5 Easy Sensory Activities And Play Ideas For Kids

Sensory play activities for kids that are easy to set up and put into motion! Get messy, use those sense and have so much fun!

Engaging your child in sensory play helps them prepare for life. Let’s take a look at the advantages of sensory play and its function in brain development.

Our brains are made up of billions of brain cells, known as neurons, and the connections between them, known as synapses.

The first three years of a baby’s life are critical for brain development. While an infant’s brain contains around 50 trillion synapses when birth, a three-year-brain old’s has grown to have 1000 trillion synapses.

So, how can parents safeguard their children’s healthy brain development? Continue reading for suggestions on how to make simple sensory activities for your children.

This post may contain affiliate links. Full privacy policy and disclosure here.

Sensory Activities And Play Ideas

Making time for your kid, regardless of age, to engage in sensory play is critical for their long-term learning and health.

So, how can you begin incorporating sensory play into your daily life?

The good news is that it is easy!

Here are some sensory play options for parents who are short on time.

#1. Use What You Have

You’ve undoubtedly seen your child play with the simplest “things,” such as a paper towel roll, a saucepan and spoon, or straws.

You and your child may have a lot of fun by using things that you already have around the house.

Take a colander and some spaghetti noodles (or a pipe cleaner) and challenge your child to stuff the noodles through the holes.

When they break the spaghetti strands, they will be drawn to the experience and will begin to acquire fundamental motor skills as well as problem-solving skills.

#2. Get Squishy with Play Doh and Fondant

For older children, play-doh and fondant are excellent tools to teach sensory play as well as future skills such as making a cake.

Fondant could be used to create beautiful designs, but it requires time and patience to get the desired results, both of which are necessary abilities in daily decision-making and life.

Don’t be scared to explore new things and engage in messy play activities.

That’s what sensory learning is all about!

This is also an excellent opportunity to spend quality time with your child and make memories that will last a lifetime.

#3. Use Sensory Bottles

Get a couple of clear bottles and some glitter in a variety of colors.

Combine warm water and office glue in a separate container.

Warm water dissolves glue faster, although cold water can also be used.

Fill each bottle with glitter, mix it up, and then seal it.

Give your child the bottles and watch her wonder at the miracle of glitter settling and developing consistently every time they shake them.

Here are some sensory bottle ideas!

#4. Use Science

With an evergreen science bin, you can pique a preschooler’s or elementary-aged children’s interest in science.

The concept is simple, yet it integrates the three major senses: sight, touch, and scent.

On a sheet of paper, you design a tree outline and then challenge your kid to color it with fresh or dried leaves and glue them to the tree shape.

To make it more interesting, have your kid paint the tree with leaves from various flora.

This will bring new odors, sensations, and colors.

Depending on your children’s age, you can have her sketch creatures to form a habitat around the tree.

#5. Make Sensory Bins

This project will be a lot of fun for your child.

Collect several sorts of things from around the house that can excite the senses (and make sure they are safe to use).

Attach them to a large piece of cardboard or place them all in a container.

Allow your child to feel and play with the textures.

Pose pertinent questions regarding your children’s sensory exploration.

Create a discussion in which your child is encouraged to utilize descriptive terms.

For example, consider the following inquiries:

How does it make you feel?
How does it appear?
What kind of odor is produced?
What kind of sound does it make?
What does it taste like?
Smooth, slimy, chilly, and lovely are just a few of the wonderful adjectives your kid may learn by playing with a sensory board.

Help your child develop their senses while also nurturing their language talents.

Why Is Sensory Play Important To Brain Development

Sensory stimulation for babies is crucial for brain development, therefore sensory play is important. It can help to enhance sensory synapses and functions.

Based on life events, synapses in the brain are added or pruned.

This is referred to as experience-dependent plasticity/neuroplasticity 2.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s capacity to reorganize itself through changing neuronal pathways or synapses.

It is important to expose children’s to a variety of sensory experiences in order for their brains to acquire the required sensory processing abilities.

Many of these senses develop best (if not exclusively) during a period of time known as the crucial period.

The majority of crucial times have been shown to reside in the early years postnatal, which is why sensory play is extremely essential for young children 3.

Sensory play is crucial not just for newborns and toddlers, who frequently have time to play and explore at home, but also for preschoolers and primary students.

Allowing your child to utilize several senses to complete a task allows them to learn more from the experience and remember more knowledge.

(This concept does not alter as you get older; even adults remember more knowledge when they use many senses!)

Last Words on Sensory Play

So, the next time you notice your child playing with unrelated objects such as paper towel rolls, pots, straws, and toys, encourage them. A child may utilize anything to learn about the world. Allowing her to follow her instincts also helps to develop her senses.

5 Easy Sensory Activities And Play Ideas For Kids