Saturday

Sensory Table ideas

Sensory Table Ideas

As a preschool teacher I know how important sensory tables are in the scope of Child Development....as a Mommy I know how FUN they are*** Sensory tables or bins aren't just for preschool* Set one up in your home and spend some time with your little one* The possibilities are endless and I will be posting many more sensory table ideas but here are just a few to start*


OATMEAL
My Mom just happened to have a container of oatmeal that was expired in her cupboard,  PERFECT, dump it in a large storage bin and throw in a few spoons and cups for scooping and filling and you have instant fun*







In this house we are ALL boy* (well at least for the next few months before his baby sister comes along) so naturally the cars joined in the fun*



Dried Rice and Pasta
use dried rice or pasta or both* you can even dye them different colors*


CAR WASH

My son was delighted when he was able to wash his cars* Simply add warm water and a few drops of soap.
I gave him a towel to dry his cars off when he was done*



HERE are a Few other fun SENSORY activities we have done**
(click on the links below to view them)

Construction Zone Sensory Table

Water Table Fun

Gone Fishin'




QUICK TIP:
I bought this great product last year it's called 'The Neat Sheet' we use it for everything, beach trips, picnics and of course UNDER OUR SENSORY table*** It makes clean up so easy***

Sunday

Easy 4th of July Treats!

Firework marshmallows***
Originally I wanted to do red white and blue sprinkles but after going to a few different stores and not finding what I was looking for, I decided they would just be firework marshmallows!           What you will need:  Big marshmallows, sprinkles, melt-able chocolate and toothpicks.   

Melt the chocolate, dip the marshmallow in the chocolate and cover with sprinkles. I placed them in a dish and put them in the fridge so the chocolate would set, store in a closed container at room temp until ready to eat*




Patriotic POPS***
What you will need: clear cups (I used small ones because ours are being made for toddler age group) red kool-aid, blue kool-aid or blue Gatorade, frozen whip and sticks or spoons
first pour in you red layer, let freeze most of the way through, take it out and insert your stick or spoon, re-freeze until fully frozen* then add a layer of the frozen whip, again freeze until fully frozen, add your blue layer until fully frozen.....to remove your pop run warm water over the cup until your pop releases. ENJOY this fun patriotic pop, I know our kiddos will* HAPPY 4th of JULY***

Friday

Sensory Table: Construction Zone!

Sensory Table: Construction Zone!


On this very hot summer day I knew my son would be eager to do something when he woke up from his nap and I did not want that to involve playing out in the heat (were talking 100* here in beautiful California**) Anyways, I have been wanting to do a sensory table for a while now so I went scrounging around the house to see what I could use. In the garage I found an empty storage bin about 2 ft by 1 1/2 ft and about 1/2ft deep...it was the perfect size*



My son got these fun moon sand construction kits for his birthday...it's so fun and it doesn't dry out, so you just store it and re-use it again and again***
So ideally your suppose to open up the box and play inside it...but with a 2 year old...that 2inch deep container is a disaster waiting to happen*** so I poured all the moon sand into the big storage container and looked though our toys for 'construction type trucks'
They even came with these molds to make mini bricks....my son crushed every brick I built but I thought it was pretty cool.


Needless to say this was a fun activity that kept my son busy for a good 45 minutes.....he came down from his nap and said 'WOW! Thanks Mom' in his adorable little voice :) 





*I am planning on getting a little mini table and chairs to attach the bin to but for now we just used it on the floor.....I did cut a trash bag down the seams and laid it down under the bin to catch any spilled sand......which with a 2 year old is inevitable***

I plan on doing different types of sensory table each week so check back for more ideas***