Make a Sensory Learning Box with Stuff You Already Have

If you're like me, you probably have an abundance of craft items that currently make a corner or closet of your home look like an episode of Hoarders.  Well, now is the time to put all that stuff to good use!  My little guy is into EVERYTHING, and he loves to explore different textures.  Thus, the tactile sensory box was born, using items from around our house and my craft stash.   Fire up your hot glue guns girls!  

 To start, you'll need a box to adhere all your items to.  I used this nicer box from an empty Project Life kit that has a magnetic closure.  You could easily use a gift box, shoe box or even a piece of cardboard/foam core.  Just make sure it's sturdy enough to withstand repeated abuse from little hands.

When looking for items, make sure you keep baby's safety in mind.  Even though all of the items I included are rather large, this would something I would only give my little guy while I supervised. I hot glued the beejebus out of ALL of these things, but you never know what little fingers are capable of.   :)

I laid them all out on the top and bottom before I glued anything down so that I could adjust the sizes and spacing.

Here are the items I included:

For items that are clear or blend into the white background, I just added a little doodling to draw baby's eye.

 The woven pleather material is a piece of a makeup bag that came with a free gift from a cosmetics counter.  And the fur, well, comes from my outdoorsman of a husband.  Oddly enough, it's Jack's favorite thing to touch in the box.  Faux fur would totally suffice.

My little guy LOVES this, and keeps him busy for quite some time.  The beauty of this project is that you can customize it to include what you have around your house, and it's FREE!  Here are some other items you could include:

small slice of wood
rocks
pipe cleaners
cotton balls/pom poms
burlap
piece of wash cloth
sandpaper
raffia
velcro
yarn
glitter paper
felt
waxed paper
faux fur
popsicle sticks
sequined/beaded fabric
puff paint dots