Baby Play: Water Play

Make a water tray for your baby to play with once they are able to sit up in high chair or Bumbo. Great for encouraging your baby to explore and interact!

With the weather improving I have been trying to get the whole family out side to get more fresh air. Tinnie has been loving this and it has been a perfect opportunity to get him involved in some more sensory play activities. I thought that since he has a real love for baths we would start off trying water play. 

I set up the water tray by using a cat litter tray (don't panic this is brand new and I do not own any cats). I filled the tray with warm water and changed the colour with food colouring. As you can see I added balls to the water for Tinnie the move around and try to catch using both hands. 

I expected that Tinnie would be splashing like crazy as soon as I placed him in front of the tray. This was not the case as he was more interested in the grass surrounding him. When starting to try activities like this with babies its quite a good idea to sit at their level and support them in exploring the sensory material. I splashed the water and little and moved the balls from side to side. This encouraged Tinnie to do the same he began to move his hands under the water from side to side. 

Links to EYFS for 0-11 mths

Personal, Social and Emotional Development- 

Laughs and gurgles

Shows a range of emotions such as pleasure, fear and excitement

Physical Development- 

Makes movements with arms and legs which gradually become more controlled

Understanding of the World

Repeats actions that have an effect, e.g. kicking or hitting a mobile or shaking a rattle

Baking Egg Free Cookies for Fathers Day

We were recently sent a selection of products from Dr Oetker's to bake with. With fathers days less then a week away I wanted to share with you a recipe which we will be making as a little treat for our movie evening. We usually enjoy a movie together on a Sunday as a family treat. It's nice that we are all together and get to cuddle up together on the sofa with a bowl of pop corn. For fathers day we thought it would be nice to bake daddy some chocolate cookies to enjoy for a change. 

I adapted a recipe I have used before from Nurture Store swapping 2oz of flour for the same amount of coco powder. The recipe turned out great!! We added for chunks of cooking chocolate in some and chocolate drops in the others to test out the Dr Oetkers products and mixed in a handy sachet of their bicarbonate of soda. The chocolate chips were especially good as I did not realise but these chips do not melt when cooked but are still nice and soft while the cookies are warm. 

These made great treats for fathers day. My eldest two were able to help make the cookies for their dad and this made it extra special. This recipe is especially good for us because it is egg free for Little Man and can be frozen when baked meaning they can be put away for P's packed lunch. If your looking for recipes to try out for a little treat or even a gift for fathers day check out Dr Oetker recipes available on line. 

Disclaimer: We were sent Dr Oetker product to review and write about however all opinions are my own. 

Tomy Bumbo Floor Seat Review

Tinnie is now five month's old and is no longer satisfied to just have cuddles or tummy time. Instead he would like to have a clearer view of what is sister and brother are up to and to make it easier for him he needed a way of sitting up. I had originally tried his bouncer chair but the angle frustrates him. I had thought about getting him a Bumbo Floor Seat which aids baby in sitting up once they are able to support their head. 

We were recently sent a Bumbo floor seat and play Tray to review and I had exciting plan's on how the Bumbo could be used to test it out with Tinnie. 

Bumbo Floor Seat Features:

• The Bumbo helps your little one to sit upright once they are strong enough to support their own head, allowing them to engage with their surroundings and develop their posture. 
• The secure and moveable seat means that you can get on with jobs and still have baby beside you. 
• A detachable Play Tray is a perfect platform for your little one's toys and can be purchased seperately. 
• Easy to wipe clean, the Bumbo is great for using for eating or activities. 
• Suitable for babies 4-12 months,  but use should be determined by baby's physical development.
• New restraints mean that baby will not fall out of the Bumbo.  

My plan was to use the seat to involve Tinnie in his older siblings play, whether it be free play, messy or sensory play activities with me. I was a little bit unsure at first about using the seat to start with as Tinnie can not sit unaided and when looking at the website Bumbo.com I found the information and guidance very reassuring. 

I find Tinnie still leans forward a lot in his seat so I have not been using it too often yet. I have however used it for messy and sensory activities. Now he is getting older I will be trying lots of the activities out with Tinnie and the Bumbo Floor Seat has made this a lot easier.

Tinnie loves to throw toys across his tray and bang on it with his hands. I plan to use the seat a lot more in the future once Tinnie is more used to it. I love the fact that the seat now has a little seat belt for extra safety and it is so easily cleaned after our messy activities. 

For more information on Bumbo Floor Seats check out the website and visit Emma’s Diary for latest offers on the Bumbo

Disclaimer: We were sent a Bumbo and Bumbo tray to review however all opinions are my own.