Explore Through Movement and Play with Your Baby
Activity: Dumping and Pouring Bins
Note to parents and caregivers: When babies fill and empty out containers, it helps them develop fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, and builds their focus and attention span. It also teaches them cognitive skills, like cause and effect and problem-solving, as well as teaches them beginning math concepts such as volume, capacity, and spatial concepts like inside and next to.
Materials:
- Empty container with four sides and an open top that baby can safely reach into and knock over (a plastic bin or paper grocery bag would work)
- Toys they can dump out, such as scarves, balls, blocks, stuffed animals, plastic fruit, cars
Instructions:
- Fill the empty container with whatever toys you have around. Try to pick toys you won’t mind chasing after if your baby loses interest or dumps it out too hard.
- Show your child how to empty out the bin. Show them different ways to dump out the container, such as knocking it on its side or holding it up high before you empty it.
- Encourage your child to refill the container with the toys in order to dump it out again.
- Change out the materials in the bin as your child’s interests change.
Questions to Ask
- What happens if I empty out the bin like this?
- What sounds did you hear as you knocked that over? What made those sounds?
- How fast can we refill the bin?
Activities Prepared by:
Discovery Center Museum
URL: www.discoverycentermuseum.org/
Fun & educational science museum with exhibits, workshops, crafts & experiments for kids.
