December Activity Shelves

This year's December activity shelves revolve, surprisingly enough, around winter and Christmas.

As usual, the top two shelves are filled with themed activities while the lower two hold a variety of non-themed toys.

Our sensory bin is a white dish tub from Dollar Tree. It's filled with white rice scented with almond extract (I'd originally planned to use mint, but we were out), a bit of glitter, miniature mylar gift bows from Dollar Tree, and a scoop that I believe we purchased from Target's Dollar Spot earlier this year.

Our treasure basket holds a few of the same things our Shiny Stuff Treasure Tin held last year (holographic foil tissue paper, a large jingle bell, and a shiny gift bow), but we've also added some other jingly instruments.

There's an art tin with a variety of papers - old dollar store greeting cards, pages from a Christmas picture book that got ruined, a snowman notepad, and festive foam shapes from Target's Dollar Spot after-Christmas clearance last year - as well as feathers, spangles, scissors, glue, and markers.

We have a basket of books about various December holidays and wintry fun, some plush reindeer the kids were given last year at "Story Time with Mrs. Claus" at the mall, and a tree stacker from Plan Toys (purchased for a steal at the consignment store, since it was massing the top piece).

Previous Seasonal Activity Shelves
February and Valentine's 2013
Springtime and Easter 2013
Autumn 2013

Previous Seasonal Sensory Bins
Springtime and Easter 2013
Autumn 2013

Previous Seasonal Treasure Baskets
Autumn 2012
Winter 2012
Valentine's 2013

Previous Seasonal Shelf Activities
Christmas 2012
Valentine's 2013
Halloween 2013

Autumn Activity Shelves

I've mentioned before that we have a bookshelf in our kitchen full of novel toys and seasonal activities to keep our kids engaged while we're cooking dinner or otherwise occupied on the main floor of our house.

For autumn, it's stocked with:

Art Supplies

glue, feathers, leaf stickers, autumn foam stickers, Halloween cookie cutters to trace, foam leaves, colored card stock and white art paper, and a jack-o-lantern sticker book

The supplies are tucked away in a felt Halloween basket purchased on clearance last year.

Fine Motor Activity

tiny jack-o-lantern erasers, pumpkin ice cube tray, and tongs

Story Props and Book

Seasonal Picture Books

and our autumn sensory bin and last year's autumn treasure basket.

The art supplies, books, and fine motor activity fit neatly inside a basket.

February Treasure Basket

February's treasure/heuristic basket is all hearts, pink, purple, and red.

Red metal basket, tulle, tissue paper, bows and ribbons, cookie cutter, pom poms, cut up paint chips

Other Treasure Baskets:
Autumn - leaves and gourds
Winter - shiny stuff

"Shiny Stuff" Treasure Tin for Winter

Our autumn treasure basket was such a hit, I decided to make a new one for winter and the holidays. These baskets are inspired by traditional heuristic baskets and are great fun for both my infant and preschooler. I enlisted the help of my 3 year old, and together we gathered all manner of shiny and sparkly things hanging around my craft room and tucked them into a pretty tin I'd gotten on clearance after Christmas last year.

Inside the tin are three glass jars (they once held bullion cubes) filled with silver tinsel, metal bottle caps, and rhinestones. I hot glued the lids shut, and they make interesting shakers and discovery bottles for the littlest one. I also added a large gift bow, an empty tart pan, a jingle bell ornament, and holographic foil tissue paper.

As with our autumn treasure basket, this tin is kept on the entry way credenza alongside a basket of seasonal books, magazines, and music. The kids love playing with it in the evenings while dinner is cooked and many other times throughout the day.

These treasure baskets are inexpensive (free!) to put together from recycled materials and dollar store finds. It's simple to change up the content to keep them fresh and engaging. They really draw my kids in, and I like that they're attractive enough that I don't mind leaving them out in "entertaining" areas of my home.

Autumn Treasure Basket

I put together a simple autumn treasure basket for my son (age 11 months) from some things I had laying around the house. The basket, wooden spoon, and wicker bowl were pieces from his first heuristic basket. The faux leaves and gourds were purchased from the Dollar Tree and originally used as tablescape for my sister's wedding shower.

I tossed this basket together one Sunday evening while we were trying to get dinner on the table, and the kids were getting antsy. I was surprised what a hit it was with both the baby and my 3 year old. James was very serious in his exploration. First picking up each gourd and leaf and testing it in his mouth, then exploring it visually and with his fingers.

My daughter couldn't resist the fun. She filled the wicker bowl up with leaves and threw them into the air repeatedly while we sang "Leaves Are Falling."*

I've left the basket on our entry credenza, next to our nature display and basket of autumn books, and the kids have played with it multiple times each day since.


*Leaves Are Falling
Leaves are falling all around
On the housetops, on the ground
Leaves are falling on my nose
On my head and hands and toes

Baby Heueristic Treasure Basket

I've been intrigued with the idea of a heuristic basket for some time, so I went ahead on a lark the other day and tossed one together for James. He's 6.5 months old, sitting unassisted, and just hitting the "explores everything with the mouth" stage.

A heuristic basket, or treasure basket, contains everyday household items, preferably made from natural materials, that are safe for a baby to explore while supervised. I just filled mine with natural materials I had laying around my craft room, the playroom, and the kitchen. I would not leave James unattended with these things, but I feel comfortable with him touching and mouthing them while I'm present.

natural sea sponge, cotton sack with wool drawstring, glass baby food jar, woven basket, wooden spoon/block/turning, simple wooden instruments Meg got at a Musik Garten class once, and a playsilk

In the future, I might add more metal items, but don't currently have any food-grade metal objects (no lead or other gross stuff) with blunt edges on hand. A pinecone and large, smooth shell would be nice as well. Perhaps I'll knit some small lovies or toys from wool yarn. I'd love to also make him some Big Gnomes for Wee Hands, but I need to find a source for affordable wool felt first.

I love that this is a toy I can change up to keep fresh and add to little by little.