How to make Baby sensory jars

The final #RespectThePasta challenge was ‘to get the whole family involved with pasta’ and I’ll admit I took this one in a bit of an odd direction, but there is pasta included I promise! You can see all my previous challenges as set by Ask Italian by clicking here! I always was a pasta fan but these challenges have helped me to enjoy it in different ways for sure!

As Athena is too young to really get involved with proper cooking, and still a bit young to be able to manage to stick things to other things I decided to make her some sensory jars with various things inside, so that both Sam and I can play with them with her.

This is so easy to do, all you need is:

a selection of empty jars (glass or plastic, mine are a selection of baby food jars from when my mum babysits so she doesn’t have to cook and jam jars)
fillings! ribbon, sequins, beads, pasta, glitter, paper shapes, anything really! Lots of these bits were from poundlands arts and crafts section
water/paint or food dye
strong glue

Method: put things in jars, add water to things with glitter in! Glue the lids down firmly so little fingers can’t pull them off though, or you may get messy play instead of sensory play! I decorated some jar lids with stickers and paper shapes or washi tape but it’s not really necessary!
Here are my finished jars:

Pasta shells with red paint and glitter in water, and pasta letters in yelllow paint and water

Dove shaped confetti with silver glitter in water & little glass beads in water, although I think on reflection I should left the water out so it rattles better!

Sequins in water & rolled up tissue paper in various colours.

And to wrap things up with a pasta-y feel these tiny little letter pasta is my favourite thing to make for Athena, with various sauces and veggies mixed in, it helps her motor skills too when she tries to pick them up! Both these and the tiny shell pasta are from Sainsbury’s.