What is exploratory play?
You may have noticed that your baby is happy to classify anything as a "toy". You may have spent a lot of money on an expensive gadget, only to find that they prefer the box in which it arrived! Babies and toddlers base their idea of play on anything that looks interesting, not on what we define specifically as a toy. Exploratory play is when babies and toddlers play with what interests them so as to promote curiosity and to stimulate crucial neural connections. It promotes investigations of the world around them and develops an in-depth understanding of the function of these items.
Why is exploratory play so important?
As described in the previous paragraph, exploratory play stimulates important neural connections within the brain. It also helps your baby with cognitive development like problem solving and decision making. By encouraging independent exploratory play, you are not only promoting self-confidence and self-esteem, but also critical thinking skills. As a teacher, I often see children who battle to work independently and struggle with confidence within their own capabilities. Nurturing these skills from an early age is so beneficial in creating a firm foundation to your child's academic success.
Ideas for exploratory play
Babies and toddlers love to play with every day objects that are used by adults and older children around them.
Treasure baskets (5+ months)
A treasure basket can be introduced to your baby as young as 5 months old. The idea is to place a variety of everyday items in a basket. Each item should be unique, with different textures and sounds. Please see my Pinterest board for ideas. Click here. This encourages your baby to make decisions and play with items based on their interests.
Water Play (4+ months)
There are so many benefits to water play. Read how I implement water play here.
Story stones (3+ years)
Story stones are a great way for older children to engage in exploratory play and to encourage their creative and critical problem solving skills. You will need flat stones and each one will need a unique picture. The idea is that your child picks a random stone from the basket and begins their story based on the picture. They then keep choosing pictures and building on their story.
Play dough (1+ years)
It is important to use play dough that is safe to eat! Find my recipe here. Play dough is great to use for exploratory play as it encourages fine motor skill development and stimulate's your baby's senses. Play-Doh also has an amazing range of products. Their new Touch to Shape Life Studio is great! See how it works here.
For more ideas on exploratory play, please follow my Pinterest board here.