Button, button, whose got some buttons for sensory and loose parts play, along with some fun, learning, and kindergarten readiness? Our house has buttons from several drawers and containers and getting them out is a favorite special day activity treat. Because it is so easy for kids to put buttons in small places like noses and ears, the buttons only come out when there’s time for grownups to watch.
Not all buttons are round, and they are certainly not plain. Buttons have different textures, depending on what they are made from, plastic, metal, fabric, wood, etc. Some are round and smooth, others quite bumpy. Plus, they are all different colors. Large buttons may be the size of small jar lids, and small ones as tiny as the eraser end of a pencil.
Kids play with buttons in various ways. One of the obvious ways is to sort them. A favorite activity is to thread buttons onto a long string for a bracelet or necklace. Buttons make different sounds when they are dropped, and quite a noise when fingers smoosh through them.
For some families, today is Armed Forces Day. Some of the buttons in this box are from uniforms. Showing a child these buttons is one way of starting a conversation about the various pictures and the people who wear these buttons. For a child with a mom or a dad in the Armed Forces, having a button of theirs is a sort of security blanket, a way of holding the connection.
What else can kids do with buttons? Do you have some buttons that your child can use for sensory and loose parts play? (Supervised, of course.)