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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Favorite Sensory Activities?
momneedscoffee 08:53 PM 02-15-2017
Looking for some new ideas for sensory activities. I saw some ideas on pinterest for DIY slime and moon sand... but wanted to ask 8f anyone has tried anything similar that worked well or was a hit with the kids! Really starting to miss the sandbox and being able to play outside all day! 3+ feet of melting snow makes it pretty yucky outside
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Blackcat31 06:39 AM 02-16-2017
Originally Posted by momneedscoffee:
Looking for some new ideas for sensory activities. I saw some ideas on pinterest for DIY slime and moon sand... but wanted to ask 8f anyone has tried anything similar that worked well or was a hit with the kids! Really starting to miss the sandbox and being able to play outside all day! 3+ feet of melting snow makes it pretty yucky outside
Bring the snow inside!

Kids love playing with fluffy snow, ice chunks and snow balls inside too! I just use a plastic shower curtain and put the snow in a big plastic blow up pool or Rubbermaid container. Sometimes I freeze plastic animals into ice and let the kids chip away at freeing them!

Another awesome sensory activity is of course, water beads! My kiddos can not get enough water beads! I recently found some XL sized ones and my kiddos are having a blast with them!
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Pepperth 08:07 AM 02-16-2017
I've done the diy moon sand. It wasn't quite the same texture as the commercial stuff but the kids loved it. I just throw a tablecloth from the dollar store to contain the mess and they play happily for hours. We also do playdough and slime often. Shaving cream is fun and makes your table smell good.
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Febby 06:15 PM 02-16-2017
Do you have a sensory table?

We stick all kinds of things in ours. Snow, water, sand, cloud dough, dried leaves, and potting soil. Rice, beans, and oats are good if you're cool with and allowed to use food for sensory.
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CeriBear 05:36 AM 02-17-2017
Our kids love playing with the shaving cream. It's squishy and it smells good.
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Ariana 08:32 AM 02-17-2017
I put lots of cool stuff in my water table! I bring the snow in which is always a hit, i have put sand in there too (but you need to get it out of the sandbox before it freezes or buy some. They have coloured sand at Michaels so I will mix it in for inside play. I have even put a bunch of Easter grass with eggs in there. Felt pieces or soapy water to wash the ponies or babies or whatever. Goop is also fun!
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Ariana 08:35 AM 02-17-2017
Originally Posted by CeridwenLynne:
Our kids love playing with the shaving cream. It's squishy and it smells good.
I find the smell way to strong! Which brand do you use? I bought the cheapy cheap stuff, can't remember the name but all the kids went home smelling like they were going out to the club
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Unregistered 03:03 AM 02-18-2017
I'm just old school and use oatmeal or colored lentils (Orange) often.

Wet sand is fun and isn't quite as messy as dry sand.

Water

I've done a spring theme which is more manipulative based......rubber bunnies, spring foam shapes, jewels, plastic eggs, etc and I added flower shaped ice cube trays and regular ice cube trays and they fill and sort. They loved this!
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Unregistered 03:09 AM 02-18-2017
I've also used that fake snow, which kids LOVE! I wonder about it being a weird chemical compound tho. It's what is in disposable diapers.

Is has the best texture and a little goes a long way. It's super fun...but again what is that stuff? I guess it can't be any weirder than the weird chemical concoction that shaving creme is and it's not scented.

Kids wil Play forever with it.
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Unregistered 03:20 AM 02-18-2017
One more.....either water and a few bars of mild soap like Ivory. Most kids have no experience with bar soap and it's a fantastic sensory experience. All you need is a few inches of water, and add whisks, tiny containers, etc.


While only use a little water I still put down cheap, rubber backed rugs under the sensory to avoid slippery floors.


I've also saved empty foam pump containers, filled them with water and added a little liquid soap or used what's left in the bottom. Kids will work and work at pumping these. It's quite a learning curve. You can put rubber shelf liner in the bottom so don't they slip out from under the kids' hands.

I do a full out soap factory outside in the summer at a low table.
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CeriBear 03:34 AM 02-18-2017
Originally Posted by Ariana:
I find the smell way to strong! Which brand do you use? I bought the cheapy cheap stuff, can't remember the name but all the kids went home smelling like they were going out to the club
We usually use the Walmart store brand.
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Pepperth 05:47 AM 02-19-2017
Originally Posted by Ariana:
I find the smell way to strong! Which brand do you use? I bought the cheapy cheap stuff, can't remember the name but all the kids went home smelling like they were going out to the club
I usually use whatever my husband has in the cabinet and then forget to tell him that he's out of shaving cream. Right now, its just the cheap walmart brand, but I like the smell.
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Tags:indoor sensory ideas, sensory activities, sensory table, shaving cream
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