Living in Laos, I've found baby toys are either too expensive because they are imported and sold at stores that cater to moms who obviously don't live on a teacher's salary ..or.. there are toys that make the Naturalist / Montessorian in me wince because they are cheap plastic, busy with too many colors, bells, and cartoon logos.
So, on the weekends I often find myself looking for ideas and making things.
The sensory bottle idea I found on one of my favorite sites: The Imagination Tree
The basic idea is to take a small water bottle, fill with interesting objects for baby to look at, then super glue the cap on.
Our bottles
1.) Sticky rice and black tea. (Makes a nice color contrast and River likes the sound of the rice. I also like that both the rice and the tea were grown by his Lao grandparents.)
2.) Pale green marbles, pink glitter and water.
3.) Crinkled blue tissue paper, bits of cotton, yellow paper "suns" and bright blue hearts. (I had a little weather theme going on in my head on this one.
Rives loves his sensory bottles. I keep them in a small bamboo basket and plan to make more and rotate them out. They also help keep him interested in "tummy time'.
