Treasure Basket: Puzzles

 

Here's what's inside:

:: Chunky puzzle pieces from our Melissa & Doug Sea Life puzzle.

This is the *easiest* basket to put together!  And, not surprisingly, Juliet loves them - the colors, the shapes, and since they're made of wood and non-toxic paint, I have no qualms about her putting them in her mouth.  I often mix and match the pieces since we have several of the M&D Chunky puzzles.

While none of these things are choking hazards, I always observe Juliet while she explores these baskets.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Sounds

A basket filled with things that make gentle sounds.

Here's what's inside:
:: Glass jar filled with various beans
:: One of the sound cylinders from our set
:: Maraca (from my trip to Mexico)
:: Crocheted bells
:: Cherry teether
:: Baby "rainstick"

While none of these things are choking hazards, I always observe Juliet while she explores these baskets.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Soft

A sweet little treasure basket filled things oh so soft. :)

Here's what's inside:
:: A large and beautiful rainbow silk
:: Fabric number
:: Counting cookie
:: Knitted bunny
:: Fluffy "pillow"
:: Velour fabric square
:: Wee dolly

While none of these things are choking hazards, I always observe Juliet while she explores these baskets.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Instruments

Here's what's inside:
:: Rhythm sticks
:: Maraca
:: Clacker
:: Castanet
:: Jingle bells
:: Mini rain stick

LOTS of textures and sounds in this one! I think this was Juliet's favorite so far!

While none of these things are choking hazards, I always observe Juliet while she explores these baskets.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Spheres & Cubes

A couple more baskets this week. Sometime soon I hope to get around to showing you how these are displayed in Juliet's Montessori bedroom.

Spheres

Here are the types of shperes I selected:
:: Felted wool
:: Large multicolor/texture
:: Wooden (from our Geometric Solids set)
:: Open section sphere within a sphere
:: Knitted
:: Circular holes (so easy to grab on to!)

Cubes

Here are the types of cubes I selected:
:: Purple squeezie
:: Jumbo Lego
:: Wooden alphabet
:: Lacing bead
:: Wooden (from our Geometric Solids set)
:: Cube within a cube

While none of these things are choking hazards, I always observe Juliet while she explores these baskets.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Wood II

I call this basket... wait for it... "Wood TWO". Ha! Creative, huh? :)

Here's what's inside:
:: Spoon
:: Sound cylinder from our Montessori sound box set
:: Interlocking discs
:: Roped beads
:: Maple rattle
:: Alphabet block

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Reflective

This was a fun one. Juliet loved looking at her reflection and every now and then she'd catch me in the mirror too and she'd quickly look over to where I actually was and smile. SO heartwarming to see her growing and learning.

Here's what's inside:
:: Pocket mirror - this is a foldable mirror that also has a pop out brush attached to it. Really neat - just the right size for Juliet's hand and she really enjoyed the bristles of the brush. I found this in the cosmetic section at our local pharmacy.
:: A handheld mirror
:: A small square mirror - this came from our fabric bag.
:: A round mirror - this came from James' old baby playmat.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Brushes

A new treasure basket! This one is called "brushes". :)

Here's what's inside: (note: all of these brushes are new.)
:: Vegetable brush
:: Two small hair brushes - one with soft bristles, the other with firm bristles
:: Blush brush
:: Infant toothbrush
:: Paint brush
:: Nail brush

I should note that I tested all of the brushes first, pulling on them to be sure the bristles/hairs wouldn't come loose. And, as always, I monitored Juliet while she explore this basket.

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Rings

I noticed Juliet likes to hang on to things, so I created this basket with that in mind...

Here's what's inside:
:: Mama-made interlocked rings
:: Textured teether
:: Jumbo bead bracelet
:: Cookie cutter
:: Wood napkin ring

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Blue, Green, & Purple

More colorful treasure baskets! Here are blue, green, and purple:

Here's what's inside:
:: Circle shaped cookie cutter
:: Bristle block
:: Baby brush & comb
:: Foam cylinder
:: Mama-made knitted bird
:: Tiny cup with handle
:: Wooden sphere (from our geometric solids set!)
:: 3 nesting cups

Here's what's inside:
:: Textured links
:: Measuring spoon
:: Foam number
:: Duplo lego
:: Soft piece of fabric
:: Nesting cup
:: Sphere
:: Small silky pillow
:: Large square lacing bead

Here's what's inside:
:: Foam triangle
:: Links
:: Wet felted wool egg
:: Stacking bowl
:: "Hidden" brush - that's the purple thing with the black center - you open it up and there's a mirror and a pop out brush inside.
:: Large mirror
:: Squishy block

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Red, Orange, & Yellow

You know me and my love of themes. :) I couldn't resist making a treasure basket for each color - here are red, orange, and yellow. . .

What's inside:
:: Small (new) hairbrush
:: Mama-made knitted ball
:: Apple shaped cookie cutter
:: Silicone texture teether
:: Wooden disk
:: Piece of silk
:: Squishy block
:: Oval clip ring

What's inside:
:: Two oval clip rings
:: Knitted sample
:: Silicone spiked teething toy
:: Thick foam letter G
:: Squishy block
:: Textured bowl
:: Castanet

What's inside:
:: Two cups
:: Bit of ribbon
:: Tiny book
:: Wooden screw
:: Oval clip ring
:: Crochet flower
:: Triangular container

Click here to read my very first treasure basket post for details on the how and why behind treasure baskets. Click here to view my treasure basket slideshow on the Counting Coconuts Facebook page.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Wood

Now this one may look a bit boring (to us, anyway - this was one of Juliet's faves!), but there are all sorts of shapes, textures, and even sounds in this basket.

Here's what's inside: (all wooden)
:: bowl
:: maraca
:: train track (from James' train set)
:: owl teether (handcrafted by my friend's father!)
:: sheep
:: jumbo die
:: the basket itself!

Read my first Treasure Basket post for more details on the how and why behind Treasure Baskets.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Kitchen

This one could also be dubbed "shiny". : )

Here's what's inside:
:: Whisk

:: Small measuring cup
:: Spoon
:: Small tin w/ cheerios inside (in case it opens, the contents are edible!) that make a nice "tinking" sound when shaken.
:: Pretty napkin - Juliet likes playing peek-a-boo. :)
:: Cake mold
:: Tiny creamer w/ handle

Read my first Treasure Basket post for more details on the how and why behind Treasure Baskets.

~Thank you for your comments!~

Treasure Basket: Black & White

For about the past two months or so I've been making treasure baskets for Juliet (8 mos.). I read about this idea ages ago in the wonderful book How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin. I thought it might be fun to share a new treasure basket with you each week. :)

The idea behind a treasure basket is simple. It's basically a gathering of 5-10 objects of various characteristics (shape, color, texture, etc.), all contained in a basket (or box) for your child to explore with their senses.

This is the very first basket I made. Juliet LOVED it and explored it for a good 30 minutes!

Here's what's inside:
:: Fabric spider (from this funny doll)
:: Crochet rattle (from this lovely set)
:: Knitted rabbit
:: Breast pad - ok, I know this sounds weird, but Juliet loves these things. I'm sure it's because they remind her of our nursing sessions (btw, we're going on 9 months of breastfeeding over here - wohoo!).
:: Poached egg cup
:: Soft scrub brush
:: Large crochet flower
:: Bit of ribbon
:: Star shaped cookie cutter
:: Cow

This has got to be one of the most frugal ways to "entertain" your child. All in all I've made quite a few baskets already - about 25, I think. Some Juliet has used, others are on hand ready to go for the coming weeks/months. She plays with her basket every day and I change the "theme" every 4-5 days. I definitely plan to repeat the baskets and I keep all of the items together in one large bin.

One thing you'll notice in my baskets is that I reuse a lot of items (e.g. the cookie cutter in the "black and white basket" also works well in the "kitchen basket"). Also, I purchased very few new things for these baskets and that's only because it was unsanitary not to. 99% of the items were already in our home.

Oh and I make sure the items aren't harmful (i.e. sharp, broken, too small, toxic), but it's important to note that Juliet explores these baskets under my supervision. You just never know. I'm also careful not to interfere with her explorations. A treasure basket can be very stimulating and there's lots of learning going on in the process of discovery!

I have a "Treasure Basket" board on Pinterest, so be sure to visit for more ideas and links. If any of you are interested in sharing your treasure baskets, please feel free to add your link in the comments section. : )

~Thank you for your comments!~