selective focus photo of baby playing activity cubetoddler holding assorted-color Crayola lotassorted-color alphabet cube toy lot

I have contemplated a multitude of ideas for the free inquiry project, including learning American Sign Language, learning how to knit, creating a community garden amongst others. However, with the amount of coursework that has begun to pile up in the Elementary PDPP, I have decided that I would prefer to pursue an inquiry that will allow me to spend purposeful time with my 11-month-old son, Noah. With that in mind, I have begun to play around with ideas related to providing sensory activities for Noah that are engaging and fun while also helping to foster his development. I would like to search out individual sensory activities or experiences that Noah and I can do together and then culminate what I learn into one final product. I plan to do some research before deciding what that final product might be, but at the moment I am considering a customized busy board for Noah based on the experiences that were most engaging or productive for him. Creating a busy board may also require me to seek help or information regarding the actual construction or building of the board.

 

Image result for busy board

 

Questions related to sensory activities and sensory or busy boards:

  • What colours or colour schemes encourage interaction?
  • What colours are typically used?
  • How many colours are ideal?
  • What textures are used on typical sensory or busy boards?
  • How many textures should be incorporated on a sensory board?
  • What is the optimal number?
  • Which textures interest Noah?How can sounds be incorporated?
  • What materials are generally used?
  • What materials are safe for a toddler?
  • What materials or items are educational or generally thought to foster development?
  • What might be the optimal size for a busy board?
  • Is there any way to incorporate taste into a sensory board?
  • How can I increase the longevity of my busy board so that Noah can use it for a number of months?

I’m going to use the diagram below from the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry as a guide for the process of my inquiry. At the moment I am at the ‘generate starting questions and quests.