About Me
Hi, my name is Victoria and I live in Lincoln with my supportive husband, our 2 sons and our fur baby. I am a qualified Early Childhood Teacher and have loved every minute of my past 17 years of teaching.
I am a proud mother of two wee men who are very different in so many ways which keeps us busy. We extended our family in July 2022 with a handsome wee puppy which was a huge learning journey for us as a whanau but he is so delicious and perfect for us. We live a busy life with both working full time and spending our weekends as a family doing those wonderfully enriching experiences. Playgrounds, parks, family and friends, movie nights and just spending time as a family is what we value most.
My passion for children helped me develop my business Tori-Bella. This is a place where you can come to find those perfect products to support your child’s learning and development. I enjoy providing experiences which nurture young minds in a fun and open ended way so most of my products reflect this.
After working out that my own reluctance to engage with tactile experiences and unintentionally passing this onto my son, I’ve found that this has strengthened my knowledge of how important it is for children to experience a wide variety of Sensory Exploration experiences. I believe that by providing unique and quality resources for your child to engage with, supports their eagerness to engage in new and exciting experiences.
I'm looking forward to getting to know you and working together to support your child's development. Never hesitate if you are looking for something that I don't stock as we maybe able to create what you need.
What is sensory exploration?
Babies are born with the intention to explore our world with their sensors which explains why as they grow, they put everything in their mouths and touch everything. Children need support to discover and use their sensors so that they can gain the best knowledge and understand of how their world works. It also supports their fine motor skills which are the small muscle groups that help children to tie their shoes, zipping a zipper, writing and many more tasks.
Being involved in sensory exploration is a way children are able to discover, explore, categorise and make sense of their world. Therefore it is important to provide them with opportunities to engage in sensory play by ensuring there is a range of textures, tastes, objects and sounds.
There are many advantages of sensory exploration for preschool aged children and older. By being exposed to experiences where they have opportunities to explore uninterrupted, will give their brains the time to strengthen their nerve connections which can result in their memory being strengthened and provide a base for more complex learning.
It supports them to become more aware of their physical surroundings and learning about their own personal strengths and abilities. By engaging with them and providing them with positive feedback and experiences can affirm them as individuals and build on their confidence to seek out new challenges and experiences.
Engaging in tactile experiences can be soothing for some children so this is also a great resource to have to be able to pull out when they may need support to redirect and something to regulate their emotions. By also engaging in it with them, it can support and build on their language skills and with the smaller accessories, supports their fine motor development which are both pre-writing skills. But most of all, it is endless, adaptable and fun.
