This sensory bin didn’t turn out quite as attractive as I hoped, but the goal of course was fun, not Instagram worthiness, and Veronika sure had fun with it. Originally I hoped to arrange the tricolor visual of round honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon balls in a small tray. But with all my small Tupperware in the dishwasher and short on green honeydew, I set the balls only watermelon and cantaloupe on a baking sheet instead.

I added a few scoops and spoons, as well as a chopstick spear, and set Veronika loose!

She loved using the spoon first.

The chopstick was novel, and she lifted the pieces of melon up and down on it.

I encouraged her to get right in there with her hands, showing her how we could squeeze and squish the melon.

Of course this led to the delightful discovery that it tasted good.

And that it made a satisfying “splat!” when thrown against the floor.

In sum, this kept my thirteen-month-old busy for quite a while, filling cups, nibbling, and enjoying.