Treasure Baskets....

 

What are treasure baskets and how can they help babies and toddlers?

Treasure baskets are collections of objects that are usually natural or made from natural materials. They enable babies and toddlers to explore their senses and they can engage with these objects for prolonged periods of time.

The Treasure Basket concept was inspired by Elinor Goldschmied many years ago, but has caught on throughout the United Kingdom and increasingly in other countries as well. It is a simple yet profound idea, opposing the trend to give commercial plastic toys to babies by providing them instead with a richer sensory experience.

Treasure baskets can help babies and toddlers to: 

• explore natural objects, textures, colours using all of their senses
• develop attention and concentration
• practise and refine their fine motor control and hand/eye coordination
• make simple choices and develop preferences
• explore and develop current schemes and schemas or ways of learning

Ideally your collection of objects would be put into a naturally woven basket, for example wicker, seagrass, willow etc..

Fill the basket with as many natural objects as you can gather. 

You can also start to theme your baskets such as - sound basket, brush basket, shiny basket, bathroom basket etc...

What is the adults role? 

Adults should be attentive during a child's exploration of a treasure basket. They should not intervene except to ensure safety and maintain social contact with the child.

Toddlers may initiate interaction from the adult while exploring and therefore its a good idea to narrate their play and use descriptive language and repetition while they are engaged.

Take into consideration the children you are creating these exploration baskets for and depending on age and stage of development, you should review the contents regularly.

Safety and Hygiene of objects

• Make sure objects are wipeable, washable or disposable
• intervene if you are worried about a child's safety
• do not include items if you are unsure of the hygiene
• Check your baskets, collections of objects regularly
• Always consider the age and stage of the children 

Treasure Basket Inspiration..

• A Rolling Basket : A variety of balls, rings, wheels, tubes, coins, buttons, roll of tape, corks etc..
• A Touch Basket : Variety of different textures including shells, sponges, feathers, wood, hair brush, rope, chain, teddy bear pine cones etc..
• A Shiny Basket : spoons, chain, bells, kitchen utensils, costume jewellery, pots and pans, triangle, chimes, mirror etc...
• A Brush Basket : paint brush, hair brush, scrubbing brush, dustpan and brush, make up brushes, pastry brush, wallpaper brush etc...

For older children you could create baskets such as Sink or Float, Magnetic, Shapes, Light and Heavy, Sparkle and Shine etc..

Treasure baskets are a great way for little ones to explore their senses and the world around them. They are an excellent way to encourage Curiosity, Investigation and Discovery.

Treasure baskets and loose parts are a great way to support Schematic play too - check out my post on Schemes & Schemas!