With little ones, they have such a curious nature and learn things differently to how we do as adults. Which is why sensory (or messy) play is a good idea with little children. You might be daunted by the sound of it. The name itself can put a lot of people off. While they will do plenty of it when they get to nursery school, it is a good idea to get them into it from a younger age. So if you’re stuck for ideas, here are some that will work well. As long as you plan ahead and prepare, it will make it easier and less stressful to do it regularly.
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Fabric Craft
Using an old t-shirt or some spare material, you could get you little ones to draw a picture using fabric pens or paint a design. You could even try your hand a tie dye, mainly just getting them to help with the tying part. But when they see the end results they will love it. You could even get prints to iron on old clothes, that your kids can then decorate with gems or glitter. You could even look into custom t-shirt printing to get their name on the top that they could then go to decorate. The options with this kind of thing are quite endless. You could also make felt pictures and make it into a felt storyboard that you can use for reading time. Just get the glitter and glue out and have fun.
Water Play
Other than things getting a little wet, water play is pretty easy to do and doesn’t require too much set up. If you have something like a water table in the back garden then great. If not, there are plenty of options. A large washing up bowl could be filled with water and washing up liquid to make plenty of bubbles. Then you could put dolls in there for a ‘bath,’ or take toy cars or trains for a ‘car wash.’ You could also pop your little ones in the bath and make the water glow. You could use glow sticks, or make the whole water glow using a blacklight and a few white objects.
Shaving Foam
There are many options when it comes to shaving foam. You can make shapes and monsters out of it, as well as creating beards and funny hairdos. You could again, set this up in the bath. Or you could set up some bin liners on the kitchen floor and play in there. As well as shaving foam, this kind of thing works well with jelly or custard too. Being able to touch and play is great for their development.
Sensory Box
If you prefer something that isn’t as messy, then you could put together a sensory box for your little ones. It could have things like water beads in, as well as things like sequins and balls. Just choose things that have different textures, and it will be lots of fun for them to explore with.
