Simple Sensory Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
By: Embracing Her Den
Do you need activity ideas that support learning and development? Sensory activities are a great choice! Some benefits of sensory play are developing fine motor skills and self-regulation skills, foster a sense of the environment around them, problem-solving skills, amongst many other benefits. I think I am especially conscious of using a lot of sensory activities in our home because I am a mom of a neurodivergent child. Let’s focus on some easy, fun sensory activities that you can set up in your home.
Warning: Children should always be supervised by an adult. Some items may be a choking hazard due to their size.
Puzzle Find Fill a bin, box, or bowl with rice, cereal, dry beans, or pom poms (whatever you have on hand) and push puzzle pieces in. Let your child dig for the puzzle pieces and put them back into the puzzle.
Kinetic Sand If you have it or make your own with the beach suggestion just below!
Beach Put cheerios through a food processor or put them in a bag and use your hands or a spoon to crush them up. Use the crushed cheerios as sand in one container. Then, fill up another container full of water (I added blue food coloring). Provide whatever animals or characters to play on the “beach”. You can add shells if you have some. If you don’t want to involve water, then just use the “sand”. Add spoons, beach toys, cups.
Playdoh Let your child take the lead! My kids like to pretend ice cream shop, cooking food, etc. you can use cookie cutters to make fun shapes!
Water I put a towel under a bowl or container full of water and give my kids toys (little figurines that won’t mold) and let them play.
Dirty Farm Animals I mixed water and chocolate cereal and mashed it up to make “mud” in one container. Then in another bowl I added water, a scrub brush (wash cloth, sponge), and bubble bath soap. Add farm animals to the mud and let your child “wash” the dirty animals! If you don’t have cereal to make into “mud” you can use anything for example, pudding, shaving cream, whipped cream (although it may be tempting to eat), etc.
Snow Bring snow inside! I’ve done this when it’s been entirely too cold to go outside.
Bouquet of Flowers If you have left over flower bouquets, you can use them to make “potions” or just let your kids explore on their own.
Popcorn Kernels Popcorn kernels are fun, and I use some of our farm animals. We talk about farm animal sounds and different farm facts. Also, I've done the puzzle activity with popcorn kernels as well (see activity number 1).
Beads Stringing beads comes in kits or you can purchase at the dollar store! Fill a box full of pipe cleaners (packs at dollar store) and include beads.
Any other suggestions? Send me a message via my site or Instagram!
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