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Sprowston Pavillion Playgroup

Our Sensory Project 2015

Home Ideas for Sensory Activities

Our Sensory Project 2015In May 2015 Sprowston Pavillion Playgroup joined the

Sensory Project to develop the use of Sensory equipment in the Early Years.

As well as using some of the Sensory suitcase equipment we received from joining this project we have also been

incorporating sensory activities through out the setting in a range of activities.

Since joining the project we have planted and cared for vegetables in our outdoor planter where the children have

watered and watched these grow.

We have had visits from the Tesco Farm to Fork project where the children learnt about where foods came from and had the opportunity to touch, smell and taste some foods.

We have explored in the outdoor kitchen with a variety of resources from sand, compost, leaves and pinecones to

carrots, potatoes and courgettes.

We have also made sensory bottles using liquids and dried foods and feely boxes with feathers, buttons and stones.

What is Sensory Play ?Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your

child’s senses; touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing.

Sensory activities enable exploration and naturally encourage children to play, create, investigate and explore.

Spending time stimulating their senses helps children develop in all areas of their development.


PlaydoughPlaydough supports children’s development of language,

sharing and co-operational skills and encourages investigation and

exploration.

Additional resources can be added to support and enhance playdough activities.

For example ; buttons, shells, scents, dried foods, glitter, sand, natural resources, kitchen utensils and baking

resources.

Fruity Playdough RecipeI packet of sugar free jelly

2 cups of plain flour1 cup of salt

4 tablespoons of cream of tartar2 cups of boiling water

2 tablespoons of oil

Mix the dry ingredients in a pan.

Add the liquid and turn the heat to medium.Stir until the mixture forms a ball.

Leave the playdough to cool.Different flavours of jelly will produce different colours and

scents.


GloopGloop supports children’s development of descriptive

language, fine motor skills and encourages imaginative and creative play.

Additional resources can be added to support and enhance gloop activities

For example : jugs, funnels, containers, animals, figures or vehicles

Gloop Recipecornflour

watertray or shallow container

2 tablespoons of oilfood colourings

scents ( optional )

Mix the cornflour gradually with water you have a gloopy mixture.

Add the food colouring or scent.The consistency can be varied each time.


Rainbow SpaghettiCooked Pasta supports children’s development of language, mathematics, encourages investigation and exploration and

for developing opportunities for imaginative play.

Additional resources can be added to support and enhance cooked pasta activities.

For example ; children’s scissors, knives and forks, children’s tweezers, baking resources, animals, figures or

vehicles.

Rainbow Spaghetti Recipespaghetti

zip seal bagsfood colourings

scents ( optional )

Cook the spaghetti as usual and then rinse with cool water.

Add some of the cooled spaghetti into each food bag.Add desired scent and food colouring to each bag.

Shake the food bag until spaghetti is coated.Let the spaghetti dry.


Jelly Jelly is very tactile and by just providing some jelly on a tray and some toy animals children can use their imagination. By making the jelly runnier you can use this to make finger painting.

Porridge oats Place some porridge oats into a tray and add water until it is a sticky consistency. Allow the children to explore with their fingers, moulding and making marks. As an alternative dried porridge oats can be used for a different texture.

Shaving foam Squirt piles of shaving foam onto the tray. Encourage the children to explore and experiment making

marks and shapes. By adding coloured paint mixing colours can also be achieved.


Free painting Allow children to experiment with paint, brushes and paper. Fragrances can be added to the paints to enhance their play: yellow paint and lemon rind, green paint and mint leaves.

Printing Use ready mixed paints and anything you feel is suitable to print with: toy cars, sponges, corks, cotton reels or string.

Marble paintingPlace a piece of paper at the bottom of a tray. Put some marbles into a container with some paint and then place these into the tray. Move the

tray around to make patterns.


Junk modellingUse glue sticks, PVA glue and sticky tape to join and stick together chosen empty boxes, pots. Bottle tops, material, pasta, straw or lentils can then be added. Decorate with glitter, paint or stickers.

Coloured riceColour dried rice by adding food colouring, mixing together and leaving to dry. Fragrances can also be added to enhance the play. Add jugs and funnels for pouring and emptying.

Tinned vegetablesBaked beans, tinned tomatoes, peas or carrots can all be used for sensory exploration and provides opportunities for mark making and exploring textures.


Sensory discovery bottlesHomemade discover bottles give young children access to

exploring all sorts of interesting materials that would normally be off limits.

They are really quick and easy to make all you need is a clean plastic bottle and lid and some super glue to make

sure the lid is secure.

Here are some different discovery bottle contents

1, Brightly coloured pipe cleaners for visual interest.

2, Water with brightly coloured beads for noise, colour and movement.

3, Coloured and shaped buttons for noise and colour.

4, Ripped pieces of tin foil for gentle, slow movement and reflection of light.

5, Red water mixed with 1cm of vegetable oil for mixing and separation of liquids.

6, Yellow water with washing up liquid for shaking and creating bubbles


Sensory binsSensory bins provide opportunities to develop language

skills, fine motor control and to develop imaginative play. You need a low sided container like a washing up bowl then decide on a theme adding a variety of resources to create

the environment.

Here are some different sensory bin ideas

1, Oceans – frozen blue rice, rocks, stones, plastic sea creatures and cooked spaghetti as seaweed.

2, The Very Hungry Caterpillar – green coloured rice, caterpillar and food objects

3, Bugs – compost, leaves, twigs, plastic bugs and insects, magnifying glasses and an insect identification book.

4, Fairies – pink coloured rice, flower petals, sequins, glitter, leaves and small world fairies.

5, Ice cream – different sized pom poms, ice cream cones, ice cream scoop, straws, sequins, glitter, squeezy bottles.


Story sacks

Story sacks are cloth bags containing a favourite children’s book with supporting resources and props that help to bring

a book to life. This helps to stimulate language activities and makes reading a memorable and enjoyable experience.

Here are some different story sack ideas

1, The Very Hungry Caterpillar – storybook, soft or hard caterpillar and butterfly, small pouch for cocoon and selection of foods – plastic, fabric or pictures.

2, Handa’s Surprise – storybook, Handa doll – big or small, animal masks, soft animals or plastic animals and selection of fruits - plastic, fabric or pictures.

3, Dear Zoo – storybook, animal masks, soft animals or plastic animals, and animal noises – CD, electronic or sound boxes.

4, Laura’s Star – storybook, Laura doll – big or small, teddy, soft or plastic star and musical instruments to make nighttime sounds.

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