Sensory Play Fun!
Submitted by Rochelle Neville, Lethbridge School Division
Sensory play activities invite children to explore with senses, including touch, sight, smell, sound and taste. Sensory activities tend to be child led explorations, giving children the opportunity to dive in and play at their own pace. The filling, dumping, pouring, transferring helps develop early numeracy, fine motor skills and imagination. Sensory play is an important way for children to explore the world.
You don’t have to wait until summer to do water sensory activities! Water play can easily be done in the home and doesn’t have to get everyone all wet.
Water play is always great during bath time. It’s also easy to bring to other spaces of your house or yard. Find a small tub or container and add water. Hint: Doing this activity on the kitchen or bathroom floor with a towel near by is a good plan.
Add your child’s favourite toys, dolls, dinosaurs, gems, or other fun items like marbles, small toys or rocks. You can add plastic cups, toy shovels, tongs, sponges, medicine droppers, plastic cookie cutters, beaded necklaces, plastic rings, and spoons make it even more fun! Hint: Add a little dish soap for bubbles or add some drops of food colouring for extra fun!
Sensory play with dry materials is easier for some children to engage in play. Especially when they do not like to be messy. Dry materials also provide opportunity for multiple days of fun.
Find a large container in your house and fill it with a variety of materials. Shredded paper, rice, beans, coffee, cereal, popcorn or tin foil are all great examples of what you can put in the container. Next add interesting tools or toys, such as measuring cups, sifters, cars, trucks, rolling pins and spoons.
Did you know you do not need to buy or make paint to have fun outside?
All you need is water and a sidewalk, wall or fence.
Simply let your child paint on the sidewalk with water, and watch it evaporate in the sunshine.
Things you can also provide for hours of fun outside:
buckets
paint brushes of all sizes
foam brushes
paint rollers and trays
sponges
pompoms on a clothes pin
or spray bottles.
Most children love nothing more than getting wet and getting other things wet. Keep in mind they will likely spill the water and should be dressed to get wet!
Written by Chantell Mulder, Jennifer Riewe, Nancie Nieboer, Nevin Wilson
Pictures taken from Lethbridge School Division Early Education classrooms