Many play opportunities involve young children using their hands to explore, experiment, discover and create with the materials they are offered. While children are manipulating resources, their hand, eye and brain co-ordination is being developed and their spatial thinking is also being stimulated.
The use of 'treasure baskets' with items to stimulate all five senses has long been encouraged for babies, but the use of different materials with different textures can be adapted for the two-to three-year-old age group too. As young children develop they need a variety of objects made from different materials and with different textures to pick up, handle, twist and turn. They also like to bang objects, scrunch them up and pull them. Any materials should be presented to children in an attractive and challenging way, motivating them to become more curious.
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