• Container (e.g., shoe box, plastic bowl, basket, purse) 
• Household items or toys to fill and dump (e.g., small blocks or other toys, bean bags, rolled socks, plastic spoons) 

Step 1: Place your baby in a seated position on the floor.  Put a container in front of him filled with a variety of safe items.  

Step 2: Watch as your child lifts the items up to explore and transfers them from hand to hand.  

Step 3: Encourage your child to empty the containers and then fill them back up.  

Step 4: Provide simple language to describe what is happening. For example:

“You found a bean bag. It’s soft and squishy. The block feels hard. You dumped all the blocks on the floor. They made a lot of noise.” 

Step 5: Make it fun. Follow your child’s lead and stop the activity when your child is no longer interested.