The Ribbon Delight activity has, at its foundation, child development principles acting as a guide. According to child development pioneer Jean Piaget, the sensorimotor stage (0-2yrs) is a time for babies to touch and handle objects so they can develop an understanding of what those objects are. They learn about the world through direct interaction via grasping, shaking and sucking anything within reach! And if my grandbaby is any indication, Ribbon Delight will provide a lot of direct interaction for your kidlets too!
READ: The Splendid Spotted Snake by Betty Ann Schwartz & Alexander Wilensky
Your kidlet can feel this ribbon snake and watch it grow and change as the pages turn–it’s a great way to bring up talking about colors too!
NOTE: I looked on Amazon to see if the book was available for purchase. They must have some glitch because the book was very, very expensive so I’d recommend borrowing it from your local library instead!
Kidlets are in their carriers a lot–clicking them into their car seats or strollers–so make the view more interesting…hang ribbons from the handle!
Materials Needed:
Ribbons–variety of colors, patterns, textures, widths
Scissors
Velcro
Instructions:
• Drape ribbon over carrier handle and cut to desired length
• Continue cutting as many ribbons as you’d like
• Check diameter of various handles for placement of Velcro
• Place non-hooked piece of Velcro on one side of the inside of ribbon and the hooked side on the opposite side
• Secure over handle of carrier, activity gyms, changing table or portable rockers with overhanging arms
***NOTE: Always supervise babies will playing with Ribbon Delight Activity, put ribbons away and out of reach when not in use***
What’s so fun, exciting and amazing to witness all at the same time is the intensity of a baby’s engagement when presented with something new, unfamiliar and sparking their curiosity. I deliberately chose patterns on the ribbons with vivid contrast, making focusing on the ribbons easy. Providing a variety of widths facilitates grasping and insuring the ribbons have different textures adds an additional sensory element to the experience.
When given encouragement, even young children will experiment, explore and test…going all-in with full engagement! There was a lot of grasping, shaking and sucking with the Ribbon Delight Activity which the photos can give you some idea–I just wish I would have done a video so you could have heard the cooing and gurgling too!
I was able to use the Ribbon Delight Activity for another purpose: Peek-a-boo! Peek-a-boo is a traditional game parents have played with their kiddos, but it also has much more value than just fun. Read about some of the benefits of playing peek-a-boo here.
This arrangement of ribbons was perfect–especially for a young baby–because they didn’t hide my face completely. While I pushed the stroller I could say “Where’s MorMor?” (Norwegian for Grandma) and then move them aside to say “Here I am!” When the wind picked up I didn’t even need to move the ribbons myself–I left Mother Nature take over!
Let me know if you try this activity–it’s easy and, if you look for sales on ribbon spools, it’s relatively inexpensive. I’ll be using the bulk of the ribbon in upcoming activities—preschool teachers always can come up with ways to use materials!
Yours in Play!
Teacher Karen