Play scarves for babies are one of my favorite open-ended toys to use during early learning. Get a pack and you won’t regret the many possibilities these colorful scarves have during playtime.
Scarves for baby play is a must-have during my sensory classes. I have made up so many games and have used them both in my class and at home that are always my #1 top open-ended toy every house must-have.
What are Play Scarves
baby play scarves are small pieces of colorful fabric. They see commonly seen in Waldorf playrooms and schools. Play scarves are also called play silks. They allow children to use their imaginations. Use them for capes, dress up, doll blankets, costumes and accessories.
We started with a small affordable play pack available on Amazon that are semi see-through and have been a staple in my sensory classes ever since. You can get large silk scarves on Etsy that are handmade and hand dyed.
no matter which one you choose, it is one of my recommended open-ended toys to add to any playroom.
What are open-ended toys
Open-ended toys are toys that have many possibilities for play. They aren’t bound to one form of play. For example, a Doctor’s cost costume can only function in one way: a doctor. You can’t make spontaneous changes depending on your mood. But an open-ended toy can be used to suit your child’s imagination.
The easiest way to remember what open-ended toys is by asking the question “who is in charge of play?” Is it the toy telling the child how to be used? Or is it the child manipulating it and choosing how the toy will be used and what today it will become.
Open ended toys can be, blocks or a play scarf. A play Silk scarf can be tied around the neck and become a cape, can be placed in a bowl and pretend it is soup, can be tied to a stuffed animal dog and pretend is a dog leash. Too many possibilities- one toy to use.
How do i Play with a Scarf for babies
Babies are not yet doing pretend play so a lot of the benefits form owning play scarves will come as they grow older. This doesn’t mean that it is not an excellent add on to their play areas.
Here are a few ways play scarves I have used with babies.
peek a boo
If you have been to any of my sensory or circle time classes, you know I always play the peek a boo song and we play with the scarves.
We place the scarf over their head and wait a few moments to see if they take it off.
I love that these scarves are a bit see-through so the kids can see us and we can see them. Making the game less scary for babies.
I have placed the scarf over my head and ask them to pull it off. I encourage for moms to do the same while in class.
I also love to place the scarves over a stuff animal or toy and when the song says “boo” quickly take the scarf off! So much fun!
scavenger hunt
Grab a few colorful scarfs and place them over a plastic bin. Add some toys in the bin, some easily viewable and others a bit harder to find. Encourage tour baby to remove the scarfs and find all the hidden treasures.
Rainbow bridge
London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down….
this is one of my favorite Nursery rhymes! And when Liz came over, I tied them all up to the end stick of a broom and hold it as mama called her name and encourage her to pass through.
Sounds easy? It is! But it is also a lot of fun! Liz had a great time also pulling the scarfs and taking them off (some were very loosely tied in).
I haven’t seen that girl laugh so much! This is a great activity if you’re baby is new to crawling. Is a great activity to encourage mobility.
Tummy time
If you’re baby is still not mobile you can still play with these baby scarves. Place them inside a wooden ring and encourage tori baby to pull the scarf out. Celebrate when she does.
Another idea is you can place the baby on her back and place the scarf over her head, just far enough but close enough that she can reach it. This encourages eye-hand coordination and is a lot of fun!
rescue the scarf
This game I love because it can be done from babies to toddlers.
Place the scarfs inside a basket and tie some yarn around it like a spider web. The older tour child is the more challenging you can make it.
Encourage tour kids to get the scarves out and practice color recognition by naming the color of the scarf they are taking out.
Learn colors with scarves
Teaching colors is one of my favorite subjects to teach. Scarves are a great interactive object to use. Think of them like mobile flashcards.
place the scarves openly in the floor and encourage your child to find similar toys and objects around the house of the same color. Place them over it.
Play tour favorite explore song and wave the color scarf as the song calls out for that name.
Small world play
As toddlers get older they will start enjoying little sceneries. While the babies are small, I always loved to used them scarfs to create these sceneries for them. It was part of my toy rotation and they loved playing with the small worlds I would create for them.
I have used green scarfs to pretend it is grass, or blue to pretend it is water.
Decorate the playroom
One of my favorite ideas has been to tie these scarfs to a string and attach them to the wall. I organized them in the colors of the rainbow and used it as a way to decorate the area. Our pictures came out great!
Where Can i get a baby play scarf
You can get a set like the one we have at Amazon. They are very affordable and last for a while.
As your kids get older you can invest in some high-quality ones made from silk and a lot larger. Etsy has some great stores that specialize in these high-quality play scarves and are just beautiful to have.