Thursday, 12 January 2012

Marine sensory play


Had I heard the phrase 'sensory tub' before I started blogging I would have thought massage parlour... but now I know better. Blogging has taught me the value of sensory play and engaging all the senses of babies, toddlers and preschoolers (if you want to know more about sensory play have a look at A Handful of Fun: Why Sensory Play is Important to Preschoolers by Amanda Morgan www.notjustcute.com).

Recently I have come across two rice based sensory tubs that I think are fantastic. The first is a flowers and fairies sensory tub from The Imagination Tree and the second is a winter sensory bin by crayonfreckles. They were my inspiration to get out and make up my own rice based sensory tub for Boo and Cakey.


I bought a large packet of the cheapest rice I could find. I dyed half of the rice with blue food colouring and the other half with green. I simply poured a little of the food colouring in and mixed it through with a fork. Taking on board the advice given on The Imagination Tree I left the rice overnight to dry thoroughly.

The next day I poured the rice into a large tub and added a set of marine animals as well as sequins to make it glittery, pom poms and shells. For a bit of fun I also threw in a pig, a couple of dinosaurs and a butterfly just to see whether the kids would notice that they don't belong in the ocean... they didn't. Our marine sensory play tub kept the kids very busy. They both played with it in different ways. Boo loved to dip her hands and arms into it and transfer rice and toys from tub to bowl and back again. Cakey got out her trucks and treated the tub as a construction site. The third day in Cakey got a little over-enthused and tipped the whole thing up - unfortunately it was unsalvagable... I will have to make another one again soon.


If you are interested in some other ideas for sensory play have a look at these posts:
Everyday sensory play in preschool from Teach Preschool
Foam Plate Sensory Play from Creative with Kids

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Linked to What's on the Tray Wednesday, Baby Play Friday, Sunday Showcase, It's Playtime and Red Ted Art
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11 comments:

  1. mummylish12 January 2012 at 21:09

    Absolutely love this marine play! I'm all inspired to do a jungle sensory play for all the cool jungle animals littlelish got for christmas. Thanks for the inspiration

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  2. Unknown12 January 2012 at 21:59

    That's fantastic, it was a lot of fun. Cleaning it up wasn't quite so much fun sigh!

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  3. maggy, red ted art13 January 2012 at 04:58

    Oh wow, the rice looks FABULOUS! What a great sensory bin.

    Thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!

    Maggy

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  4. Unknown13 January 2012 at 10:46

    Like your 'massage parlour' comment - I always thought they sounded like some sort of torture chamber! We love playing in our tubs now though, I just put a new one together today.

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    1. Unknown14 January 2012 at 20:48

      I will head over to your blog and check your out sensory tubs (the words still make me giggle. I would love to make some more.

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  5. crittersandcrayons14 January 2012 at 21:41

    I love the pic of the jumping marine animals! Great idea! Pretty photos!

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    Replies
    1. Unknown15 January 2012 at 19:07

      Thanks. Boo liked picking all the animals out.

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  6. Sierra @ H is for Homeschooling17 January 2012 at 11:35

    We love sensory bins over here too! I have a link party on Wednesdays for trays, bins, boxes and bags. I would love for you to link up.

    http://his4homeschooling.blogspot.com/2012/01/whats-on-tray-wednesday-2.html

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  7. Kristin@Sense of Wonder20 January 2012 at 13:51

    Using the rice was an awesome idea. So pretty!

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  8. Sierra @ H is for Homeschooling1 February 2012 at 09:03

    Thank you for sharing this at WOTT! I think when we do our ocean theme I will use cloud dough for sand and dyed rice for water because yours looks so pretty! I can't wait to see what you share at WOTT next time :)

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