Much like jellymo, I'm a nursery nurse also (not currently working as one tho) and babies/toddlers just love these and we would always have one out for them - rotating the items weekly.

You can introduce the items to LOs who can't sit up and explore the boxes themselves - one great thing is HUGE feathers as you can tickle them all over and all of the 0-1's loved these - and bigger LOs can explore the box themselves. In our 0-1 room we had a big mirror as well we would sometimes situate the basket in front of so the LOs could see themselves and the objects, if you want to mix it up a bit.

They are such fab things and I cannot praise them enough!

They are a form of exploratory play so think of your five senses when going for things like this. One most people leave out is smell - I made little 'scented socks' as one of my initial play experiences for the LOs in my nursery when I was still training and by the end of the week every under 3s room had them in them for the children to explore. I just popped lavender and mint in the socks (just regular kids socks in nice pastel colours) and doubled them up so that it couldn't fall out. We even changed them up with the 2-3's and put some not-so-nice smells in there so they could explore them too (one of which was chamomile - smells a bit like sick! but its a relaxant!) (on a side note - mint is a really funny one because babies love it - think of all the times you brush your teeth and then go to give them a cuddle!)

It's all part of a child's way of developing through schemas (the theory bit if your interested), including 'enveloping' - covering things up/hiding objects and watching them reappear, 'connecting' - lining up objects along the floor (think of train carriages), 'enclosure' - putting things in and out of containers... god there is tons... wait I found a link if your interested:

http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=357248

It is also a great way to give little life experiences like using a spoon and a bowl for mixing for example.

So things like:
little boxes with large wooden beads inside so that they rattle but are also available to take out to uncover hidden objects
lots of different materials - metal on metal is a good noise maker so like whisks, spoons etc
Coasters are great - you can get so many different materials like rubber and straw - just test their strength first obv.
Decorative items like large wooden/plastic decorative balls (au naturale was always a great place to find things for treasure baskets)
Lots of nice natural items - large stones, fir cones (obv depending on age as these have the habit of breaking into a million little bits!)...

Ikea is fabby too...

Honestly I think if someone made me one I would be entranced by it haha! I'm very passionate about them and think they are fabby!

xx

Hi, I'm a nursery teacher and even children of 3/4 years love treasure boxes. We have loads and tend to put them in little themes as they are a little older and love to sort things! In the classroom we have 'natural objects' with feathers, stones, concers, cones, shells, & acorns 'shiny' with things like door handles, door nobs, old CDs which they love watching spin, sweet wrappers, tin
foil, keys, old jewellery, cuttlery, 'plastic things' bottles filled with coloured water, different coloured lentils, rice, sand, water/glitter, plastic plates, cutlery, rattles (there's loads of plastic things!) 'wooden' spoon, types of wood (sticks, small sanded bits, bits with bark on etc to explore texture) lolly sticks of diff shapes, small chopping board, 'buttons' loads of different buttons (maybe not for babies!!! But older children love playing with buttons and beads) 'Socks and shoes' loads of different sizes, colours, types for sorting, matching, ecploring size, shape, colour, fastening etc 'noisy things!' thing that bang (tins, finger cymbals, sauce pan lid, wooden spoon, 2pieces of wood) thing that u blow (recorder, whistle, pan pipes, trumpet mouthpiece) thing that u strum (elastic bands around something, small guitar) and things that u shake (rattle, filled bottles/pots, clappy hands)

have fun making and exploring your senses!!!!! Lol

Elyse's changes all the time but I have:

Large jingle bells (as in too big for her to fit in her mouth and choke on)
Little People characters (she is obsessed with them, we have the Noah's Ark set and she is forever knawing on Noah's head)
Craft feathers
Small books
Bubble wrap, cellophane... for crinkly noisy "paper"
The cardboard tube from paper towels
Her extra toothbrush
A couple of her wooden ABC blocks
A rattle
A pair of her leg warmers rolled up
Old cell phone
Small stuffed animals/finger puppets

... I kinda make up the contents as I go along, I change it up so it's not always the same thing too.



She sits with it and opens it and pulls things out and examines them, then either puts the item back in and gets something else or starts a big pile of the things she's pulled out.

It is perfect for when I can't play with her right that second (like when cooking or just tired/sore from playing on the floor! lol).

Fantastic ideas! I love the thought of scented socks. I''m going to need a bigger treasure box!

yeah tacey...i'm thinking i now need a treasure room!!!

Thank you so much to the nursery ladies, you've given me loads more great ideas! I think I've been a bit lazy with ours, it hasn't changed much since I started it....

what kind of box do you use for the treasure box?

I just use a medium sized wicker basket

Thanks to you all! I'd heard of treasure boxes and have meant to get one sorted for ages. You've given some really lovely ideas for it. thanks!