Free To Have Fun!

Sensory play is for EVERYONE. We all seek sensory input every day. We play with our hair, fidget, touch soft pets or fabrics, chew gum, make sounds with pens or our mouths, tap our fingers, eat spicy or sour foods, listen to music, watch fish, swing, run, spin in our chairs, lean back in our chairs, and interact with our environments to see, hear, or feel things we like. 

Quick Note!!!

Many of the items discussed below can be choking hazards for children, especially those under 3, with developmental delays, or that just put everything in their mouths. Pick items that you feel safe having your child play with, and watch them at all times with anything they could choke on. 

Some things should not be given to children to play with. These include orbeez (water absorbing polymer beads, sometimes still sold for plants), small magnets or anything with a magnet that can come out, and any toys with button cell batteries. All of these can be swallowed and risk death. 

Homemade Playdough

Mix 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 3 Tablespoons cooking oil, 1 package of koolaid (unsweetened), and 1 cup of boiling water. Parent or guardian should mix in the boiling water and stir until safe to touch, if child is helping. Mix with large spoon, then once cool enough kneed with hands to form dough. Store in sealed containers. 

Sensory Bin Colored Rice (or Pasta or Beans)

In a plastic ziploc bag, mix 1 cup rice with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar, and several drops of food coloring. Seal the bag and mash the rice around until fully coated. Pour the colored rice onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and allow to dry fully. Store in closed containers when not in use. 

Sensory Bin Ideas

Use found items or items in your home to make themed boxes. Blue rice with ocean toys, brown rice with flower pots and fake flowers. Pink rice with valentines cups, muffin liners, and decor. Green rice with fake plastic gold coins to find for St. Patrick's Day. 

Or use items from your kitchen to do pretend food play with the colored rice, pasta, or beans. Pots, pans, plastic spoons, wood spoons, measuring cups, scoops, sifters, and anything they want that isn't dangerous (knives) or breakable (glass). 

Sensory Bottles

Save clear plastic containers and bottles with lids, then fill them with water, 1 Tablespoon of alcohol, and anything that makes your heart or eyes happy. Use items that will not dissolve or rust, so avoid paper, metal, magnets, food, or plants. You can use items in your house like loose beads, glitter, rocks, and small toys. Try to pick items with different shapes and weights so they move around differently for cool visual and sound effects. Seal the lid on to prevent leaks by gluing it. 

Sound Makers

Save plastic containers and bottles with lids, then fill them with anything that sounds cool. You can use rice, beans, pasta, screws, bread tags, money, or small rocks. Glue or tape the lid on, then allow your child to shake, throw, or roll the item for a stimulating or calming sound. You can decorate the outside with stickers, paint, washi tape, or colored paper. 

You can also make a simple rain stick by saving paper towels rolls. Put tape over one end to close it, then crush aluminum foil or parchment paper into a snake shape and insert it into the tube. Now add rice, beans,  or dried lentils. Start with 1 Tablespoon, and test out the sound by closing the other end with your hand and turning the tube upside down. Adjust the sound by adding more or less rice. Once you like it, tape the other end closed. Decorate the tube with markers, stickers, paint, or washi tape if you like. 

Where to get supplies for free or cheap

Clara and I go to yard sales, thrift stores, and free piles to find items that other people no longer need and are still clean and usable. This is good for the pocketbook and great for the environment! Look for small containers, plastic or metal scoops, plastic or wood spoons and spatulas, and anything that feels or looks cool that your child can safely fill with water, rice, or pasta to play with. 

We also wash and save all plastic containers with lids.  You can sometimes get neat containers from restaurants. At catered events, you will often find plastic containers or serving spoons that will get thrown away, and you can rescue them and put them to good use.  

Sometimes we even get cool stuff at fairs from giveaways or samples. 

This is sensory play too, and kids (and adults) love to make messes! We don't always love to clean them up, so you can do these outside, on your table with a tablecloth or large towel, or in the bathtub. 

Quick note!!!

Sometimes messy play makes things slippery, so be careful on hard surfaces

Shaving Cream

Shaving cream feels amazing, and kids love to see it expand as it comes out of the can! You can get cheap shaving cream at a dollar store. The gel is fun because it expands and changes colors!

If your child is too young and will eat this or get it in their eyes, you can use whipped cream, thin mashed potatoes, or any mashed food. 

Put it on the table, sidewalk, porch, patio, or bathtub and give your child toys to play with in the shaving cream. You can use cars, small plastic animals, cups, spoons, and paint brushes. 

My kids loved to color it with food color, scoop it, draw in it, and just squish and feel it!  

Oobleck

Mix cornstarch with water then play with it! You can experiment with amounts of each to get the texture and feeling you want. If you try to move it quickly it gets hard and if you go slowly or let it drip from your hand it is soft and watery. 

WATER

Kids love to play with water! You can let them play at the sink, in the bath, in the hose, at a water table, or in bowels! Give them ice, food coloring, cups, spoons, scoops, toys, leaves, dirt, flowers, or whatever they want to mix in that is nontoxic! Remember making mud pies or fairy soup? Let them play in mud and make potions or soups with items they find in the yard. 

You can make your own busy board with any item you find around the house that has a fun texture, sound, or function. Kids love to flip switches, unlatch things, use zippers, and explore through touch.

Quick Note!!!

Try to pick items that are smooth, not sharp. Screw and glue items in place so children don't hurt themselves by pulling something off, and always watch young children who could pull off anything small they could choke on. If you make a large board, make sure it is secured to a wall so your child cannot pull it over on themselves. 

Themes...or not

You can theme the boards with items that go together. You also can put any mix of items on there that just seem cool to play with and touch!

Fabrics and textures-silk, carpet, scrubbers, cloth, sandpaper, reversible sequins

Construction-wood, smooth edged metal, tiles, pipes

Fine motor play-switches, latches, door knobs, locks, buttons (door bells)

Electrical-light switches, plugs and outlets (beware that you may be teaching them to play with these things), door bells, wires, push lights