Ten Easy Sensory Play Activities for Children

Easy Sensory Play Activities for Kids

Squishy, slimy, cold, hot, ooey, and gooey are a just few good words to describe Sensory Play Activities which help children of all sorts, but especially those with Sensory Processing Disorders. Enjoy!

Sensory Play Based Learning Activities.

Splat! Release your inner Pollack:
Put on an old shirt, attach old white sheets to the walls and floors and get splatting. Don't be worried if it takes your child a while to warm up to the idea. Let them watch you or other kids enjoying the activity; before you know it your child will ease into the action. Some kids just like to watch. Their eyes are processing!


Wet! Release your inner Monet:

Play with your Food and Paint it with Milk Paint.

Milk paint on Toast. It is fun to eat!

Pound! Pretend You're a Chef:

Bake some Homemade Pizzas or Dough-nuts ~Donuts then pound, roll, and flatten. Even everyday family activities can be sensory play.

Pound a pretzel.

Baking is the oldest form of sensory play.

Slimy! Sensory Egg Sparkly:

Decorate them, crack them, and eat them. This is a virtually mess-free way to decorate eggs for those who have issues getting their hands dirty. Try to touch the eggs and compare and contrast the un-decorated egg versus the one with sparkle. How does it feel?

Decorating Eggs is a Sensory Activity.

Bump! Baby Boppers:

It's like Sumo Suits and Bumper Cars all rolled into one.

Bounce into your buddy or roll around on the ground- bet you 

can't get up by yourself! We got these at orientaltrading.com 

Bumper Rings.

Cold! Shaving Cream:
Shaving Cream, Food Coloring, and the Great Outdoors what could be better? I know, Cool Whip and Food Coloring. It works great as Sidewalk Paint too.

We made a shaving cream cake in our Messy Play Class for preschoolers.

Blow! Marshmallow Sensory Fun: Squishy, Soft, Suck in through a straw, Hold, Drop into a cup. Times Up ~ Most in Cup Wins.

Squish! Sensory Spaghetti with Edible Paint

Sensory Spaghetti Play Ideas

Think! Creative Play:  

Gone Fishin' with Rainbow Fish

and Ziploc Aquarium Squishy.

Pretend to fish with Pool Noodles.

Packing peanuts are fun, but please be careful and never leave a child unattended. They are a choking hazard and if left alone, a child could suffocate in a large pile.

Tickle! Packing Peanuts:
More fun than a ball pit. Play in them or make a Snowy Craft.

Bearded with Shaving Cream Fun.

Recommended Reading:

What is Sensory Play?

Pat the Bunny (Touch and Feel Book)*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Valentine's Activities that Incorporate Sensory Play

Valentine's Day Activities that are perfect for the classroom

The Sugar Aunts are back with this fun classroom Valentine activity that includes sensory play. Enjoy!

Valentine's Day activities are so much fun!  This party activity is perfect for classroom parties or even a themed play date. We loved the sensory aspect of it and played for a long time!  

Incorporating sensory play into learning and play activities is a great way to explore textures, scents, and so much more.  The learning that comes from sensory play is vast!  For children, sensory play builds language, self-esteem,  and independence...all as they learn through the five senses.

Our classroom Valentine's Day activity does just that, with a little fine motor thrown in!

Sensory play activity for Valentine's Day.

We started with a bin of water and a half cup of pomegranate scented bath salts.  Any scent would do for this activity. We loved the pink color of these salts and the smell was divine!


Mix the bath salts in the water until all of the salt dissolves.  Depending on the amount of water you have, you may need more or less salt.  Add a little at a time until all of the salt is dissolved.

Next, I drew a heart shaped bulls eye on our chalkboard easel.  You could also do this activity on a white board.  I added some small numbers for keeping score. 

I added some hearts cut from foam sheets to the scented water and set out a pair of kitchen tongs.  This activity alone was enough to inspire sensory play and exploration!  It was fun to just play in the sweet smelling water and grab the hearts with the tongs.

Grabbing the hearts with the tongs required fine motor coordination (especially to use the tongs correctly and not with two hands!)  Little Guy, age 4, was able to do this, but tended to switch over to using two hands on the tongs.  What a great pre-scissor skill this was! 

Eye-hand coordination was needed to grab the hearts with the tongs as they swished around in the water.  As we did, we were enjoying the scent of pomegranate!

After they caught a heart in the tongs, they could apply them to the bulls-eye.  Little Guy closed his eyes and tried to get the heart into the middle.  Baby Girl (age 2) liked to just play around in the water and stick the hearts up on the chalk board.  This was a good age-appropriate modification for her!

We had so much fun with our scented water bin, that we kept it out for a good portion of the day and enjoyed more sensory play!

 

The Sugar Aunts are three sisters who blog about all things creative in motherhood.  They love playful learning, creative kid's crafts, sensory and fine motor activities, kid's party themes, DIY, and so much more.  Between the three Aunts, there are 6 cousins (with more on the way!) who are around each other so often, they are more like siblings than cousins! You can see the action at www.sugaraunts.com.


Recommended Reading:

Kids Creative Chaos Cooks: Kitchen Kids Series: Holiday Recipes*

Printable Clipart Hearts for Valentine's Day Cards











ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Kids, Easy, Fun, Messy, Shaving Cream Craft Activity for Sensory Play

This shaving cream kids' sensory play activity is super easy!

Messy, sensory Shaving Cream tinted with food coloring is tons of fun for kids to play with at home or as an after-school activity. After all, what's more fun than making a royal mess? Play with your shaving cream outdoors to keep Mom's house clean!

Shave Cream Sensory Play: Start with shaving cream,
food coloring, plates and spoons for mixing.

Be careful not to get a shaving cream beard into your eyes.

Use it like face paint to add texture, beards, moles, crazy eyebrows, or scars.  It will stiffen and dry on your face. Don't get it in your eyes please- ouch!

Mix it up to your heart's content.

Make a shaving cream cake and pretend to eat it. The cream makes nice snowmen sculptures too!

Pretending shaving cream pie 
is yummy.



Use shaving cream like sidewalk paint.

Well, no, it's not for the faint of heart. Dig in and go crazy!

The messier the more fun!

This is one crafty recreation project that kept the kids busy for an about hour. The possibilities are endless.



Don't forget aprons and lots of paper towels
for your shaving cream play time.



With shaving cream sensory play, anything goes!

Recommended Reading:

Slurpin' for Worms Messy Birthday Party Game

Sensory Play: Over 65 Sensory Bin Topics with Additional Picture Books, Supplementary Activities, and Snacks for a Complete Toddler Program (Busy Toddler, Happy Mom)

Busy Toddler, Happy Mom: Over 280 Activities to Engage Your Toddler in Small Motor and Gross Motor Activities, Crafts, Language Development and Sensory Play

What is Sensory Play Based Learning? Looking for activity for kids or child games? Join the Linky Party

So, what is Sensory Play Based Learning? Linky Party

Find out more at PBS Parents. Here at Kids Creative Chaos the definition is simple: Play to learn! Find a fun activity for kids and lots of child games as you peruse our pages. 

What is Sensory Play? Join the Linky Party!

Please join the linky party and link up your ideas for messy crafts, games, and even art activities for preschoolers. The best early child development activities begin at birth. Some children suffer from sensory processing disorders and need more play based learning games throughout their childhood.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.spectrumpsychological.net/1/post/2013/03/play-to-learn-march-blog-hop.html" title="Play to Learn Blog Hop"><img src="http://www.spectrumpsychological.net/uploads/1/4/9/5/1495826/3711599.jpg?1358187461" alt="Play to Learn Blog Hop" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

If you want, grab the linky button for your blog! 
Link up to 3 posts. Visit as many as you can.

You've come to the right place! 

We've worked with autistic, adhd, add, and more in our "Let's Play" and "Messy Play" classes with great success. Now, we are sharing our ideas through our team of play based learning enthusiasts.  Nikki at Spectrum Psychological specializes in Attention Deficit and Autism Spectrum Disorders.  She's created this "play to learn" blog hop to help spread the word. 

MaryAnne at Mamasmiles.com co-hosts. Her blog is filled with awesome ideas for joyful parenting. I especially like her focus on activities around the world. She recently wrote this post about how to make a weighted blanket (great for children with sensory issues).

We can't wait to see your ideas! Great ideas will be chosen and featured on this blog and pinned on Pinterest. Want to chat about your children or class? Drop us a comment or email.

Thanks for stopping by~ If you like this linky, why not sign up for our email in the sidebar, so you won't miss any great activity ideas for kids. For more ideas click on the keywords in the green bar below this post.

Recommended Reading:

Activities to Engage Your Toddler in Small Motor and Gross Motor Activities, Crafts, Language Development and Sensory Play*

Sensory Play for Baby with Music







ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Child Development Psychology: Sensory Play Aids in the Learning Process

Early Childhood Development: Learn with Sensory Play

The psychology behind a child's ability to focus academically or follow rules can be positively influenced by the environment. Parents and caregivers can help children with sensory processing disorders or developmental issues ease into everyday activities with simple games and activities.

Sensory Play: Art Develops Critical Thinking, Reasoning, and Fine Motor Skills

Creative Outlets like Art and Dramatic Play Stimulate Children's Brains with Reasoning, Critical Thinking, and Advancing Fine Motor Skills

Art is creativity in action. Creating and playing with art supplies is stimulating to our brains. Our imagination takes over while art helps develop critical thinking and fine motor skills. Everyone can play and learn with art, regardless of their socioeconomic status or level of education. Read on to learn!

How to make homemade Play Dough Recipe Ideas (Edible) and Pistachio Experiment

Ever wonder how to make play dough at home? 

We love to play with squishy dough. It is great for sensory play, especially when it has a scent. This recipe for how to make homemade play dough (Play-doh) is scented and edible, but not very tasty. Enjoy?

Scented Play Dough for a true Sensory experience.

Sensory Baby Play: Teach your Baby with Music Play

Your Baby Can Learn by Playing Music

Have you ever wondered how a toddler would interact if you put musical instruments in front of her? Babies and toddlers learn through play. Music is sound, rhythm, and more. All of that can translate to music, math, and science. Enjoy!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience.

A great way for a toddler to learn is by hitting a drum, shaking a maraca, a tambourine, or some shaker eggs. You can make your own drum, grab some pots and pans, or buy a baby music set to teach your baby to play music. 

We’ve experimented with the B. Parum Pum Pum Drum Set. This set is for ages 18 months-24 months, and it is perfect for baby sensory play.

Music is one of the best forms of baby and toddler sensory play.

Our baby tester loved playing with this toy. She laughed and mimicked mommy hitting the drum. Beat the drum and count out to ten. This is a great way to introduce counting to a toddler. Practice with them. 

Will she tap the drum ten times too? Make it a game and practice each day. You can experiment with patterns too. You know, rumpa pum pum. Tap the drum or shake a shaker in a numerical pattern: 3-1-3-1-3-1 or 5-2-5-2-5-2 and so on. If you speak the counting of each beat, the child will begin to learn to count as well: “One- two three- one- one- two- three- one- one- two- three- one.

Baby’s favorite toy in the B. Parum Pum Pum Drum Set is the shaker egg. Whenever she shakes it she laughs! Each instrument makes a different sound which is excellent for sensory play. Demonstrate each toy’s sound to your toddler. Can she copy the sound with her voice? “Shh Shh Shh Shh”. Practicing to copy these sounds, and moving her lips to form the sounds, can help her learn to speak.  

This music play set should entertain your child, keeping her busy for long enough for you to do the dishes! If you have older children, they can join in on the fun too. Let them be a babysitter and play tutor. They will enjoy making music (or just banging and shaking the instruments to make noise). All of the items store inside the drum so it stays together making it easy to put away.

Baby play with musical Instruments helps a child learn creativity through play. Another way to teach creativity and reduce sensory issues is to paint. Starting art lessons early will aid in color and shape recognition. Check out the recommended reading list below to find more posts and books on sensory play for babies and toddlers.

Recommended Reading:

What is Sensory Play Based Learning?
The Wheels on the Bus (Pudgy Board Book)

How to make play dough at home and 12 Fun Things to do with Play Dough

Looking for fun things to Make at Home?

Maybe you need an easy recipe for how to make dough or you're wondering how do I make play dough at home? How to make clay dough for older kids Here are fun clay and dough recipes to make at home with kids of all ages.

How to make play dough recipe:                                                         
2 c. corn starch, 1 c. salt, 1 1/2 c. boiling water, 2 tbs. cream of tartar, 2 tbs  oil (vegetable oil to keep it edible or baby oil to make it fun and a pleasant scent) Mix all ingredients together, then add a couple drops of your favorite food coloring. You can also separate into individual baggies, add a different drop of food color to each bag, and knead to mix. Let the kids do this for extra sensory play! You can make it without cream of tar tar too; the oil will fill the void it just might not stay fresh as long :)

 Sensory Guest Post from Krissy Sherman Bonning, Mama of 3, and Blogger  at B.Inspired, Mama!  (Connecting moms with kid-friendly arts & crafts, easy recipes, and preschool learning fun.) Hop over to Krissy's blog and check out all of the cool  fun from a Mommy with a Master's degree in Art Education.

I found an exciting feature on her blog, she accepts Submissions from other bloggers! Get your fun ideas posted and earn yourself some much deserved recognition.

Fun things to do with Playdough at home.

My kids’ go-to sensory activity is definitely play dough.  The ways you can play with it are endless.  And adding unusual objects and art supplies to it make it even more fun.  Here are some of our favorites:

1. Stencils – Use them to place on the play dough and trace around, press into the play dough to make impressions, and for imaginative play, too. 
2. Recycled Bottles – Next time you drink something out of a plastic bottle, check out the bottom.  It will probably make a really cool flower-like impression in play dough.  (from B-Inspired Mama)
3. Cardboard Boxes – Play dough details can turn boxes into buildings and even an entire city.  (from Inspiration Surrounds, Creativity Abounds)
4. Muffin Cups – Silicone muffin cups are perfect for making pretend cupcakes and muffins for an impromptu Birthday party or picnic.  (from B-Inspired Mama)
5. Fake Flowers – Plant them in play dough to make a beautiful flower garden for imaginative gardening fun. (from The Imagination Tree)
6. Animals – Green play dough makes the perfect jungle for little animal friends. (from Picklebums)
7. Googly Eyes – Bright your play dough to life and make silly monsters with lots of googly eyes. (from Pink and Green Mama)
8. Candy Molds – Use chocolate play dough to make pretend candies and fun shapes with candy molds.  (from Learning 4 Kids)
9. Laminated Play Dough Mats – Laminate images and learning worksheets for kids to add play dough details, letters, and snakes to.  (from Planet of the Apels)
10. Alphabet Cookie Cutters – Make play dough fun a learning opportunity by adding letter cookie cutters.  (from No Time for Flash Cards)
11. Glitter – Add lots of glitter to turn play dough into a glistening glob for galaxy fun.  (from Poppytalk)
12. Trucks & Cars – Play dough makes fun hills for driving over and tires on toy vehicles make awesome impressions.  (from B-Inspired Mama)

Do your kids like playing with play dough? Have you ever used anything unusual to make it more fun?

Recommended Reading:

Fun-tastic Clay Critters to Make

Modeling Clay Animals

Sensory Play Dough Recipe

Activities for Toddlers: Sensory Messy Play with Foil, Shaving Cream, and Food Coloring

Toddlers Sight Word Sensory Activity

Whether your toddler loves to get messy or hates it, sensory play activities are essential to learning. When more than one sense is involved in learning, learning becomes easier. This Sight Word Sensory Activity with Shaving Cream and Foil is Messy, noisy, and fun for preschoolers. It also makes a great high chair activity for toddlers. Enjoy!

Shaving cream, aluminum foil, food coloring, and paper confetti for 
Sight Word sensory play.

The little explorers love the sensation of feeling a new substance. They learn hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and the ability to deal with being messy through sensory play. This activity is great for young children two to six years old.

So, what senses are used?

• Hearing: The aluminum foil is noisy. Cream makes a swoosh when it comes out of the can.  Shake the sprinkles to the beat of your favorite song.
• Sight: Add lots of colors for eye candy or combine different colors of food coloring, and watch as they change into a new color.
• Taste: Use canned cream and sprinkles (see below).
• Touch: Aluminum is smooth and crinkly.  Shaving cream is cold and wet.  Dots are difficult to pick up.  Squish a little shaving cream on your fingers to make picking them up easier and more fun. 
• Smell: Shaving cream comes in lots of scents like spearmint, peppermint, or perfumes. Add scented oils or extract for more scentsations :)

One of my favorite things to use for sensory play is shaving cream. It comes in varying scents, it always feels cold, it is light, fluffy, and super fun!  For our last messy play class, we gave each child a large piece of aluminum foil, wrote the first initial of their name, squirted a few drops of food coloring in a blob of cream, and recycled paper from hole punches. 

Fun activity for toddler shaving cream on aluminum foil.  Messy, sensory play is a great tool to use to aid in sensory processing disorders. Starting a sensory play regimen early gives children the best chance for improvement.

What do you think happened?  It was quite surprising. No one messed up their letter.  They played and mixed the blob with food coloring, they picked up the dots and moved them around, but not one preschooler smooshed their letter!  

I demonstrated by decorating my letter with the pieces of paper and mixing in the colored shaving cream.  After this, they were still reluctant to ruin their letters, but eventually one or two began to decorate their letters.  Finally, everyone joined in making faces with the paper and swirling the cold cream around.

This is a great way to teach your toddler the alphabet.  Gently, take their finger and trace the letters.  Focus on a new letter each day.  Add an alphabet coloring sheet.

Tip:  For an EDIBLE option, use refrigerated, canned whip cream, food coloring, and candy sprinkles or colored sugar. 


Recommended Reading:


Learning Sight Words with Scrabble Tiles

Letter B Printable Coloring Page 

100 Write-and-Learn Sight Word Practice Pages: Reproducible Activity Pages*

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ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Kid Sensory Science: Play Based Learning How to Garden with Kids with Egg Cartons: Investigating_Detective_Hands-On Messy Play

Investigating Detectives: Kid Sensory Science and Gardening with Egg Cartons

Sensory Play is a big buzz word. Back in the day, all my play time was sensory play. I'd run around outside, get filthy making mud pies and sand ice cream, dash through the sprinkler, plop in the bath, (where I swirled Dad's shaving cream into Mom's shampoo painting Picasso's all around the tub) and head to bed one truly happy camper. Make a sensory science egg carton garden with your kids!

Gardening: The original Sensory Play Based Learning.

Today, lots of people don't like to let their kids get messy or to be seen in dirty clothes, the horror!

Start your seeds in egg cartons in doors in early spring.

I sweep the kitchen and bathroom floor several times a week, but you'd never know it. Anytime you stop by for a visit you'll find dried mud, bits of dandelions, grains of sand, tiny twigs, and a few dead bugs. And, at least two kids in dirty clothes. I often joke, I'm no Martha Stewart, but I'm no June Cleaver either. Ahem... If I had to pick a t.v. personality's home to compare ours too... I fear we resemble Roseanne the most, just not so crass.

Everyday is Sensory Play day! Last week, Jake was covered in mud he found in a hole in the backyard. I plan to make some mud paint for my next sensory post.

Amanda loves to investigate with her magnifying glass, ziploc baggies, and spoons from the kitchen drawer.

When our seedlings come up, we'll plant them in this little garden box we built together last year. We have healthy strawberry plants already!

Keep bunnies out of your garden with raised garden boxes.

Science projects cover the front porch, 'Please watch your step.' Our favorite toys are anything we can find growing in the yard.  

Bonus = lots of free toys!

A Whole lot of fun with the Tickle Me plant. 

By far, the best seed to plant with your kiddos!

If you want to follow our messy life, hop over to Kids Creative Chaos on Facebook and join the fun.

Recommended Reading:

Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots: Gardening Together with Children

Planting a Rainbow