Carson's New "Little Room"

Daddy & Carson in his Little Room before we knew
how to utilize it correctly  :)

We finally have a "Little Room" for Carson!  He's 2 years old already but no time is too late I say.  The "Little Room" concept was created by Dr. Lilli Nielsen, as a means of "active learning".  "Little Rooms" are especially helpful for visually impaired babies and kids.

My very wonderful and handy father put it together using peg board, plexiglass, PVC, and wire ties.  We followed these directions from Wonderbaby.

We met with Carson's amazing & gifted TVI (teacher of the visually impaired) this week and she gave me some great ideas for different items to hang and how to hang them.  I wanted to share what we did, in case there are others out there looking for ideas!

HOW TO HANG THE ITEMS

We used Round Elastic Cord that I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics.  It is best to use elastic so that the child can pull the items to themselves closer, so they can examine them better.  Because we made our Little Room a bit taller than the directions said, I cut each piece of cord about 18" long.

After double knotting the cord to each item, I slipped the cord into a hole from the top plexiglass or through the peg board on a side and I secured it with Sweatshirt Cord Stops that I also got from JoAnns.  This allows me to lengthen or shorten the cord as needed.

THE ITEMS

It's important to try and find things of various colors, textures, shapes, sizes, temperatures, and weight.  I found all my items at the Dollar Tree or in the dollar bins at Target.

Here is what we ended up with:

1) Plastic slotted spoon

2) 3 Plastic bangle bracelets

3) Bear toy whose body feels like a duster

4) Flimsy rubber trivet/hot pad

5) Plastic mardi gras chain necklace

6) Flat scratchy loufa. This one is in a clover shape.

7) Plastic "canteen" in the shape of a baseball.  I added beans to it for sound.

8) Small metal slinky.  I 'curved' it into a round shape.

9) Large plastic slinky.  I 'curved' it as well - and I like that he can compare similar objects that have differences, side by side.

These items are all waiting to be hung........

10) Gardner glove with marbles in it for noise

11) Plastic heart valentine decor

12) Shiny curled ribbon

13) Soft loufa

14) Hair brush

15) Squooshy ball.  It came with two but my daughter wanted one.  I'm going to leave it in the net it came with.

16) Part of a shiny envelope (kinda has a bubble wrap feel to it and makes a crinkle noise)

17) Ketchup bottle. I'm going to fill it with beans for sound and will glue the lid shut.

18) Paint brush

19) Marbles in a net.

20) Soft hot pad

21) Ba ba bottle holder. We had this at home already. Its a rubber thing you put around a baby bottle to make it easier for the baby to hold.

22) Small metal flashlight. (Wanted to add some metal items for it to feel 'cold' to the touch)

23) Scratchy hair rollers

24) Dog ball I found with different bumps on it.

I was also looking for a net filled with reusable ice cubes, but never found them.  

One 'tip' that our TVI recommended was that once you have items in place, to keep them there.  She compared it to my bedroom.... I know where everything is and no one else comes in and moves the objects.  After a few months, if you noticed an item is never played with, then it might be time to replace it.  I didn't know this 'tid bit' so wanted to share it.

As soon as I get more cord stops, we'll get his Little Room all perfected.  Can't wait to utilize this into our routine.  Carson is really loving his Little Room.  Here's a video of him in it today.  


UPDATED 7/24/13

We've had Carson's little room for just over 5 months now.  We use it on a daily basis!  Since then, we've made a few improvements and a few changes to the items hanging.

We added different texture squares around the room.  I took carpet, flooring, and turf samples that I found at Lowes, some different carpet samples we had at home, some small squares of a treadmill belt we had lying around, and some corrugated cardboard - and hot glued them all to a foam board I got at the dollar store.  I used zip ties to secure it on 2 sides of the little room.  I added a baby mirror that we had, to the third side of the room.  Now if he touches the sides of the room with his hands or feet, he'll get to feel various textures.  (plus, I like how it looks)


Also over time, we found some items were not safe for Carson to have - because he likes to put items in his mouth.  We had to remove the shiny ribbon, the net bag with marbles and we had finally found the reusable ice cubes, but had to remove them within 10 minutes as he bit through one of the cubes.  So take that into consideration if you have a child who puts items in their mouths.  To take the place of those items, I've hung measuring spoons and a rattle in the shape of a frog.

Carson adores his little room.  He loves his time in there!  I highly recommend building a little room for any child that is visually impaired  :)