Let's Sense | Sensory Activities for Babies | KiwiCo Panda (2024)

This month, you and your baby will explore:

cause and effect
Studies show that babies as young as 2 months understand the basics of cause and effect. Your baby gets little lessons in this every time you interact, observing your reactions to their coos and cries.

vision
Your baby’s abilities to see farther and moreclearly, perceive depth, and differentiate colors are improving every day. And few things beat mirrors to help sharpen sight!

tracking
Reading together builds your baby’s visual tracking skills (the ability to follow moving objects with their eyes). As you turn the pages, watch how your baby’s eyes move from side to side. Up-and-down tracking will come a little later.

touch
Exposing your baby to different textures — silky ribbons, fluffy fleece, crunchy crinkles — promotes their overall development. Let them explore objects with all of their tactile sensors: hands, mouth, skin, and even feet!

hearing
Hearing is fully developed at birth. Beginning at 3–4 months, your baby is refining how to differentiate sounds and figure out what makes them.

fine motor & grasp
Fine motor skills means more than hand strength and grasp! When your baby gums a toy, they’re also building the small muscles around their mouth. Drool aside, exploring this way is a critical step toward forming words, self-feeding, and more.

gross motor & bilateral coordination
Toward month 4, your baby might start to show bilateral coordination — using both sides of the body together. Inside that little noggin, the halves of their brain are beginning to sync up — laying the foundation for skills like walking and writing. Bilateral coordination is linked to the vestibular system, the “hidden” sense that helps with balance and posture.

hand-to-hand transfer
Passing an object between your hands is automatic — but not for your baby. It requires using many skills at once, like tracking, hand-eye coordination, directedgrasping, and more. It will be a few months before this gets more fluid.

language & communication
Your baby can’t form words yet, but they’re doing plenty of communication — making noises at you, smiling, grasping your hand. Talk, read, and sing to your baby to help them develop language. Noticing and responding to their attempts to connect is key to boosting their skills.

cause and effect
Studies show that babies as young as 2 months understand the basics of cause and effect. Your baby gets little lessons in this every time you interact, observing your reactions to their coos and cries.

vision
Your baby’s abilities to see farther and moreclearly, perceive depth, and differentiate colors are improving every day. And few things beat mirrors to help sharpen sight!

tracking
Reading together builds your baby’s visual tracking skills (the ability to follow moving objects with their eyes). As you turn the pages, watch how your baby’s eyes move from side to side. Up-and-down tracking will come a little later.

touch
Exposing your baby to different textures — silky ribbons, fluffy fleece, crunchy crinkles — promotes their overall development. Let them explore objects with all of their tactile sensors: hands, mouth, skin, and even feet!

hearing
Hearing is fully developed at birth. Beginning at 3–4 months, your baby is refining how to differentiate sounds and figure out what makes them.

fine motor & grasp
Fine motor skills means more than hand strength and grasp! When your baby gums a toy, they’re also building the small muscles around their mouth. Drool aside, exploring this way is a critical step toward forming words, self-feeding, and more.

gross motor & bilateral coordination
Toward month 4, your baby might start to show bilateral coordination — using both sides of the body together. Inside that little noggin, the halves of their brain are beginning to sync up — laying the foundation for skills like walking and writing. Bilateral coordination is linked to the vestibular system, the “hidden” sense that helps with balance and posture.

hand-to-hand transfer
Passing an object between your hands is automatic — but not for your baby. It requires using many skills at once, like tracking, hand-eye coordination, directedgrasping, and more. It will be a few months before this gets more fluid.

language & communication
Your baby can’t form words yet, but they’re doing plenty of communication — making noises at you, smiling, grasping your hand. Talk, read, and sing to your baby to help them develop language. Noticing and responding to their attempts to connect is key to boosting their skills.

cause and effect
Studies show that babies as young as 2 months understand the basics of cause and effect. Your baby gets little lessons in this every time you interact, observing your reactions to their coos and cries.

What’s inside?

1. 

   In Essentials + Plus + Deluxe:

   Spiral Toy Holder

   Encourage reaching and grasping with a soft spiral that doubles as a hanging toy holder for your baby.

2. 

   In Essentials + Plus + Deluxe:

   High-Contrast Wood Book

   Make up a story together and imitate the sounds of the vehicles to help develop early language skills.

3. 

   In Essentials + Plus + Deluxe:

   Hanging Toy Set

   Introduce three new shapes and textures with a sun, moon, and star — perfect for grasping and mouthing.

4. 

   In Essentials + Plus + Deluxe:

   Wood Rattle Set

   Shake, turn, and roll the two rattles back and forth to practice visual tracking while introducing engaging sounds.

   See Also

   Boost Kids’ Minds with Hands-On Science Toys – Plants And LightsEngaging Science Toys for Early Learning Fun – Plants And LightsSt Patrick's Day Sensory Play Activities

5. 

   In Essentials + Plus + Deluxe:

   Crinkle Book

   Grabbing and crunching the crinkly pages makes storytime more interactive for your baby.

6. 

   In Essentials + Plus + Deluxe:

   Grownup Guide

   Over 20 pages of research-backed guidance, development milestones, and activities to try at home.

7. 

   Only in Plus + Deluxe:

   Ocean Explorer Baby Activity Wedge

   This rectangular block unfolds into a wedge with ten panels for your baby to explore during tummy time, full of exciting textures and creatures.

8. 

   Only in Deluxe:

   Car, Car, Truck, Jeep

   Introduce vehicles with a sing-along book to the tune of “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep.”