One Year Old Sensory Activities for Fun
You might have heard a lot about how sensory play is great for growing babies, especially as they hit the one year mark. Babies this age are naturally curious, and keeping them engaged in sensory play can nurture their brain’s development in more ways than one.
That said, in most cases, sensory activities can be really messy and quite a task to wind up later. Thankfully, we’ve put down a quick list of some of the best sensory activities for one year olds- and most of them translate to minimal mess. Scroll down and jump right into them, because they’re super easy to set up too!
Discovery Basket
Repurpose an old basket or tissue box into a little mystery box for your one year old. Fill it with random items (while being careful of choking hazard obviously) in different shapes, sizes and textures for your child to explore and have fun with. This is the simplest, easiest sensory activity for a one year old that you can set up in minutes.
Water Bottle Shaker
Fill up your empty water bottles with different items like beans, popcorn kernels and rice. Put on the cap and you’ve got a simple rattle that your one year old can enjoy independently. Open the lid when you’re supervising for some extra sensory play fun.
Soil Play
Soil play is an excellent way to get your little one to enjoy some time outdoors. Sure, this one can be a bit messy, but if you co-inside it with their bath time, it can be a nice fun experience to let your one year old enjoy. A trip to the park or just in your backyard with some toy gardening tools is all you need- just let them get down and dirty.
Water Table Fun
Water play is another excellent way to keep your one year old busy. Fill it up with colored water, balls, rubber sea animals and some sponges to make this the perfect summer friendly sensory activity.
Yogurt Painting
Yogurt painting can be an excellent way to expose your baby to colors, and still make it a safe experience. All you need is a few drops of food coloring, some yogurt and a large sheet of paper. This sensory activity can be perfect for one year olds who love putting random things in their mouth.
Popping Bubble Wrap
Save up all that bubble wrap you receive in your Amazon packages and use them as a fun and interesting sensory activity for your kiddo. This one’s practically one of the simplest sensory activities for one year olds- it takes literally NO time to set up.
A Pile of Leaves
Gather some leaves in a bag on your next trip to the park, and use them to set up a sensory activity for your baby. You can encourage your child to crumble them into smaller pieces or tear them to strengthen their fine motor skills too.
Finger Painting
This activity can be an excellent way to get your one year old to experience some painting and sensory play at the same time. Get your hands on some washable paint and let your one year old have fun mixing colors on a sheet of paper or your bathroom tiled wall.
Play with Fabric
This one’s another underrated sensory activity that just takes a few seconds to set up. Fill up an old box with scarves, napkins and small pieces of fabric in different textures and colors. Let your baby have fun pulling them out of the box and exploring them- again, a mess-free sensory activity to enjoy.
Shaving Foam Fun
This is one of the best sensory activities for one year olds that you can set up during bath time. Squeeze some shaving cream in a bowl and set it up in the bathtub. To make it extra fun, you can also throw in some bath toys or drop some food coloring into the foam.
Dry Pasta Play
Large, shallow containers are perfect for sensory play- set them up with dry pasta (bonus points if you can coat them in edible food coloring), rice, and beans, and hand over some scoops and spoons. This sensory activity can easily keep your one year old busy for 20-30 minutes, if not more.
Sensory Bag
Think of this one as a travel-friendly edition of the discovery basket. Fill up a fabric bag with some random, kid-safe items like scrubbies, pipe cleaners, toothbrushes, paintbrushes, textured paper, some sticky tape and large Pom Pom balls. Your one year old can have fun exploring his senses with everything that’s in there, and ripping them off the sticky tape.
Make Cornstarch Paste
Just like mud and soil, playing with cornstarch can be an exciting way to get your baby to experience yet another texture at home. First, allow them to play with dry cornstarch in a bowl, and then add a little water and turn it into a new texture, turning it into a unique experience.
Peek-a-Boo
Got a kid who loves playing peek-a-boo? This activity can be great. Paste some pictures of different family members (or animals) on a sheet of paper, and then cover them each with a sticky note (or textured paper). Get your baby to peek under each of them for a cute little game of peek-a-boo.
Cardboard Tunnel Fun
This one can be a great choice if you’re looking for fun sensory activities for one year olds that also double up as a physical activity. Save those empty cardboard boxes from your Amazon purchases and use them to craft a simple makeshift tunnel for your baby. You can also place some fun items or their favorite toy inside to make the experience even more enjoyable.
Sensory play is a crucial part of your baby’s experience, and has been linked to the building of more nerve connections in the brain, which then translates to better scientific thinking and problem solving abilities.
Setting up most of these activities barely takes any time, but can go a long way in boosting your one year old’s cognitive abilities in more ways than one.
