There are many ways to enjoy sensory play with toddlers. You can find many sensory bins and toys online these days, but what if we told you that you can enjoy sensory play at home with little to no investment? That’s right! Today we’re featuring some sensory play ideas for toddlers that won’t break the bank and will provide your family with hours of fun using your five senses.
Sensory play goes beyond letting your toddlers understand their sense of sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. Sensory play is a fabulous way to help your toddlers learn more about their world. You can create an educational sensory bin that helps your toddlers learn about the universe, food types, the beach, and wildlife.
Shredded Paper Pool
Get out your paper shredder and shred up a bunch of paper. Take this bin of paper and place it into a toddler pool. You can do this indoors or outdoors, depending on the weather. Have your toddlers get inside the pool and have a blast throwing shredded paper around, feeling it, and just getting to know the texture as they stimulate their sense of touch.
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Pom Pom Water Table
Get a kids’ water table, or just use a tote from your house that’s shallow enough for some water and pom poms. Have your kids throw pom poms into the bin of water and play with it. This is a fabulous sensory play idea for warmer weather since it will get rather messy.
Bubble Foam Bath
You can easily make a colorful bubble foam bath for your toddlers. All you need is bubble bath soap, water, and food coloring. Make a few bins of bubbles in different colors, place the bins inside the bathtub. Let your toddler climb into the bathtub and play with their bubble foam. You can do this same sensory play idea outdoors on a warm summer day! Be sure to monitor your toddler, they shouldn’t be left unattended in the bathtub.
Get Messy
Gather finger paints and some paintbrushes. Have your toddlers use their hands and feet to make a magical piece of artwork. This sensory play idea can get rather messy, so consider doing it outside or placing newspaper down so that your toddlers are getting messy with finger paints on a safe surface. You can include canvas or paper for their paints so that you can lay them out to dry after they’re done enjoying the colors and feel of finger paints.
Bouncy Ball
Get a bouncy ball out from your exercise room and have your toddler bounce on the ball. We’re willing to bet that your hyper toddler will enjoy using up their energy with this sensory play idea. Your toddler can sit on the bouncy ball with their feet on the ground and bounce gently, or they can get wild with it in a safe space within the home or in the backyard!
Whatever sensory play idea you opt to try next, we’re confident that our list of sensory play ideas for toddlers will give your little one hours of fun exploring their five human senses.