Tin Pan Alley

Fill a small basin with uncooked rice or sanitized sand (and have larger tin or pie pans handy). Give your baby some small tin pastry pans and plastic cups. Help her pour the rice or sand into these containers. Now turn the tin pie pans over so that the bottom of the pan faces upward. Help your baby pour rice or sand onto the bottom of the pan. What kind of sound does the rice or sand make when it hits the pan? This activity can also be done with water. Fill the basin with water and give your baby a small sprinkler can to use to pour water into and over the tin pans. Encourage her to listen to the water as it falls.

REMINDER: Provide constant supervision so your baby does not eat rice or sand.

This activity was written by Risa Young, director of early childhood programs for the Children's Aid Society in New York City.