I started out with a plain bowl of water filled with bubbles. Since the munchkin man loves his bubble baths so much I thought this might work. (I used the same bubbles I normally use in his tub so as not to irritate his skin). He got bored of it pretty quickly though. I think largely because he couldn’t actually get his entire self in the bowl. He sure had fun jumping around when I held him standing in it 🙂 That was entertaining, but it was not freeing my hands up for tying water balloons! So… I decided to throw in a couple of toys. A little more fun, but again, bored fairly quickly. Eventually I decided I would just just throw in anything and everything I could find until the bowl was full of toys. Teething rings, bath toys, balls, plastic blocks, stacking cups, whatever I could find that the water wouldn’t damage and would fit in the bowl went in! That worked!! He LOVED it! This, he found this VERY intriguing!
Wasting no time he plunged into the bowl, up to his elbows, to uncover the toys. He would pull out a toy, play with it for a little bit and then dive back in for another. It ended up holding his interest for quite some time. I’m talking 20 plus minutes (which is huge in our little baby world). Once he emptied the bowl I just filled it up with toys again. It was a little baby discovery bowl and he was lovin’ it 🙂
I love all the ideas for sensory bins I’ve been seeing but my little one is really still too young for a lot of things and everything goes in his mouth. This was our version of a sensory tub bowl for him I guess. Even though these were things he plays with every day, they were presented to him in a new way with a new element or two added in and it made for a whole new experience. One that he very much enjoyed I might add! If he can entertain himself for that length of time, in my book, that’s a successful activity.
One last thought. If you do this…load the bowl up with bubbles! Originally I had (you could hardly see the toys), but by the time I thought to grab the camera they had mostly disappeared.
I love this! Simple, age appropriate, and entertaining 🙂
Thank you! 🙂
Out of curiousity, how old is your son? I was wondering what age this worked best for. 🙂
Hi Lindsey, He is seven months here and he really enjoyed it. I think it would have worked well starting at 6 months even (maybe earlier) as he has always liked emptying things 🙂
I bet he had so much fun. BTW, those chunky leg rolls just make me want to pinch them!! So sweet. 🙂
He did, and thank you Krissy. Don’t you just love baby rolls? I could just squeeze him all day long and get absolutely nothing done! It never gets old.
I saw this on another blog and I really want to try it. What kind of bubbles do you use that don’t hurt his skin?
Hi Lisa! I used his regular baby bubbly bath. I just agitated the water with my hands to get it to foam up.
I love your take on Sensory Tubs, suitable for babies. They just love to empty the water out don’t they!
Thanks Amie and yes they do!!
I have been looking for things to do with my 11 month old…this is perfect! Thanks for the inspiration…now he can have a sensory tub just like big brother!
Thanks Laura! I’m glad you liked it and glad I could help 🙂
isn’t it amazing how the simplest things make them happy…I filled up a bucket of water for my 21 month old grandson…gave him some of my kitchen plastic spoons…spatulas…a few rocks…a few clothes pens from my clothes line…and he will sit there and play forever…he asked to play in the bucket of water…
Sounds like he had fun! I love to watch them so engrossed in play like that 🙂 Thanks for stoping by and sharing!
I just came across your website, what an awesome resource. This is a great idea in particular! I’m looking at things to do with my 9 month old daughter, and my sense is she’s going to love this. Thank you Jen! I
Thanks for stopping by and saying hi! I’m so glad you found something that inspired you 🙂 I love that bubble bowl. She sounds like a great age for it! Honestly my kids still like stuff like that even now at ages 3 & 4. Have fun & take care.