Gourd Exploration

Early in the fall, we bought O a big bunch of gourds.  One morning when I got up before him, I put the gourds in a basket and put the basket out in the middle of the living room floor.  I didn't direct his attention to it as I wanted to observe his natural discovery.  After his morning routine of drinking kefir on my lap, he got down to play as usual but stopped when he saw the basket.  He knelt down to inspect it.

He removed them one by one and then put them back in. 

                 He realized some of them were heavier then others and required a two handed grip.

He couldn't verbalize it but it was obvious that he realized the different textures, some were bumpy and some were smooth.  

The colors were also bright and attractive.  There was a great deal of sensory stimulation with this simple activity.  

After living in this basket for a few days, I found some gourds ended up in his wagon that he pushes around the house and some ended up in his book corner.  They have officially become part of his collection of toys.  I love having nature inside the house for him to become familiar and comfortable with. Natural materials inspire investigations, open little ones up to the world around them and provide them with great sensory experiences.  

An activity like this might be good at any age if the child is able to lift something as heavy as a gourd.  If your child puts everything in their mouth, I would wash them off first.   As your child gets older gourds can be used for counting, learning colors, labeling textures (smooth, bumpy, pointy), and even sorting by shape/color/texture.  I did try to extend the activity by cutting a gourd in half for O to touch the insides but it wasn't successful.  He cheered when we got it open but had no interest in touching it.  Oh well, maybe next year.