Are you sharing the Gabby’s Dollhouse excitement at your house too? My 4-year-old, Annabelle, is over the moon about it. When we caught wind that Season 8 was dropping on Netflix this week, she practically did a happy dance!
Sure enough, yesterday was the big day, and right after breakfast, we kicked off the Gabby adventure with Episode 1. Little did I know, this would soon become a wellspring of sensory and learning activity ideas. Naturally, I grabbed my trusty notebook – it was note-taking time, folks!
Earlier this year, I took a cue from Melissa at Oh Hey Let’s Play! and started a Learning Journal for Annabelle. It’s essentially a blank sketchbook that I fill with engaging activities. (Here’s the one we use, in case you’re curious.) Now, with Gabby’s Dollhouse fueling my creativity, I was ready to craft some exciting learning opportunities!
💎 SOLVE THE CRYSTAL PUZZLE
In the first episode, MerCat has Gabby and Pandy hooked on a plan to attend a mermaid sparkle party – except the only way to get there is a rainbow bridge activated by crystals. To appear, the crystals must be perfectly placed in a puzzle. It clicked – this could be a fantastic Learning Journal activity, boosting visual perception, color matching, and fine motor skills!
My first attempt involved some jewel-like shells we had lying around. But, as it turned out, these “crystal-y” objects were a tad too challenging to trace and ended up looking blobby. I decided on buttons – easier to trace and match! Each button was color-coordinated with the shape. You could leave them as outlines for an extra challenge.
🌀 CRACKING THE PATTERN LOCKS
Post-rainbow bridge, CatRat swipes their crystals and locks them in a cave secured by a pattern lock. Gabby and Pandy have to decipher the pattern to unlock the treasure. Annabelle’s been all about patterns lately, so this was right up her alley.
I gathered cute under-the-sea stickers to stick to our theme, set up three unfinished patterns, and presented her with a pattern lock challenge. Stickers doubled as a sneaky way to sneak in some fine motor practice – win-win! (The next time I do a similar activity, I will use smaller stickers so I am able to repeat the pattern more than once for longer patterns.)
A mermaid-themed sensory bin had been on my mind, and Episode 1 delivered just the inspiration I needed.
“Dive under the bubbles for your mermaid tails!” Mercat prompts Pandy and Gabby.
I set up the sensory bin and gave Annabelle the task to “dive under the bubbles” and find a variety of mermaid tails, then sort them by size.
My collection included a few mermaid tail charms I’ve gathered over time.
I had the idea to cut out larger tails from paper. But guess what? Our mermaid tail popsicle holders were a perfect fit!
Just this morning the Mix & Match Mermaid set I ordered from mrs. davis does letters arrived. These will definitely elevate our future mermaid bins!
In the sensory table, I sprinkled a medley of mermaid tails, bedazzled them with jewels and seashells, and added a sprinkle of blue pompoms and fluffy cotton balls for a bubbly ocean effect. With figurines of Gabby, Pandy, and MerCat adrift in the bubble sea, I introduced a set of tweezers, a small scooper, and a few handy tools to fuel Annabelle’s explorations.
And wouldn’t you know it, Annabelle had an mer-tastic time discovering mermaid tails and arranging them by size. The imagination-fueled fun whisked her away to the whimsical world of Gabby’s Dollhouse!
So, if you’ve got a Gabby’s Dollhouse devotee in your midst, these learning journal and sensory activities might just be your golden ticket to learning, laughter, and endless adventures. Dive in, unleash your creativity, and let the magic of Gabby whisk your little one away on a meow-tastic journey! 🎉📖
Keep sparking joy!
Disclosure: Some of the links on the website are Amazon affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I may earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.