Infant Sensory Play

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I recently discovered the Play-at-Home-Mom's blog, and I am in luuuurvvve. There are so many great ideas on that site and I'm excited to try some more as Clara gets older.

Alaskan Water Bed


This one is inspired by the Redneck Water Bed, since it uses so much duct tape but I am partial to the name Alaskan Water Bed...I believe Alaskans are rednecks at heart (and I say this with love!) and will use duct tape to fix anything. This is actually the smaller version that I was inspired to try.



Maybe I can't call myself a true redneck or Alaskan (gasp! never), but I think I was a little too conservative with the duct tape. It broke in a matter of minutes. The fear of that happening is why I didn't add food coloring or a ton of water for this "test run". When it gets hotter out (you know, 95 instead of 80) I will try the larger version in our yard and see how Clara likes it.

Sensory Board

This project was a much bigger success. And I'm proud to say I built it ALL ON MY OWN! Clara and I went to Lowe's and while she napped I gorilla glued it up! ;) This post from PAHM's blog was my inspiration. 

The best part about this project was that it got Clara out of the house and to Lowe's in the middle of the day. I don't think I have gotten that many strange looks in awhile. I don't know if it is because of the confused look on my face while I pushed a baby around a hardware store or because of the unique assortment of products I was purchasing, but that was as entertaining for me as the sensory board is for Clara. ;)



Below is the list of items used to make the board. The bolded items are what I actually had to purchase. The total came to $30. I could have made it for a lot less, I didn't realize the gardener's knee pad was actually $10 alone, and we already had gorilla glue at home.

Particle board/wood
Scrub brush
Tile sample
Two trim/tile samples
Velcro patches
Foam knee pad for gardeners (cut into small squares)
Hook ties
Large Bolt
Gorilla Glue
Ziploc with soapy water
Twine
Three different carpet samples (free at hardware store)
Pink crystal/rocks

Clara loves it. The part I wish I would have thought through was where the heck are we going to put this in our 1000sq town home that is already overflowing with baby gear?!?!

But even if Clara didn't love it this project would have been worth it solely for the look on my husband's face when he came home, saw this, and I got to tell him I *oh so nonchalantly* that I went shopping at Lowe's this afternoon. ;)



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