Touch o Wrap babies in different textured materials o Explore warm / cold surfaces o Explore rough / smooth materials o Make feely boxes (smooth shells, cold metal, hard pebbles, soft velvet etc) o Explore wet / dry materials o Toys that move e.g. mobiles, wind chimes, activity centres, vibrating toys such as sensory balls o Feel growing leaves on the trees Sensory Play Ideas 0 8 months Vision o Black & white mobiles o Filling / emptying different sized containers o Musical washing line o Wind chimes o CD mobiles o Sound / colour bottles o Exploring shapes e.g. cones, spheres, cubes, cylinders (watch how they move on the floor e.g. roll, turn, spin) o bubbles o Animal / natural sound cd s o Musical instruments o Sound bottles(rice, pulses) o Rattles o Socks with bells attached o Outdoor wind chimes o Singing sessions o Scented candles o Aromatherapy oils o Explore vegetable peelings o Scented water / gloop o Massage oils (apricot, lavender, camomile)
Touch o Treasure basket collections e.g. shells, stones, fabrics, chains, ribbons, keys, fur, large beads, wood, metal o Textures balls e.g. kosch, spiky o Books with touch buttons / feely books o Fruit / vegetable (whole or frozen slices) o Float leaves in water o Freeze leaves, flowers in ice cubes o Explore flowers / plants outside o Massage oils o Scented water o Herb bags (fresh herbs wrapped in material) o Scented bean bags o Fruit / vegetables Sensory Play Ideas 8 18 months o Cooking activities e.g. bread, soup, porridge o Snack time foods e.g. fruit, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes etc allows textures to also be explored Vision o Cooked ( coloured/scented) spaghetti o Wet / dry (coloured / scented) sand o Coloured / scented gloop & slime o Painting (sponges, finger, hands, body, feet, stick etc.) o Torches o Coloured materials o Make mobiles from natural materials e.g. leaves and twigs o Set leaves in jelly to explore o Different music cd s o Musical instruments o Homemade sound games o Exploring natural sounds e.g. bird song, waves crashing
Vision o Torches with coloured acetate on o Spray bottles with different coloured paint in o Mark making outdoors / indoors using ketchup bottles, drinks bottles with holes in the top o Build dens using different coloured materials o Outside make cd mobiles to hang from the fence / trees o Bubbles o Scented water, dough, gloop o Cooking activities o Flower petals in water o Explore pot pouri o Herbal tea bags in water o Herb bags o Scented glue / paint for making pictures o Add spices to dough Sensory Play Ideas 18 24 months o Sound lotto games o Singing sessions o Animal sound tapes o Outdoor walks o Share stories o Cooking activities e.g. gingerbread biscuits, bread o Offer different foods at snack times Touch o Textures balls / bean bags o Tough spot filled with grass, leaves, twigs, pebbles, sand, and cones. Explore them with feet, hands and bodies. o Textured dough (oats, sand, rice) o Ribbon sticks made from different textured materials to wave o Windmills o Thread scrunches onto cardboard tubes o Use colanders, sieves in the water tray o Use sticks to mark make in mud, sand, soil, clay o Hide leaves in gloop, slime and soil o Explore water melons / pumpkins
Vision o Add coloured wool to sand, spaghetti, gloop o Heuristic play collections e.g. wood, metal, spiky, shiny o Explore natural materials that are rough, smooth, lumpy, prickly etc o Mark making in soil, sand, gloop, flour o Ribbon sticks to make patterns o Explore weaving materials onto garden trellis / netting o Make ball run using ball pool balls and guttering o Watch dandelion seeds float in the air when blown o Grow herbs, sensory plants in the garden e.g. curry, lavender, rosemary, thyme o Cooking activities Sensory Play Ideas 24 36 months Touch o Natural collections e.g. leaves, flowers, bark, cones, feathers o Textured paper to draw, paint, print onto o Explore dried pulses, cooked spaghetti, vegetable peeling o Explore frozen slices of fruit / ice cubes o Explore planting o Make concrete tiles and set pebbles, beads, wrapped string, shells into it to feel o Explore water melons / pumpkins o Make mud pies o Make sound boxes filled with pebbles, sand, rice, seeds o Go on sound walks o Make a sound lotto games from familiar sounds e.g. telephone, hover, door bell o Move and dance to natural sounds o Singing sessions o Herbs / spices in ice cubes o Scented bags filled with herbs, spices
Vision o Threading / weaving with different materials o Make mobiles to hand in the garden o Bubble chasing outside o Make kaleidoscopes o Draw patterns with cardboard combs in paint, sand, soil o Make frozen mobiles using yoghurt pots filled with natural materials and put a loop on hang and watch it melt Touch o Collect textured paper to paint, draw, collage on o Natural treasure collections to explore e.g. cones, leaves, pebbles, feathers o Take bark, pebble rubbings o Explore water melons and pumpkins o Make liquid mud pictures Sensory Play Ideas 36 + months o Add spices, flavourings to flour, gloop, water, sand, dough o Make perfume using rose petals and water o Make smelly bean bags o Explore scented candles o Plastic bottles (cover the top with thin fabric) and fill with spices, aromatherapy oils and use in a smell circle time session o Make kazoos from paper and combs o Go on a blindfold walk and talk about things heard o Move and dance to natural sounds o Play sound lotto games o Make soup, porridge, gingerbread and link to stories e.g. little red hen, gingerbread man, enormous turnip. o Explore different fruits / breads at snack times
Sensory descriptive words Wide Narrow Plain Patterned Stripes Spirals Checks Wavy Spotty Sweet Sticky Damp Fresh Fruity Musty Spicy Prickly Tickly Spiral Ridged Bumpy