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👐 Squishy, Bumpy, Smooth! A Sensory Adventure Awaits

Published on
June 16, 2025
Ages 0-2
Ages 3-5

🧼 Soapy Squish Time

🎯 Target Skills

  • Tactile exploration
  • Cause and effect understanding
  • Language through sound imitation (“pop!” “squish!”)

🧰 Materials

  • Small basin with warm water and baby-safe soap
  • Sponges or soft cloths
  • Plastic toys or measuring cups
  • Household alternatives: silicone cupcake liners, plastic lids, loofahs, spoons

👣 Step-by-Step

  • Fill a small tub with warm, bubbly water 🫧
  • Place it on a towel on the floor or highchair tray
  • Offer your baby a sponge or soft cloth to explore
  • Gently demonstrate squeezing it — “Squish squish!”
  • Drop in a toy or cup for them to splash with
  • Describe what’s happening with simple words: “wet,” “bubbly,” “soft”
  • Let baby explore for 10–15 mins (supervised!)
  • Optional: repeat with cooler water for contrast

🤗 Parent/Caregiver Guidance

Talk about everything! “Ooh, that’s squishy!” “Let’s squeeze this together!” Follow their lead, use big expressions, and react to their discoveries with joy. They’ll learn from your face and tone as much as the activity itself!

🧠 Why This Helps

Early tactile play helps babies make sense of their world through touch and movement. It builds language, curiosity, and confidence. Water play also calms the nervous system—bonus! 😊

📚 Research Foundation

  • Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage – learning through physical interaction
  • Montessori – hands-on exploration fosters focus and calm
  • Studies on water play and emotional regulation in infants

🍚 Texture Treasure Hunt

🎯 Target Skills

  • Sensory exploration
  • Grip and release (fine motor)
  • Object permanence

🧰 Materials

  • Tray or container with dry rice or lentils
  • Small plastic animals or toys
  • Measuring cups or scoops
  • Household alternatives: oats, cotton balls, dry pasta, cereal

👣 Step-by-Step

  • Fill a low container with a few cups of rice or similar base
  • Hide 2–3 small toys underneath
  • Offer baby a scoop and help them dig around 👋
  • Model searching: “Where’s the duck?”
  • When found, celebrate! “You found it!”
  • Let them scoop, pour, grab and drop the textures
  • Rotate textures on different days (e.g., cotton balls)
  • Always supervise closely during play

🤗 Parent/Caregiver Guidance

Use simple words to name what they feel and find. Stay close and encourage discovery with smiles and repetition. Say things like “soft,” “scratchy,” or “Oh! You heard it drop!”

🧠 Why This Helps

Feeling different textures and searching for objects helps babies learn cause and effect, build hand control, and start forming word associations with their senses.

📚 Research Foundation

  • Maria Montessori – sensory-rich environments support brain growth
  • Heuristic play theory – babies learn best when they explore
  • Research on multisensory development in infants (Bahrick & Lickliter)

🧤 Texture Mitts Magic

🎯 Target Skills

  • Touch awareness
  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Body part identification (“hand,” “finger”)

🧰 Materials

  • Adult socks or mittens
  • Different textured fabrics (felt, fleece, tinfoil, satin)
  • Glue or safety pins (supervised use!)
  • Household alternatives: old dishcloths, dryer sheets, velcro, bubble wrap

👣 Step-by-Step

  • Attach small fabric patches to mittens or socks
  • Slip one onto baby’s hand, then switch to the other
  • Touch different objects and describe the feel
  • Let baby crawl around wearing the texture mitts
  • Gently guide them to pat, swipe, and tap surfaces
  • Say “Ooh, soft!” or “Scratchy one!” to reinforce
  • Encourage clapping or rubbing hands together
  • End with a snuggle and label textures again

🤗 Parent/Caregiver Guidance

Keep the tone playful! Babies love your voice. Use high energy or soothing tones depending on how your child responds, and let them guide the pace.

🧠 Why This Helps

Babies learn through movement and touch. These mitts encourage body awareness, language learning, and sensory integration—all through everyday play.

📚 Research Foundation

  • Attachment Theory – learning is enhanced by secure interaction
  • Sensory Integration Theory – early texture play supports future coordination
  • Montessori tactile learning strategies

👐 Mystery Texture Box

🎯 Target Skills

  • Descriptive language and vocabulary
  • Sensory discrimination
  • Memory and guessing skills

🧰 Materials

  • Shoe box or tissue box
  • Random textured items (spoon, cotton ball, crayon, sponge)
  • Cloth to cover the opening
  • Household alternatives: pillowcase, cereal box, sock puppet

👣 Step-by-Step

  • Cut a hand-sized hole in a box
  • Place 4–6 mystery items inside
  • Cover the hole with fabric or paper flaps
  • Have your child reach in and describe what they feel
  • Encourage guesses: “What do you think it is?”
  • Celebrate discoveries! “Yes! It’s the sponge!”
  • Switch roles—they hide, you guess 😄
  • Talk about textures using rich words: “fuzzy,” “smooth,” “bumpy”

🤗 Parent/Caregiver Guidance

Get silly with your guesses! Kids love the surprise and giggles. Encourage vocabulary like “I think it’s...” or “It feels like...” and praise their detective work.

🧠 Why This Helps

Exploring without seeing sharpens memory and builds rich sensory vocab. Plus, turn-taking builds social-emotional skills.

📚 Research Foundation

  • Vygotsky – language and thought develop together
  • Executive function development via working memory games
  • Studies on tactile play and verbal fluency in preschoolers

🎨 Texture Painting Party

🎯 Target Skills

  • Creative expression
  • Fine motor control
  • Color and texture identification

🧰 Materials

  • Washable paint
  • Cardboard, bubble wrap, sponges, foil
  • Paintbrushes or fingers
  • Household alternatives: forks, old toothbrushes, combs, paper towel rolls

👣 Step-by-Step

  • Set up a painting area with paper taped down
  • Offer kids various “brushes” and textures
  • Encourage mixing colors and pressing textures
  • Say “What does it feel like?” as they paint
  • Make texture prints by pressing materials onto paper
  • Let them create a “feelings poster” with colors + words
  • Optional: create a group collage from everyone’s prints
  • Clean up with a damp cloth and music to make it fun 🎵

🤗 Parent/Caregiver Guidance

Focus on fun, not the end product. Let them lead, ask open-ended questions, and reflect feelings like “That spiky print looks energetic!”

🧠 Why This Helps

Combining touch, sight, and movement builds brain connections and helps kids express feelings they might not have words for yet.

📚 Research Foundation

  • Multiple intelligences theory – kinesthetic and artistic strengths
  • Sensory integration studies – combining touch and vision
  • Montessori – hands-on exploration fuels learning

👣 Barefoot Texture Walk

🎯 Target Skills

  • Balance and body awareness
  • Sensory mapping
  • Emotional regulation

🧰 Materials

  • Textured surfaces (blankets, grass, sand, bubble wrap)
  • Blindfold (optional)
  • Towel to clean feet
  • Household alternatives: bathmat, yoga mat, cardboard, crinkled paper

👣 Step-by-Step

  • Create a walking path with 4–5 textures
  • Let your child walk barefoot and describe each step
  • Say “How does it feel under your feet?”
  • Play a game: “Can you find the bumpy one?”
  • Try with eyes closed for a fun challenge!
  • Let them build their own path next
  • End with a foot rub or warm towel 🧼
  • Talk about their favorite and least favorite textures

🤗 Parent/Caregiver Guidance

Join them! Your participation makes it feel safe and fun. Be curious with them, model words like “squishy” or “cool,” and offer hugs when they need comfort.

🧠 Why This Helps

Feeling different textures with bare feet builds sensory understanding and helps calm the body. It's also great for motor skills and exploring preferences.

📚 Research Foundation

  • Sensory integration – foundational for focus and movement
  • Gross motor skill development theories (Gallahue)
  • Mindfulness research – body awareness calms the nervous system