Simple sensory bag using glitter and baby oil

Children learn so much from using their senses and so offering them a sensory bag, which acts like a big blob of water, is a great way for them to learn how to track movement with their eyes and develop a greater understanding of texture. This simple sensory bag using glitter and baby oil is also mess-free!  Seriously, how wonderful does this sensory glitter blob look! We played and played with it for so long and it really is amazing the learning we were able to achieve from a simple sensory bag using glitter and baby oil. It was lots of fun.

Recommended age: 1 year +
(Strict and constant supervision is require on this activity) 

Simple sensory bag using glitter and baby oil

To make this simple sensory bag that acts much like a blob of water, you need –  

• Zip lock plastic bag
• Sticky tape
• Baby oil
• Glitter or foil confetti

To make this is simple sensory glitter blog, I used a sandwich sized zip lock bag and added 3/4 cup of clear baby oil. To that I added about 2 tablespoons (or maybe 3) of roughly chopped multicoloured glitter. You can of course play around with these measurements to suit yourself and use whatever glitter you have on hand.  Once you have filled your sensory bag and happy with it, remove as much air as possible before sealing the zip seal. It’s also a good idea, now that I look back in hindsight, to fold over the zip seal and add sticky tape for extra strength. 

Don’t overload the bag!

When making this I would recommend not overloading your bag with too much oil or glitter.  This is because you don’t want the bag to break open and and overload of glitter will make it hard for your child to see the pieces move through the oil. 

Sensory fun! 

Boo (aged 15 months) had so much fun playing with her sensory blob. She hit, squished and pinched it. It was great for her to use her hand-eye coordination and understand more about cause and effect, watching the glitter move through the baby oil. Boo doesn’t put things in her mouth any more so I felt confident that wouldn’t be a problem for us, despite my constant supervision. If your child is still putting things in their mouth, avoid this activity. You might be interested in this sensory baby play activity instead! 

Learning about colours

As Boo was playing, of course big sister Possum (aged 4 years) wanted to join in. I was really lovely to see them both enjoying an activity together. Possum talked to Boo about the colours that she could see in the bag and pointed to them at the same time. 

Learning about size

Using the roughly chopped glitter, it gave us an opportunity to talk about the various sizes we could see. Possum moved the baby oil around the bag to highlight the different pieces.  Don’t forget the feet! Honestly, this is such a great sensory play activity for supervised children. They will want to play with it for such a long time and through their play they are learning about texture, cause and effect and more!  

Is this a play idea you think your child would love?

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