One morning in the Toddler 1 room we enjoyed double sensory fun activities! The morning began with the children painting our sensory bin with some fun spring colors. The children used paint brushes and rolling sponges to paint the inside of our sensory bin. This activity allowed the children to engage in colour mixing as there were multiple colours of paint for them to use. Providing these options allowed them build self confidence since they were able to make the choice themselves. Furthermore, as other children came to take their turn the colours mixed more and more. This introduced the children to aspects of colour theory.
Step one of the sensory fun activity was to paint the bin, while step two involved cleaning the paint mess up! The educators added soap and water into the bin alongside some clean brushes and sponges. This aspect of the activity really challenged the children’s fine motor skills since they had to dip their sponge in soap and water, squeeze it out and then keep a hold on it as they tackled the awkward angles in the sensory bin. Overall, we got messy and wet, while having lots of sensory fun!
Since our previous sensory activity went so well, educator Sara decided to introduce another one to the group! Sara set up the tuff tray with some sand and shaving cream in small piles. Some of the children were much more interested in this activity than others, which is completely okay! The children were able to use their fine motor skills as they mixed the sand and shaving cream all together with their fingers and hands. The children also enjoyed patting it down so the piles got flat. As they were mixing it together, Sara asked the children open-ended questions like “what does it feel like between your fingers?” and “is it bumpy or smooth?” Overall, the children loved our messy sensory fun activities!
