Texture Beanbags

Zach wants to touch EVERYTHING these days.  I have to be careful where I stand when I am holding him, because he'll reach out for anything within arm's length!  I've learned to keep the shopping cart in the middle of the aisle after a few near-catastrophes in the juice aisle.

I wanted to capitalize on his interest for tactile experiences, and I could tell he was getting bored with the objects in his activity area and needed new objects to manipulate.  A quick dash to the fabric store, four small pieces of fabric, and a dusting of the ol' sewing machine was all it took to whip up these bean bags.  I chose all four fabrics in similar neutral tones to encourage isolation of the fabric textures, and filled them with rice instead of beans because I don't want to worry about Zach swallowing beans if a bag bursts open while I'm not with him.

Flannel, burlap, cotton and corduroy.

The fabrics I chose are: cotton, burlap, corduroy and flannel.  In the Montessori Children's House we have a fabric-matching activity with natural fibers (cotton, linen, silk, wool); I made my choices based on interesting and contrasting textures more than whether they were natural or not.  I whipped them up in one nap time, and Zach had a good time checking out the new contents of his basket!

(Sadly, our dogs found one of the bags pretty attractive, too... grrrr...)