By using a treasure basket with children at this age you are providing them with rich mental stimulation, which not only activates the growth of the brain but also provides richly satisfying experiences for the baby.įor a Treasure Basket to be an effective tool in the play and development of babies, the most important factor is an attentive and calm caregiver, who creates a relaxed atmosphere and is available to the child during their play and exploration. The predominant way that babies under the age of one discover and learn about their world is through sensory motor development, during this stage a baby's primal instinct is to explore objects by handling and mouthing them in order to find out about their physical characteristics. It is through handling and exploring these objects that a baby develops contact with the outside world, and begins to make their own choices and decisions. The Treasure Basket is a ridged low sided round basket filled with 'objects' from the 'real world' these 'objects' are made from any material but plastic, and come from a variety of sources in nature and the around the house.
Heuristic play with babies revolves around the use of the Treasure Basket - the Treasure Basket can be used with babies from the time that they can sit unaided to around 16-18 months, during this phase the primary question a baby would ask if they could talk would be 'What is the object like?'. Using heuristic play with babies stimulates all the senses, creating a rich learning experience. We live in a world where plastic toys dominate the shelves of toy shops, but plastic is dull and disappointing for babies, and while each rattle may look different each one smells, tastes and feels the same - it is un-stimulating to a babies senses. For babies and toddlers heuristic play is very different, In this article we will focus on heuristic play with babies which revolves around the treasure basket, and later in 'part II' we will revisit heuristic play in regards to toddlers. These 'objects' are things from the real world.
Heuristic play describes the activity of babies and children as they play with and explore the properties of 'objects'. Heuristic play was a term coined by a child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid in the early 1980's.
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