Veronika is just starting to recognize the written numeral that goes along with each number, and I thought it might be fun to make the experience more hands-on today. After all, toddlers learn so well through sensory play!

I set up a classic sensory bag for this activity, just a large zip-top bag filled with cheap clear hair gel. I kept the layer of gel very light so the emphasis was on the numbers.

Add the foam numbers and seal the bag, and it’s ready for your child to squish the numbers around. Big brother Travis wanted to see how it felt, too!

At first I only used numbers 0 through 4, intending to keep things simple. But she spotted the extra numerals (5 through 9) on the floor and wanted a new bag for them. Since she was already tempted to open up the goopy bag, I decided to give her a clean one for this second batch of numbers

She loved adding 5 through 9 to this second bag, then taking them out and starting over again. This turned out to be even better, because she named each number as she added it! I was surprised to realize she already seems to know 5, 7, and 8 quite well.

She also discovered that the bags were fun to toss on the floor, especially the one filled with hair gel since it made a satisfying plop when it landed.

So we had some good sensory play with some good early learning built right in.