to make and I love that the Jell-o gives it a fruity smell.
My little guy definitely wasn’t too sure what to do with this, at first. He dropped some on the floor and stuck his fingers in it.
He tried to eat it at one point (as he does everything). That’s why I made a lot of these activities edible, just in case they wound up in his mouth.
If your baby isn’t quite sure about an activity when it’s first introduced, definitely try it again at a later time. I went back and tried a lot of these activities again with Luke after doing them the first time and he was much more engaged with them the second time around.
Smell Jars
Next up we have Smelling Jars. I grabbed a couple of mason jars, but you can use anything you’d like.
We just put some holes in the lids. My husband did this two ways. He actually has a metal hole punch, which wound up being the best option, however I understand not everyone has this tool, so you could use a drill.
Just be really careful if you’re doing this because when you pull the drill out it could cause some parts of the metal to be jagged and stick out, so make sure they’re really smooth before handing them over to baby.
We took a piece of sandpaper to smooth over the holes, which helped. Also, make sure to wash the jars after this step to ensure all of the little pieces of metal are removed from the jar.
We absolutely loved doing this activity with Luke. Once he understood that he was supposed to smell the jars, it was so funny to watch his reactions!
You can put whatever items you’d like that have a stronger smell. We did ground coffee, lavender and peppermint essential oils on cotton balls, and an orange wedge. Luke definitely wasn’t a fan of the coffee – he would push it away every time we gave it to him. I think he liked the peppermint the best! (Check out the video to see his reactions!)
Edible Finger Paints
The last activity we have is edible finger painting. This was really fun and simple, but on the messier side so I’d recommend doing it outside.
I mixed ¼ cup of baby cereal and half a cup of water together then added 3 drops of food coloring. Again, you can play around with the measurements to get a consistency that you like.
We had a lot of fun with this activity. Luke seemed to be a fan of the consistency of the “paint” and loved smearing it around his high chair tray.
So there you have it! 10 easy DIY sensory activities you can do with your little one. Have you tried any of these activities? Let me know in the comments below if you have OR if you have another sensory activity you love that I didn’t mention.
