Homemade Sensory Toys

Thanks to Gemma Conyard who sent us this lovely picture of her son with a red trimmed Trabasack Curve Connect. "My son with his Trabasack curve connect, I made him textured activity discs to keep him occupied while out and about " She has put discs of material with different textures and colours so he can explore them. The sensory discs are a brilliant idea, being lightweight and easy to put inside the trabasack, they are great for children travelling in their buggies. I love the way she has put a little clacking frog in the middle so that it makes a click when he presses it!

Trabasack Connect is very good for attaching toys and materials as it has a soft fabric covering that sticks to 'hook' or rough velcro tape. I expect each of the sensory discs has a small piece of 'hook' tape so that it can be repositioned around the trabasack tray top.

Trabasack was created by a mum designing something that helped her child play so we love it when we see people creating toys to use with it.

You can use it to attach all sorts of homemade sensory toys. Here is a sensory toy that we made for our son last year. It doesn't include a picture of our Joe as he had quite gruesome chicken pox at the time!

As you can see, we used some plastic bottles, some masking tape (orange and neon!), plastic flowers, tin foil and some wind chimes.

There are lots of things around the house that can be used as sensory play toys. You can experiment with anything with textures, bright colours or that make interesting noises, as long as it is safe for your child. If you enjoy crafts, doing it can be a lot of fun.

Other ideas for the discs shown could be sticking different types of pasta to them, or cotton reels on string, shells, other textured materials like leather or suede, patterned or woven cloth, or even old plastic bags and canvas. Exporing them can help your child's fine motor skills and development.

Homemade sensory toys on a Trabasack Curve Connect, including plastic bottles with tinfoil, plastic flowers, wooden block, a bamboo arch with windchimes

When you have experimented please do send your pictures to us at info(at)trabasack.co.uk Any pictures showing homemade toys on a trabasack will win one of our fun Trabasack 'Manifesto' T Shirts.

The value of sensory play

Sensory play is one of the most valuable experiences you can offer your child from the day they're born. It's crucial for a baby's development and growth and I've certainly seen sensory development in my little girl in the last twenty weeks of her life. From recognising her own name to the range of screams and babbles she knows, she's definitely growing at an alarming rate!

It's believed that one of the first senses to develop is touch and I'd definitely vouch for this. My little girl grabs everything and anything from drinks cans (no, I'm not letting her drink it!) to tissues and her little fingers are desperate to feel and get to know every texture. Her first definable giggle came from pressing her feet into crumpled newspaper!

Sensory play generally relates to any sort of play time which relates to the use of one of the five key senses. Most of our sensory play at the moment relies on my daughter's sense of touch, however you could focus on any of the senses. If you want to focus on your child's sense of sight try shiny and bright objects or even light displays. If you want to focus on your child's sense of hearing, opt for a fantastic music box or a range of kid's musical instruments. Sensory play is really down to you and your child's imagination.

Sensory play is a fantastic and important stage in your child's development but when they're as young as mine it can be hard to find a way to show them different textures and toys as she's not yet able to sit unaided. We've recently been offered a fantastic solution which has made sensory play a lot easier.

We are the lucky owners of a Trabasack, a versatile tray bag which we use by attaching it to my daughter's buggy and placing different toys, items and even foods to play with! My little girl can now lean forward in her seat and securely reach and play with the items of her choice, she is learning new textures and flavours every day!

Trabasack is play tray that has an integral bag for anything you need to carry. It comes with straps that allow it to be attached to a buggies, car seats or pushchairs in a vartiey of ways. It is soft and light weight whist still being tough and durable. It is even machine washable.

Since we've had our Trabasack, it's given me the opportunity to make some economical sensory toys for us to play with. Favourites include rice filled tubs, little sandboxes and of course her favourite, the mirror (taken from my own toiletries bag). It's great to be able to have buckets of fun without spending lots of money and without our Trabasack we'd find it really hard, at least until she's sitting up on her own (give me strength!).
As my daughter grows and learns, our sensory play box can develop further and I'm really looking forward to the changes and developments in her and our play time as she grows!

Send in a picture of you or your child with a homemade sensory toy on a trabasack and win one of our special Trabasack 'Manifesto' T-shirts. Our T-short is a 'crowd sourced' design featuring slogans and sayings sent in by Trabasack fans on facebook and twitter.

Our T shirts our 100% sweat shop free organic cotton.

The black shirt shows slogans that are our 'Manifesto' in red and white lettering on the front and our logo on the back.
Here is a list of the slogans: Bag a table anywhere, Sing, Grow together, Sow, Sew, Global family, Love your neighbour, Level up a wonky world, Make music, Smile, Share, Make art not war, Access all areas, WAKE UP, Free hugs, Make things happen, Straight from the hip, Express yourself, Read more, Good as gold, Play games

These are limited edition shirts and when they are gone they will become rare items!

This unique, original AND award winning product is a great play tray which your kids can use wherever and whenever they want! Trabasack is the best kids play tray on the market as you can take it out and about as well as playing at home. Whether your child is in a buggy or older, they can use their Trabasack to play with and also store their toys.

Trabasack kids play tray comprises both a handy play tray surface and a  bag compartment so the toys can all be stored safely when not in use and you can keep tidy (or at least try to). It's extremely convenient as you can simply pop it on your back and use it as a rucksack when out and about and if you're on the bus or train, in the car or even sat in a cafe, your child can get their toys and games out and play on their Trabasack instead of disrupting other travellers, putting themselves in danger or disrupting the lunch table!

Another great feature of the Trabasack is its "Connect" surface which is a velcro receptive top for the tray. If you opt for a Trabasack with "Connect" surface, you can safely secure more expensive toys to the surface and not worry about them being damaged or launched from the tray surface.This is a great option for when you're travelling as you know how annoying it gets when prized Mr Piggy goes rolling down the bus aisle and you have to chase after him!

Trabasack also produce a range of accessories to support play time including a Trabasack Mat which keeps the Trabasack nice, clean and dry during messy play. It can also be put in the washing machine with your normal washing on a thirty degree wash.

There are endless uses for your Trabasack, depending where your child is playing and how they want to play! It can be great for introducing new toys and experiences to young babies and is great for travel as you can keep the kids occupied without having to constantly worry about them disappearing or the toys suddenly going missing!

For more information please head to our other site Buggy Tray or the main Trabasack site to purchase. Trabasack is also available from Amazon see above