Kids learn about the world via sensory input — seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling, and tasting. Sensory learning gives your child sensory experiences that teach them about the properties of objects and substances, help them develop dexterity, and let them put words to the sensations.
Today we’re demonstrating how to dye hay for sensory play and crafts. It’s eco-friendly, inexpensive, and reusable. Hay or natural wood excelsior is a filler generally used for decorating baskets or flower arrangements. But, it’s also a wonderful non-food sensory material that sculpts, glues, and absorbs colors quickly and beautifully. Continue reading
Today’s rainbow sensory collage explores tactile sensations, loose materials, cutting, and fine motor. Our colorful sensory activity for preschoolers is easy to set-up and encourages self-exploration. Last week we kicked off our St. Patrick’s Day crafts for kids with green shamrock foam dough. Continue reading
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Grab a barrel full of old-fashioned pop with the frothy, full-bodied textures of root beer and vanilla play dough! Remember A&W root beer floats as a kid? Today’s invitation to create with homemade scented play dough explores creamy textures, classic sensory play, and rich scented sweetness. Continue reading
Today’s learning activity for preschoolers is easy to set-up, fun, and educational. Our heart tissue paper by number activity helps reinforce a child’s understanding of basic numbers, color matching, as well as improve fine motor skills. All it takes to get started is a few basic materials you probably have lying around craft table + love! C really enjoyed our turkey tissue paper by number craft, so we thought we’d try it for Valentine’s Day too! Continue reading
Today’s heart sensory collage explores tactile sensations, cutting, and fine motor skills. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this seemed like a great opportunity to create with red materials. This child-led activity give C a chance to explore materials he collected with minimal instruction from me. Continue reading
Welcome to 2014 friends! It’s been a great year! Although we haven’t reached our one year blogiversary yet, there has been so much growth and excitement! Whether you’re just joining us or you’ve been with us throughout the year, we are so grateful. Life is busy and we appreciate you taking the time to stop by and visit, comment, and share your experiences. After a month off, we’re back with a fresh blog design and a new direction! I hope you like it! Continue reading
Boo! Halloween is such a fun holiday to explore easy kid crafts and sensory play. Who doesn’t love to paint?! Instead of traditional ice painting, let’s add a fun twist – pumpkins! Simply add non-toxic paint to pumpkin ice trays, freeze, and paint! It’s fun, messy, and a great sensory experience for kids. Continue reading
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[Contributor Post at Allfortheboys.com]
We’re so excited to announce our new collaboration with Allison at All For The Boys! We’ll be regularly sharing a variety of fun and educational posts on her blog. As a new contributor, we’ll start with a series called Teaching Concepts.
The first in our series is pre number concepts, discussing the differences between big and small. Understanding basic concepts helps strengthen a child’s vocabulary and builds early mathematical skills. Instead of using traditional paper and pencil, we combined sensory materials with a fun twist – squishy toys and glowing neon paint!
For the full activity, see Concept Sensory Painting at All For The Boys blog.