Crash and Bump

One activity we do many mornings is "Crash and Bump."  It's basically a little obstacle course around our living room, and you've probably seen my posts about it before.  The goal is to provide a structured outlet for some physical energy, promote gross motor development, vestibular development , proprioceptive development, direction-following, and just plain fun!

We change out our obstacles each week, but we keep pretty much the same TYPE of objective at each obstacle.  I have the kids sit on the couch while I set up--they can look at books but not get off couch--and it takes me 5-7 min to get set up.  I usually have a pretty good idea of what I'll set up planned in my head, and lots of obstacles are the same, or mostly the same with just a little tweak, each week.  

For this obstacle, Q was jumping over the "river."  Ie: a rug that she had to jump across.

 Balance beam (table leaf spread across two chairs)

 Trampoline (piece of Q's mattress with baby gate to hold onto to facilitate bouncing)

 Pillow pit (all the couch pillows with a down comforter thrown on top)

 Crawly tube and in the background is the road--a piece of black felt with lines of yellow felt hotglued down it--initially made for Beck's cars, but also works well for this!

 This is the sommersault afghan.  Beck does more of a roll--they go from one end to the other.

 Uhhh-ohhh, doggy road block!

We also usually put out or rocking horse for riding and some rocker boards either to rock on or to walk across like a bridge.  I put on some fun, fast-tempoed kids music and we have fun!  There's no passing allowed, so if you catch up with the person ahead of you, choose to redo the past station or march in place...or just wait patiently!  I usually help Beck with some of the obstacles such as the "balance beam."  Sometimes I just line up chairs with no table leaf for them to walk across.  Nothing fancy, but they have great fun and I know we're working on those little body systems that are forming pathways in the minds and bodies of little people!!!

Dancing/Obstacle Course

On Wednesdays we dance.  But lately that has turned into more of an obstacle course, which my kids are loving.  The night before (Tues. night) I sorta plan out my course and set out any materials I will need.  We generally use the same stuff with one or two new things each time.  Then on Wednesday the kids have to stay in the playroom while I set up.  Then I put on music and we follow the course!

We do have rules--

-no passing the person in front of you.  If you catch up to them you can jump or run in place while you wait patiently.  

-use the materials correctly 

-no pushing/shoving

-if you accidentally move an obstacle put it back where it was

Before we start the course I take them on a walk through and explain each obstacle.  

Here are some example photos:

We generally have a "step upon" which is something they can walk on that has a texture to it--in this case pom poms.  Sometimes they are in a pan or dish, sometimes just on the carpet.  Bubble wrap, marbles, or any other object that provides texture will work.  I trade this item out most times.  

This is a dish of nuts in shells (pecans, almonds, etc.)  They dump it out, walk across it, and then put them back in the dish.  Step-upons provide sensory input and teach them how to walk carefully on different surfaces.

This guy was not following one of the rules (don't remember which one now) and he had to sit on the couch for a time out.  My kids can definitely get wild and out of control during obstacles, and I don't want any blood or injuries, so we stick to the rules.

Riding the rocking horse:

Jumping across two rugs and into a down comforter, where you wallow yourself into it, then get up again.  We call it the "snow pit."

The tunnel is a big hit.  $4 at the Goodwill.  I see them there often.

Bendy board bridge.  Daddy made these for us.  Some of the best toys ever.

Stepping across to the ottoman:

Jumping off ottoman:

Rocking in the "boat" laundry basket:

We also have another bendy board that we put the other way so it can be rocked upon.  Sometimes we use diving rings that they have to step through.  We've put down a string line that gets walked upon....the possibilities are endless.  My kids LOVE this activity and it is awesome for proprioceptive awareness, motor control, rule following, and energy releasing, among other things!  I will try to post more obstacle course pics as the weeks go by!

Daddy-School.....in the shop!

 Daddy's shop is the most popular place around.  The kids go crazy if he tells them they can come work a little bit.  Here's one thing Matt does with them--He starts nails into scrapwood.  Then he lets them use hammers to pound in the nails.  He has shown them how to hold a hammer and talked about safety with them, of course....They LOVE it, and so many great benefits--practical life, hand-eye coordination, gross motor development, independence, cross-lateral movements....and great time learning from Daddy!  Our Daddy's a pretty good teacher, ya know!

Baby texture basket

One of Beck's work items on the shelf right now is a basket filled with different textures....Hard to see them all from this picture but objects include:
-tulle
-coffee wrapper (smells amazing, too!)
-empty plastic liner from cereal box (great and crunchy sounding!)
-corrugated cardboard
-minky fabric
-(not pictured) empty heavy paper flour sack

These objects provide listening, feeling, tasting stimulation as Beck can explore them with his hands and mouth.  He likes to crawl around the house carrying one or two of them.  :)

Stand-up diapering....the long version. But SO worth it hanging in there for.

When I finished grad school about 5 years ago I took at job at a college lab preschool. The school was used as a teaching model and practicum site for early childhood/child development college students. It was a preschool that ran 2 programs in the same building--a traditional preschool that served infants through preK--and also a Montessori program also serving infants but including kindergarten, as well. I was hired to work in the traditional model, primarily in the 2 year old classroom.

As part of my orientation (I LOVE their model for orientation), I had to spend several hours observing each of the other classes through the two-way glass (and I could listen by wearing some headphones that connected to a microphone in the classroom....it was an awesome set up!). The Montessori program, especially at the infant and toddler levels, instantly amazed me! I was so shocked to see 1 year olds setting their own tables, using silverware, regular cups, and NAPKINS!!! This was just the beginning of my journey....

The toddler class I taught in followed a more traditional philosophy, but it was still highly influenced by Montessori methods. One that was immediately foreign to me was stand-up diapering. When I first observed teachers in the infant and toddler classrooms diapering standing up, I wondered what in the world they were doing....and then when I heard this was the ONLY way any child able to stand could be changed, I was a little nervous whether I'd be able to do it...and why in the world anyone would WANT to do that.

I remained a critic for only a couple of days.  It was easier to master than I had thought. My co-teachers gave me great tips (and I learned a few lessons the hard way.) I quickly saw the reasoning and value behind stand-up diapering....first in the toddler classroom where our children were mastering potty-training, and then later, when I took on some extra hours in the older infant classroom and saw the pre-potty-training stages.

First off, in the Montessori method, there is no such thing as potty training a child over a couple of days, over a weekend, or even over a week. Like most aspects of child development, procedures and skills are taught gradually and methodically--giving the child as much responsibility as they are developmentally ready to handle at each point of their physical, emotional and cognitive (mental) growth.

So....the first step begins even with tiny infants when caregivers explain what they are doing as they change diapers. They explain to the child what's in their diaper (pee or poop) so the infant begins to make a connection that there is a difference...important later on when a child needs to be able to discern if they need to pee or poop in the potty. They may also begin to let the infant hold the diaper or a wipe and hand it to them when they are ready for it.

When a child is able to stand up with help (ie: holding onto something), they are ready to begin stand-up diapering. For us, that was around 10 months with Quinn (our daughter) and Beck (our son). You can tell it's time when they start the "alligator roll." If you've had a baby you know what I mean! The second you start diapering he tries to roll away from me and fight getting changed. I cringe anytime I see a parent in a battle with an "alligator baby" during a diaper change, and I cringe even more when I hear parents tell me they have to spank their child (or use some other form of punishment) to make them lay still to get their diaper changed. Alligator rolling combined with leg strength to stand (with support) equals time for the world of stand-up diapering!!

In a classroom setting, the teacher would sit in a small chair and put the child between her legs, with the child holding onto one leg of teacher to assist with standing (this was in the 2 year old classroom). In the infant classroom the child supported himself on a low changing table that was about 2 feet off the ground (of course....Montessori is all about child-sized furniture!!).
At home we bought two very cheap stools from Ikea (they kinda look like nightstands) for around $12. We kept one upstairs and one downstairs in the bathrooms.

It's important to have all your supplies ready at hand. We kept a basket under the stool with diapers, wipes, bags for dirty diapers, and diaper cream.

Before changing the dirty diaper, we would get the new diaper and unfold it and actually turn it inside out, so that once it's placed on the child the leg flaps (that contain the pee) are not tucked under.

At this first stage the child is encouraged to help with removing clothing--ie: show them how to loop their fingers in the waistband of their pants and use a downward motion. We often sang the song "Quinny's pants are falling down, falling down, falling down." to the tune of London Bridges.

The child is also asked if they have pee or poop (even if they don't have the words to answer yet.) The caregiver checks, and notifies the child. If it's a pee diaper the child can be taught to remove it themselves. We started teaching Quinn how to open the tapes on her diaper. If it's a poopy diaper, the child needs to learn that the caregiver removes it, so it doesn't get everywhere! It's important to teach the child to differentiate between poop and pee because when they are starting to use the toilet they need to know if they are peeing or pooping. Seems simple to us, but initially kids don't know the difference. They will be taught that if you need to poop sometimes you might need to sit a little longer, and you wipe differently, etc. Also distinguishing between pee and poop is helpful later on, as you can encourage the child to come to you immediately for a change if they have poop.

The child can be in charge of getting a bag for the dirty diaper. They can also be taught how to open the wipes and take them out one at a time, handing them to the caregiver. Of course all of these skills are introduced one at a time, with lots of practice for each skill. For a pee diaper the child is asked to "clean your body" first (use a wipe on themself). The caregiver can follow up with a second wipe, if needed. If it's a poopy diaper, the caregiver cleans first, and the child can have a turn when the caregiver's finished.

People always freak out the most when they hear about stand-up diapering when it's a poopy diaper. I actually learned it's much easier standing than doing it laying. First off, often it doesn't get smashed all over the place onto the child's body because the child layed on their bottom. The poop stays more solid, making for easier clean up. The child can either lean forward, over the leg of the caregiver, or one of the child's legs can be lifted to access all the areas that need wiped. The child can switch over to holding onto the caregiver's other leg if the caregiver needs to wipe the front of the child.

For my two, we used the stool, so we were actually behind them when we changed her. Initially we had to work with on remaining standing--they'd want to sit back down and crawl away. We would let them take the wipes out or put a small toy or book on the stool top to keep interest (for about a month, until they figured out what was going on and had no problem remaining standing).

The caregiver explains what they are doing as they help remove clothing, clean the child's body, and help the child redress.

Another facet of this method is that once the child starts standing, diapering is relocated to ONLY occurring in the bathroom. This is for obvious reasons--the place where we take care of toileting needs is in the bathroom. We kept our "changing stool" in the bathroom. We also purchased a small toilet seat (that fits on the bigger one) and stool, so she could begin to learn about using the toilet. In our school's program parents were encouraged not to place little toilets in any other locations (living room, etc.), because children need to learn to go to the bathroom to handle all toileting needs. It's important to diaper in the bathroom (ding--one of those early "pre-potty" steps that leads along the path to potty training....) to help the child make the connection that potty stuff happens in the bathroom! I think one of the first reasons many parents resist stand up diapering is because it's a little more work--you can't just change the child right where you happen to be...you have to get up and go into the bathroom every time. But it'll pay off....it will....it will! If you are saying, "But our bathroom is too small to fit a stool in there," you can use the toilet to support the standing child. Close the lid and wipe down surfaces that will be touched with a clorox wipe, or throw a towel over the closed lid so the child touches that, instead. You can also use a child-sized chair or even a door frame to support your standing kiddo.

We started out by letting Q explore the toilet--flushing many times, opening and shutting the lid, and unrolling the toilet paper. We didn't allow her to put her hands in the water, though. We taught her that it was "yuck." We showed her how to climb up and sit on the seat. So, for a couple months after every diaper change we encouraged her to sit on the potty for a second. She didn't do anything....just sat for a couple seconds. This was fine! She was learning some important skills--how to get on the toilet, primarily. So, to recap, every time we changed her diaper, it was ALWAYS in a restroom. And if we were at home, we always encouraged her to climb up and sit on the potty after a diaper change.

18 months seems really young to most people, but this is actually a great age (for some children it occurs even sooner....) because they are first starting to notice the toilet and what goes on with it--and that parents are using it. Once the child first shows interest/curiosity is the perfect time to add toilet skills to the "potty training" schema. Sometimes waiting until the child is older (2 or over) actually skips past the window of interest (and also coincides with the "NO" phase, which does not help acquire toilet skills!)

Sometimes we knew times of the day Q would always seem to pee. We tried to take her to sit on the potty before she peed/pooped in her diaper, and occasionally we'd get her there in time and she'd pee in the potty. We'd make a big deal and clap and say, "yeaaaa!"

After a while of just sitting and practicing, Q peed in the potty a few times and started making the connection. A little bit after she turned 2 years old, we started encouraging her to sit on the potty and "push out your pee" every little bit during the day. From that point on she did great and was fully potty trained shortly after her 2nd birthday.  Same thing for our son.

From a teaching standpoint I was shocked how easily ALL of our children potty trained using this method--even the boys, which many people argue are so much tougher. I love that potty training was never an "issue" or an "obstacle" or even a frustration. It was just part of our every day routine.

As a mom I loved that I could change diapers anywhere easily--no changing table needed. In the truck--easy! Standing up on the seat worked great. In public restrooms--no problem, she often just held onto my legs and I bent over and helped her (or him). I also loved that it wasn't ME CHANGING HER.....the older and more capable she got, the more she was expected (and excitedly willing) to do because that was just the way we had always done things.

I could go on and on about how great I think stand-up diapering is. And also how important it is to teach toileting just like any other skill--in small pieces as the child is able to do more.  We would never say to a child "This is the weekend you are going to learn to eat.  We are not leaving this house until you learn to eat."  Yet often this is done with potty training....

Both of my kiddos moved along the process so smoothly and with no resistance.  I saw the same thing in the infant and toddler classrooms where I taught.  The only "things" with stand up diapering is that you have to be committed to following the same procedure every time and give as much of the process over to the child as they are ready for....if you can do those...you've got it made!

**Updated....read more about our diapering journey at THIS POST.It has a step-by-step breakdown with pictures of our Little Man and stand-up diapering.  :)

Baby Picture Cards

Beck has a basket of laminated photos of babies (cut from magazines) and I added a couple bird cards this month to go with our spring "theme." We'll talk to him briefly about birds when he looks at the cards...tweet for him, too, of course!

Ribbon toy

I made Beck a new toy to hold during diaper changes. I keep a few toys in his diaper basket for him to explore while we change/dress him. I used a wooden ring and tied red ribbons around it. I used a lighter to seal the ends from freying. He loves it!!!
This toy stimulates his motor skills as he grabs it and brings it to his mouth. It also encourages his visual perception with the different patterns (dots, stripes, etc.). Additionally he can explore different textures between the various ribbon types.

Playgym and toys

We used to have a hand-me-down playgym--the kind that flashed lights, had moving pieces and made music. As well as a half-dozen interchangable, bright-colored accessories. I always rather disliked it because it overstimulated ME, and I knew it was WAY too much sensory input for my babies. So this time around, I garage-saled it and talked Daddy-O into making the boy a my dream playgym. Matt's a stud-muffin and found some pine boards on sale at Lowe's for a dollar a piece. He used two pine boards and two dowels and finished it with beeswax. The dowels slide out so we can dismantle the gym or slide objects onto it.

I love how easily we can change out objects for Beck to use for gazing and touching. I love EVEN MORE how simple and baby-developmentally-appropriate this is! Yea for woodworking daddies!

At one point with Quinn I improvised and used our laundry hamper for a playgym.

We have a basket of different stuff we put out for him to look at and grab. Small branches and painted acorns (looking), pretty Christmas ornaments (he can reach toward them), a grasping ring (for chewing!), and some felt hangy-things on elastic that I made for him to grab on. All made from stuff we just had around the house. He loves his gym and Quinn loves to "decorate" it for him and help choose what we'll put on it for him each day.

This is another of my favorite homemade toys. An old-fashioned clothespin with jinglebells tied on. Perfect for baby to hold and shake/chew easily! I made this one with different black and white ribbon, but have done them in all colors!

Toys for little babies

I try not to give plastic toys to my baby. You can read my longer posts on this, but basically plastic provides very little sensory input--it doesn't smell, taste, and provide a wide variety of weight, texture and sound. So I have been making a few little toys for Beck, who is just starting to want to play! His idea of play involves looking and tasting at this point!

One of my favorite baby toys--a crinkle taggie blanket. I use THIS tutorial.

Mine is made with minky on one side and flannel on the other and a variety of ribbons. The inside is a shredded cheese bag I washed out. I also sewed a button on each end to help hold everything in place and provide additional tactile stimuli for older babies.
For now Beck is just learning how to make his hands do what he wants. So he spends his playtime holding and bringing objects to his mouth. You can see him really staring at the ribbons in the first picture, and tasting them in the second!

This is a great toy for little babies because there are so many places to grab--they are highly successful when trying to "Hold" this toy. He hasn't really explored the "crinkly" aspect yet as he doesn't grab onto the main part of the toy, but it will be something he can grown into and will capture his interest as he grows!

I have made these before using a towel and a receiving blanket (I thrown all my fabric items in a laundry basket in the studio to be reused for projects like this!) and it turned out great, as well!!

Don't overstimulate me, Ma!

Based in much of the Montessori and Waldorf philosophies of working with infants, I believe that babies should be surrounded by a calm, serene, and gently stimulating environment. They come into the world with NO experiences, so everything is new to them. Every sight, every sound, every texture they feel....all being sensed for the very first time. With all this newness, it's easy for them to become over-stimulated when their senses are raging with new experiences.
Often (according to leading child development author Dr. Brazleton) this may cause crying, hiccups, sneezing, and other behaviors to avoid the stimulation. Obviously this isn't always the reason for these behaviors, but it can be a cause. It is also why many infants calm down when they are swaddled, taken to a quiet, dim room, and rocked gently. They respond to the calm environment and their senses are given a break from working.

For this reason, we've decided to avoid infant "accessories" that are overly stimulating. My criteria for this involves:
-too much
-too loud
-too fast
-too bright
-multiple sensations being addressed at once

To explain....
Most of the swings, bouncers, exersaucers, mobiles, and baby toys available for purchase fit in these categories because they are overstimulating to babies. We have a small travel swing that has 4-colored flashing lights, plays "tinny" music that can go up to a very loud setting, has little waterglobes built into the sides that plastic fish swim inside of, has a toy bar that goes across the swing, and obviously rocks. WHOA! And in this I set my little two-month son, who can stare for long periods of time at a plain ole tree! This is way to many senses being stimulated at once, and the overload actually prevents him from focusing on any of them in detail.

Obviously some people would argue that their baby loves these items. This is often because we've taught them to adjust to the various stimulation, possibly even tune them out, by repeat exposure to them. We can "train" our children what to expect for entertainment and learning. If we expose them to constant "high activity" sensory experiences--ie: the flashing lights, the music, the movement, the toys all at once, they learn to expect this. And often this nurtures a toddler who is unable to settle down and focus for a few minutes on one simple item or task--they are flighty and moving from task to task, item to item.

There is tons of information and research out there on infant stimulation, and I am not going to go into it all in this post, but I did want to explain our choice and how this makes many of the "baby things" used in our house look a little differently.

So, what do we do?
We still use the swing. I just leave the music and flashing lights off, we removed the toys, and often I drape a burpcloth over the fish if I am wanting to provide a soothing rock for my son. We bought a bouncer that is simple--no music, no vibration, it rocks with the baby's movement. I love THIS ONE, and we found ours for a steal at a Children's consignment store.

I just recently garage-saled our playgym that we used with my daughter as I felt it had "too much." Music, lights, movement, toys that also included sound.....Instead we use the plain ole floor with a mobile on a stand for now, and I have my eyes on a wooden play gym piece that I have been begging my husband to build.

So.....will my poor son grow up with no music since I don't have any musical toys? No way....We play all sorts of music on a cd player or even our computer. Yea for Pandora. And best of all, it's REAL music! Not tinny Brahm's Lullabye coming out of a cheap speaker. ;)

I really love MADE BY JOEL'S website, and that's where we got the pattern for the mobile stand we use all the time. I also use his paper mobile pattern as one of our many mobiles.

Here's my son with Joel's set-up:
And now that he's a "big boy" and needs to practice rolling around, we often just put him on the floor under his mobiles.


I have made all the different mobiles--all with stuff around the house and 10 minutes of my time. And often with my 3 year-old's help! I keep them in a basket under the coffee table to change out as we want to.

This one is just two crossed sticks with black and white ribbons from my scrap box tied on at different areas.

This one was a little more labor-intensive--I traced leaf cookie cutters onto coffee filters, cut, and let my daughter paint them with a combination of tempera and watercolor paints. Then we strung them on thick thread, used beads to hold them in place, and tied the strings onto the inside of a wooden embroidery hoop.

We also do this a lot--prop open a book in his sight range. Right now I know that developmentally he's most interested in high-contrast black and white, as well as bold primary colors, so we try to find books (at the library or our home shelves) that are developmentally appropriate.

At this point in his development, we try to stimulate just one of his senses at a time. That way he can focus, absorb what he's experiencing, and remain calm and not overstimulated.

So, there's my soapbox on babies and nosiy, blinky, vibrating swings and bouncers. :)

The end.

The importance of a sensory tub

A sensory tub is one of the most important teaching "tools" you can provide for your child of any age--from infant to school age.

I suggest using one container all the time as your designated "sensory tub" and changing out the items inside it from time to time.

Ours currently has a mixture of dried beans--for scooping, filling, dumping, sorting, counting, shaking, and spooning.

There are gazillions of ideas out there on what to put in sensory tubs--from simple to complex.

For babies--start easy! Water is a great first sensory experience and you don"t have to worry about them eating it! But I encourage you to move on to other substances like shredded paper, bubbles, feathers, fabric scraps, etc. Sit with your child for 5-10 minutes while they play and explore to monitor safety. For infants, you may not want to provide any tools--just let them use their hands.

For toddlers, begin introducing tools such as scoops, funnels, measuring cups, spoons, jars and pans with lids, shakers (empty parm cheese containers or spice containers), etc., so they can practice measurement and fine motor skills. They can use a variety of materials--beads, sand, shaving cream, pasta, rice, cornmeal, birdseed, cedar chips (from petstore), leaves, etc.

For older children, hide plastic letters or numbers in the sorting mix. Mix in metal and non metal objects and provide a magnet for them to sort through the mix and find all magnetic materials.

The internet abounds with different sensory tub experiences you can give your children.....and usually putting together a sensory tub takes about 5 minutes....so it's not super involved to set up.

We usually keep the same materials in our tub for 3-4 weeks to give lots of opportunities for exploration and EXTENDED exploration. Initially I just teach Q the rules of whatever materials she's using (ie: keep the beans on the tray) and let her explore. Then over time I might challenge her in different ways--
"Can you fill the measuring cup up using the green scoop?"
"How many scoops fit in the pan?"
"Let's sort the beans by type! Let me tell you their names."

So.....happy sensory-tubbing!!

Baster Water Work

I recently purchased these basters on a trip to Lakeshore for under $3 for a set of 3. They are smaller than regular kitchen-sized basters. I've also seen the small ones at kitchen stores such as Sur La Table for around $2 each. The smaller ones are easier for toddler/preschool fingers to squeeze than the bigger ones....

To begin with, I got out two bowls. Filled the first one (on the left) with water and asked Q to transfer the water (using the baster) to the bowl on the right. It takes a little while for children to get the hang of using a baster--the process must be practiced--squeeze, submerge, release, hold over other bowl, and squeeze. She doesn't yet have the hang of it, but we'll keep practicing.

Other extensions:
Vary the temperature of the water provided--warm, cold, etc.
Put a few drops of essential oil (peppermint, almond oil, vanilla, eucalyptus, lavendar, etc.) in the water
Get out an ice cube tray and allow child to fill each compartment
Add a little bit of watercolor to the water to make it colorful

You can also use an eyedropper or medicine dropper if you want even finer motor practice.

Once again this activity works the muscles in the hands, arms and fingers--that team of muscles that is so important for writing later on!

It also encourages following a process, science skills (properties of liquids), and practical life.

For babies, they will enjoy just playing with a baster--exploring it with their mouth. We kept one in the bath for Q as a baby and she enjoyed when Daddy squirted her with it! Made her giggle like crazy!!

Spray away!

A repurposed spray bottle (washed well) has become some of Q's favorite work lately. She enjoys spraying her table, letting it soak a bit, and then wiping it dry. She also asks to wash patches of the floor, chairs, and other surfaces around the kitchen.
While this is a fun activity for her because it involves water, it also does a great job of exercising the muscles in her arms, wrists, and fingers as she squeezes the bottle.

Once she has gotten more adept at using the bottle, I'll teach her to spray window glass and use a squeegie and rag to clean up the water!

This could also be adapted for the bathtub or even outside play!

The wonderful "thingy basket"

One of my favorite "seasons" of Q's babyhood was her "thingy basket" days. Around the time she started sitting up (6ish months) we would make her a thingy basket. Very simply, I got a nice sturdy basket and we filled it with small treasures for her to explore. Some ideas:
-baby food jars filled with rice, pennies, beans, sequins, buttons (you can run a thin rim of hot glue around the lid then screw it on to keep it from opening)
-small kitchen utensils (wooden spoons, dip spreaders, different sizes of spoons, spatulas, etc.)
-small board books
-pieces of different fabrics, scarves, socks, burlap, denim squares
-napkin rings
-small cardboard boxes
-keychains (especially if they have keys on them!)
-non-used remote controls, cell phones, etc.
-a couple wooden blocks
-baby cereal box with pennies inside
-little sunglasses
-small flashlight
-empty food containers (washed)
-random objects from the garage that aren't sharp
-bracelets
-dish brush
-small wood and metal food dishes
-toothbrush

Basically we'd take a walk around each room of the house and look for safe, fun items!
I really tried to focus on non-plastic items. The majority of baby toys are plastic--and plastic always feels the same, smells the same, is the same temperature, and doesn't provide much variety in sensory imput for little ones exploring their world. I wanted to provide objects of varying weights, textures, materials, temperatures, sizes, and uses for exploration.
During this stage we really didn't use too many of the "traditional" baby toys, as they were somewhat limited in what they could "teach" our little explorer.
It was so fun to watch her explore the new items and see how long it would take her to notice when we added a new one!
She'd sit FOREVER exploring her basket and had so much fun trying each object, feeling it, tasting it.....

Here is another link that shows an example of a great "thingy basket."

The picture above is Q playing with her thingy basket while Opa works on the computer.

Stencil Work

Stencils are great emergent-writing tools for children learning the features of print. They help encourage pencil control, promote the forms used in print (straight lines, diagonal lines, arcs, etc.) and let children make actual forms in a controlled fashion.
This stencil has large, simple shapes--a good place to start. Some stencils can be difficult for young children because of small areas that make it hard to fit the pencil. I like to begin with large shapes, especially circles and squares.
I tied a pen (easier to begin with than a pencil) to a clipboard--this helps keep children from marking on other surfaces. The clipboard holds the stencil in place so the child can focus on tracing the inside of the stencil.

Another modification to this is tracing work--where you make a stencil by cutting out a shape and the child traces the OUTSIDE of the figure. It's good to provide practice with both types of stencils, and using a clipboard for a "stencil holder" while the child traces is a great tool!

Cutting Work--one snip strips

My toddler is past the first couple stages of cutting (tearing and random cuts into paper) and ready for some organized cutting activities. I made some "ladders" in Microsoft word (using the "table" feature) and printed them on pink paper for her to cut. The length of each rung is short enough that she can snip it in one open-close motion (one snip).

To modify--make longer "two snip" strips and even "three snip" strips.
Make wavy lines. Make diagonal lines.

This encourages fine motor skills, scissor holding (remember that we always give a "thumbs up" when we cut and keep our thumb facing up), scissor safety, and wrist/finger control.

Once strips are snipped they can be glued into a collage!