Archive for the ‘Sensory Activities’ Category

Baking Soda and Vinegar Color Explosion!

Posted on: January 19th, 2012 by Caryn No Comments

Baking Soda and Vinegar Color Explosion! 12 mos+

Materials:

Small bowls for vinegar [I used Rubbermaid tupperware]

Food coloring

White vinegar

Baking Soda

Cookie Sheet

Aluminum Foil

Medicine Droppers, Spoons, Straws, Chicken Basters, etc. Anything they  can pick up the vinegar with and drop onto the baking soda.

Have Fun!

This is an amazing science experiment, fine motor and sensory activity all rolled into one! Cover your cookie sheet with aluminum foil to make cleanup a breeze! Pour two to three cups of baking soda onto the foil. Fill your small bowls halfway with white vinegar. Add a few drops of liquid food coloring to each container of vinegar. My two and a half year old loves to add the coloring himself which is a fine motor experience in itself! We usually use 4 cups and choose the colors he wants to use and or/mix. He is so proud of himself when he tells everyone who will listen that red and yellow make orange:)

Get ready for a color explosion! Use the droppers to pick up the colored vinegar and squirt onto the baking soda. When the two are combined there is a cool chemical reaction which causes the baking soda to bubble a little bit with the color. It is so colorful and neat to watch that children are completely engaged! This mixture is completely safe to touch but probably best to keep out of their mouths.

My son had so much fun doing this activity that I went and bought a huge box of baking soda so we can repeat it over and over again. It’s oodles of sensory and fine motor fun while sparking the budding scientist in your toddler!

 

Helps with:

Fine motor development

Learning and Mixing Colors

Cause and Effect

Visual stimulation

 

 

 

 

Rainbow Pudding Painting!

Posted on: October 24th, 2011 by Tiny Toes No Comments

 

Rainbow Pudding Painting 6 mos+

My 2 1/2 year old Jordan and his friends love mixing, swirling, painting and tasting their artwork! They have a blast mixing colors and creating edible works of art while receiving a tremendous amount of development rich tactile input. This fabulous sensory activity tastes great too!

Materials:

1 Box of instant vanilla pudding prepared according to directions on box

6 small bowls [one for each color of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet]

Food coloring

Paper plates for palettes

Wax paper or aluminum foil to cover the table for toddlers and older kids. A highchair works great for little ones.

Tape

Spoons, straws, unused paintbrushes [optional]

 

 Have Fun!

You can prepare your artist’s palette a few different ways depending on how many children are doing this activity with you. For a large batch divide the prepared pudding into 6 small bowls. Add a few drops of food coloring into each bowl and mix until you achieve the desired brightness. Most food coloring packages I have come across include red, yellow, green and blue. If you need to create orange and violet use the following: red + yellow = orange, red + blue = violet/purple. I have found that the liquid food coloring works better than the gel. Add a tablespoon of each color onto a large paper plate creating an artist’s palette for each child.

If you are only making a palette for your own child then spoon vanilla pudding onto the paper plate in 6 separate sections and just add food coloring and mix directly on the plate – use the leftover pudding for dessert! If you don’t have time to mix all six colors but you want to provide your child with a quick sensory activity or you are concentrating on teaching your child one color at a time just use one or two colors instead of all six.

Seat your child at the table or surface of your choice. Lay out wax paper and or aluminum foil and tape down for easy cleanup and extra tactile sensation!

Let kids get messy and explore their sense of touch, smell, sight and taste. Finger paint, squish, squeeze and have fun! They have a blast mixing up all the colors and creating new versions of their favorite colors. Ask them which color tastes the best! This amazing sensory activity feeds their inner artist as they are provided with oodles of tactile input.

You can add in spoons, straws and/or unused paintbrushes for extra exploration.

Helps with:

Tactile and visual stimulation

Fine motor development

Creativity

Crossing the midline

Learning Colors

Mixing Colors

Sensory Ball Fun for all Ages

Posted on: September 24th, 2011 by Tiny Toes 1 Comment


Sensory/Texture balls are great for all those little toes – from infants to toddlers to big kids!

BABIES Put on some soothing music [we love Baby Einstein] and lay your baby on his or her back. Gently roll small sensory balls on your baby’s body, especially the feet! This is great tactile stimulation. Stimulating your baby’s senses can help improve your baby’s curiosity, attention span, memory, and nervous system development. In addition, many babies who receive appropriate stimulation reach developmental milestones faster and have better muscle coordination.

TODDLERS Toddlers are always on the move and ready for a movement activity. You can do so many activities with the smaller sensory balls such as throwing, catching, rolling and kicking – with the extra added bonus of tactile stimulation. Use a large sensory ball and have your little one roll on his or her belly back and forth. This will help with balance, core strength, spatial perception, and trust!

KIDS Older kids can really improve core strength, balance and shoulder girdle strength by rolling on a large sensory ball and then walking their hands out. The key is to keep the belly and legs tight (pretend they have a chocolate chip in their belly button and between their knees and they can’t let it drop.) Kids can walk forwards and backwards keeping their body in a straight line.

I have included a link to Amazon below where you can easily purchase sensory balls. I love this set because it comes with two different sizes.

Homemade Play Dough

Posted on: June 30th, 2011 by Tiny Toes 1 Comment

This play dough is super easy to make and can last up to 6 months if stored in an airtight container or zip lock bag. This recipe requires a few minutes of stovetop cooking which is well worth it because the texture is so much better than the non-cook recipes. My 2 year old is obsessed with play dough and it is so much fun to mix the colors! I love how pliable this dough is especially for little hands not to mention you don’t have to worry about little ones putting it in their mouths since it is all non toxic. You probably have most of the ingredients in your house already!

Ingredients

1 cup water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup salt

1 tablespoon cream of tartar – helps with the pliability of the dough and helps it last up to 6 months when stored properly

Food Coloring

1 cup of flour

Directions

Combine the water, oil, salt and cream of tartar in a pot over medium heat until warm stirring occasionally. This only takes about 3 minutes. Remove from the stove and add the flour. Stir and then knead until smooth. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired and knead the dough some more. I have found that if you add the food coloring into the mixture on the stove you can keep your hands cleaner but the consistency of the dough isn’t as pliable. So I prefer a few minutes of stained hands for better dough! You can also add non toxic glitter to jazz it up, oatmeal for added texture or scented oils to stimulate their sense of smell.

Once your play dough is ready, have fun! Roll, twist, twirl and cut the dough with safety scissors. This is a fabulous fine motor activity for toddlers and provides a tremendous amount of tactile input. This is also a great opportunity to help your children learn about colors, mixing colors and shapes. I love this Melissa and Doug play dough accessory set. Jordan loves using the rolling pins, cutters and stamps. They add a whole extra element of fun, learning, fine motor and tactile stimulation. I was not impressed with the dough they include but that is totally fine with me since we make our own and the accessories are amazing.

Jordan also loves this cookie monster play dough accessory set because he can make cookies and all types of food with the molds and feed them to cookie monster. He thinks this is hilarious! I also love that there are molds for every letter of the alphabet. Every time your little ones are exposed to letters or numbers you are providing another building block for learning! I am also impressed that the molds contain lots of fruits and vegetables in addition to the cookies which provides opportunities to discuss the benefits of healthy eating.

Applesauce Painting!

Posted on: June 23rd, 2011 by Tiny Toes 7 Comments
Painting with Applesauce 6 mos+
My 2 year old Jordan loves mixing the colors and tasting his creation ! Painting with applesauce is great for me as a parent because I don’t have to worry about him getting real paint in his mouth. He can paint and eat at the same time. It can get a little messy but believe me applesauce is much easier to clean up than paint!

Materials:

Applesauce [any brand or kind but Musselman’s has more Vitamin C than most store brands]

Wax paper or aluminum foil to cover the table for toddlers and older kids. A highchair works great for little ones.

Tape

Spoons, straws, unused paintbrushes [optional]

Food coloring [optional]

Seat your child at the table or surface of your choice. Lay out wax paper and or aluminum foil and tape down for easy cleanup and extra tactile sensation! Put a few tablespoons of applesauce on the table for yourself and each child and start finger painting!

Let kids get messy and explore their sense of touch, smell, sight and taste. Finger paint, squish, squeeze and have fun!

To further encourage learning make circles in your applesauce while singing round and round we go or sing wheels on the bus.

Paint letters and sing the ABCs. Trace numbers and slowly count to 10. Spell out your children’s names and say each letter out loud. If the kids are engaged in their own painting and creativity let them explore on their own. Provide opportunities for learning without pushing them to replicate what you are doing.

You can add in spoons, straws and/or unused paintbrushes for extra exploration.

Helps with:

Tactile and visual stimulation

Fine motor development

Creativity

Crossing the midline

Learning Colors

Mixing Colors

Make Your Own Maracas!

Posted on: June 11th, 2011 by Tiny Toes No Comments

Make Your Own Maracas!

Materials:

Empty plastic water bottles

Assorted dried beans

Colored pasta

Masking tape

Plastic bowls or cups

Small funnel [optional]

Have fun!

Fill bowls with different colored dried beans and pasta. Let children play with the beans but make sure they don’t put them in their mouths! Talk about the different colors and shapes of the beans and pasta. Encourage the children to put the beans into their empty, dry bottle. This is a great fine motor skill! If they are having trouble putting the beans in with their fingers you can put a small funnel into the top of the bottle which will make the activity easier. Fill the bottles half way with beans and tape the top back on the bottle. Shake your maracas fast and slow then shake them high and low.  Sing your favorite songs while shaking the maracas!

Helps with:

Tactile, visual and auditory stimulation

Fine motor development

Creativity

Rhythmic Awareness

Color discrimination

Finger Painting with Pudding!

Posted on: June 4th, 2011 by Tiny Toes No Comments

Finger Painting with Pudding – 6 months and up

Materials:

Pudding

Wax paper and/or aluminum foil to cover the table for older children. Younger children can sit in a highchair.

Tape

Spoons, straws, unused paintbrushes [optional]

Have fun!

Seat your child at the table or surface of your choice. Lay out wax paper and or aluminum foil and tape down for easy cleanup and extra tactile sensation! Put a few tablespoons of pudding on the table for yourself and each child and start finger painting!

Let kids get messy and explore their sense of touch, smell, sight and taste. Finger paint, squish, squeeze and have fun!

To further encourage learning make circles in your pudding while singing round and round we go or sing wheels on the bus.

Paint letters and sing the ABCs. Trace numbers and slowly count to 10. Spell out your children’s names and say each letter out loud. If the kids are engaged in their own painting and creativity let them explore on their own. Provide opportunities for learning without pushing them to replicate what you are doing.

You can add in spoons, straws and/or unused paintbrushes for extra exploration. And you can use different flavors of pudding for color variation and mixing.

Helps with:

Tactile and visual stimulation

Fine motor development

Creativity