Why do children play with sand and water in preschool? Sensory play stimulates a child’s senses and facilitate exploration and naturally allow children to use scientific processes while they play, create and learn through investigation and exploration. Sensory play doesn’t have to be just sand or water – it is any activities that stimulate the child’s sense of touch, taste, smell, sight or hearing. The benefits of sensory play extend to motor skills, social skills, language development, cognitive skills as well as problem-solving.
Recommended Supplies for Sensory Play
Here’s a list of some of my favorite sensory bin materials:
- Ice cube trays – all sizes and shapes. Great for one-to-one correspondence, filling, patterning
- Jumbo tweezers – safe and develops hand strength, hand- eye coordination, fine motor skills
- Scoops & Tongs – fun for grabbing small objects, fine motor skill development
- Bear Counters – colorful, useable in sand or water. Sort, count, collect
- Plastic long handled spoons
- Kinetic Sand – hours of fun!
- Play sand – a basic. Add tools and containers.
- Water beads – colorful fun!
- Any kind of Toob Toys
- Pom poms – for a little softness and color
- Pipettes – for water play
- Gold Coins – St. Patrick’s Day or treasure sand
- Measuring Set – incorporate some math
- Sand Sieves – sift sand or strain water
- Bug Counters – add to sand, water, shredded paper
- Mini Porcupine Balls – colorful and wonderful texture
- Colorful Wood Beads – sounds so neat!
- Sponges – put in the water table for children to squeeze and develop hand strength
Sensory Activities for Preschoolers
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Design a Beehive Sensory & STEAM
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Butterfly Matching Sensory Tray
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DIY Kids Glittery Ombre Galaxy Jars
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Dinosaur Eggs Preschool Activities
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Valentine Rice Sensory Bin
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Sensory Bin + Puzzle
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Cracking Nuts in Preschool
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Healthy Teeth Lessons
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Noodle Brain STEAM Station
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Tadpole Sensory Bin
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Candy Cane Play Dough Gift Jars
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Pokey Like a Hedgehog
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Button Towers
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Play Dough Factory
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Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise Story & Sensory
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Play Dough Hair Styles
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Nature Play Mud Pies
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Structure Building with Pool Noodles & Shaving Cream
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Y is for Yellow Dandelion Play Dough
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Cutting Herbs Sensory Activity
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Rainbow Sugar Cube Pyramids
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Desert Small World Play
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Preschool Slice and Count Play Dough Math Activity
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Exploring Grains Preschool Activities
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Elephant Digging Tusks Sensory & Math
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Safari Habitat Sensory Bin
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Winter Ice
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The Sound of Drums
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Super Soft Pumpkin Play Dough
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Learning About Responsibilities
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Gardening Sensory Bin
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Pink Bubble Gum Slime
Loving this fun Pink Bubble Gum Slime of slime version – the texture and scent…
Ocean Commotion Sand Foam Sensory Experience
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Coral Collages and STEAM Station
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Create an Ocean Creature Sensory Bin
I’m excited to share a wonderful ocean creature sensory bin idea. The blue water beads look so…
Easter Sensory Play Ideas
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Dinosaur Sensory Bins
Creating sensory bins is one of the most fun parts of planning my environment. Each…
Dinosaur Fossil Clay Recipe
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Gingerbread Man Play Dough
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Noodle Brain Sensory Play
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DIY Sand Play Dough
Sand and play dough are staples in childhood but combining the two is a real…
Straws & Play Dough
Straws and play dough are nothing new but they sure are fun! We tried something…
Sing a Song of Sixpence
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What’s Inside a Pumpkin?
What’s inside a pumpkin? Opening a pumpkin and looking inside is a seasonal, hands-on learning…
Starry Night Sensory Play
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Treasure Sand Sensory Play
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Hang It Out To Dry
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Soapy Bubbles Water Play
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Black And White Panda Bear Sensory Bin
Our Black And White Panda Bear Sensory Bin has been a hit the last few weeks!…
Don’t Sit on a Cactus Preschool Desert Activities
The song repeats over and over in my head “Don’t Sit on a Cactus…” Great…
Discover the Desert: Lasso
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Fizzy Ice Sensory & Science Experiment
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Play Dough Ideas for Halloween
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Nature Play Dough
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Alphabet House: Rooms in a House
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Growing Gardens: Planting the Garden
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Chinese New Year Preschool Sensory Play
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Dinosaur Egg Sensory Play
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Holiday Wrap Cutting Activity Bin
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Simple Fall Science Centers for Preschoolers
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4th of July Sparkler Wands
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4th of July Sparkle Bottles
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Valentine Water Sensory Play
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Preschool Water Table Ideas -Sponges in the Water Table
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J is for Junk Jar ~ Preschool Alphabet Activities
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Waiter, Waiter! Preschool Restaurant Dramatic Play
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Snowflake Play Dough
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Alphabet Ice Painting
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Winter Snow Bin Sensory Play
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Outdoor Art: Autumn Leaf Collage
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Preschool Community Helpers Construction Worker
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Spooky Googly Eye Glitter Water Play
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R is for Rocks | Preschool Activities
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Little People Car Wash Water Play
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Animal Wash Soapy Sensory Play
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Easter Egg Water Sensory Play
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Ocean Sand Sensory Bin
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Preschool Activity Trays
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Scented Kool-Aid Paint
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St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Play
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Mini Volcanoes
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Help Yourself Pitchers Pouring Practice
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Play Dough Monsters
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Smelling Sensory Bottles Free Printable Labels
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Flyswatter Bubbles
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Space Sensory Discovery Box
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Homemade Bubbles and Refill Station
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Sticky Table Sensory Play
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Rainbow Sensory Balloons & Painting
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Rainbow I Spy Bottles
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Rainbow Rice & Garden Sensory Play
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Rainbow Ice Cube Painting
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Ponds and Muck
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Moving Water Sensory Play
Moving water sensory play isn’t anything new, but it’s still really fun. Today we played…
Kleenex Box Challenge :: Textile Sensory Box
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Sensory Bottles
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