Sensory Play - www.123playandlearn.com

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Fizzy Baking Soda Experiment

10/31/2013

What you need: White vinegar, baking soda, liquid dropper, food coloring, small dishes, and a large baking dish (or 2)

1. Put baking soda into a baking type dish and spread it out.

2. Pour a small amount of white vinegar into the small dishes.

3. Let your children put a drop or 2 of food coloring into the vinegar and gently shake it around to mix well.

4. Using the liquid dropper fill it with the vinegar solution and drop it into the baking soda and see what happens!

5. Then just let them play with it.....Spreading around the baking soda after it is all colored is really fun!!

Water Beads

10/31/2013

Waterbeads are an excellent tool for sensory play as well as fine motor skills. We added some water beads to a pan and “swished” them around.

Waterbeads are a good way to introduce science into the curriculum. Children can observe the growth and change in water level as they grow. Our waterbeads started out clear. We added water colors to the water turning them blue and green.

For fine motor skills have children spoon the waterbeads into a jar.

Sea Salt Sensory

10/26/2013

Pasta in the Sensory Table

10/24/2013

Click here to use the
Macaroni "Beads"
recipe for this activity.

Cornstarch Goop

10/24/2013

Pour 2-3 cups of cornstarch into a shallow pan or tray. Add water slowly to the powder stirring until it is dissolved. Let children stir with their hands or tools. As they work it will thicken. As they lift the tools or their hands it will drip in strings. It can even be rolled into a ball, which “melts” when held in their hand.

Variations—add water-color to the water, add colored ice cubes, or add re-hydrated water beads. Always be aware some children will attempt to put objects in their mouth, when using small objects like beads, jewels, water beads—close supervision is extremely important. Plan for the rest of the centers to be self-sufficient, and close the activity if you are needed elsewhere.

Worm Sensory Table

10/24/2013

Add live worms and potting soil to a sensory table. If live worms are not available, use plastic worms. Provide shovels and magnifying glasses so that children can observe the worms.

Here are some great books about worms:

Wiggling Worms at Work by Wendy Pfeffer and Steve Jenkins [Collins, 2003]
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin and Harry Bliss [HarperCollins, 2003]
Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser [Millbrook Press, 1994]
Yucky Worms by Vivian French and Jessica Ahlberg [Candlewick, 2010]
Earthworms (Minibeasts) by Claire Llewellyn and Barrie Watts [Children’s Press, 2002]

Sponge Blocks

10/24/2013

Great quiet time activity: Sponge Blocks.
Cut different shapes out of sponges and use them as building blocks.

Recycled Art

10/23/2013

Let children make art with any scrap art supplies.

Mixing Colors Science Project

10/23/2013

Use three clear plastic cups lined up in a row. Put yellow food coloring in one and blue food coloring in another leaving the middle one with nothing in it.

Fill the cups with water to the top. Place a paper towel from the cup with yellow into the clear water cup and a second paper towel from the cup with blue into the clear water cup.

Watch as the colors climb up the paper towel into the plain water cup turning the water green when they mix.

Discovery Bottles

10/23/2013

Use recycled juice, soda or water bottles, a filler of some sort (dry or wet) and a discovery material. The bottles above have mineral oil, water, food coloring, and beads or cut up straws. Keep in mind that liquids will always separate from oil. Super glue or hot glue the caps on so that they can't be opened when being played with.

Wet fill suggestions:

water
clear/tinted shampoo or body wash
oil
food coloring

Dry fill suggestions:

sand
rice
confetti
oats
small pasta
dirt
small beads

Discovery items can be almost anything imaginable:

shells
beads
buttons
trinkets
small toys
confetti

We have provided links where books or educational items that are related to the lesson plan can be purchased on Amazon. These links are intended for the purpose of your convenience to find the referenced item. However, as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases that result from clicking on the links.

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