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
10+ Ways to Play with a Water Hose This Summer
By mid-July, early August, summer can start to feel long when you have young children…
Design a Beehive Sensory & STEAM
During our study of the theme gardening theme, we learned about garden visitors such as…
Spring Butterfly Matching Sensory Tray for Preschoolers
Spring is such an exciting time in the preschool classroom, which so many opportunities to…
DIY Kids Glittery Ombre Galaxy Jars
What are galaxies? Did you know they are made up of gas, millions of stars,…
Dinosaur Eggs Preschool Activities
In our dinosaur theme from Experience Preschool curriculum, we learned that all dinosaurs hatched from…
Valentine Rice Sensory Bin
Make a Valentine rice sensory bin for your little ones to explore for Valentine’s Day.…
Simple Sensory Bin + Puzzle Play Activity for Preschoolers
Ever notice your stack of puzzles is not getting much play? Try puzzles in a…
Cracking Nuts in Preschool
We’ve been learning about the weather and seasons and watching the squirrels in our yard.…
Healthy Teeth Lessons
Learning about staying healthy is part of learning about ourselves. Children can begin to care…
Noodle Brain STEAM Station
How Does Your Brain Feel? ALL ABOUT ME | BODY PARTS | NOODLE BRAIN How…
Tadpole Sensory Bin
We’re starting a fun spring theme called Pond Life from Experience Preschool. We’re going to…
Candy Cane Play Dough Gift Jars
It’s not easy to come up with gift ideas for my child care group, but…
Pokey Like a Hedgehog
This month is all about Winter in the Woods with Experience Early Learning (formerly Mother…
Button Towers
Threading is a skill that’s beneficial for children in many ways. Threading or beading develops…
Play Dough Factory
Along with all the more common community helpers we’ve been learning about, we also talked…
Corduroy’s Christmas Surprise Story & Sensory
Most children are familiar with the story of Corduroy and will be delighted with this…
Play Dough Hair Styles
This month we’ve been exploring all types of jobs through Experience Early Learning’s (formerly Mother…
Nature Play Mud Pies
My kids loved making their nature play mud pies! Mud was the topic of lesson…
Structure Building with Pool Noodles & Shaving Cream
Up for some messy sensory summer play? Try structure building with pool noodles and shaving…
Y is for Yellow Dandelion Play Dough
This month, along with Experience Preschool (formerly Mother Goose Time), we’re focusing on letters Y…
Cutting Herbs Sensory Activity
Did you know that thyme is a major food source for animals in the Sahara…
Rainbow Sugar Cube Pyramids
We’ve been learning about The Great Pyramid in Desert Discovery from Mother Goose Time. One…
Desert Small World Play
This month we’re learning about the desert. It’s not always easy to make places like…
Preschool Slice and Count Play Dough Math Activity
The Slice and Count Play Dough Math Activity we did last week with Experience Curriculum…
Exploring Grains Preschool Activities
This month we’re starting our Health and Fitness theme with Mother Goose Time. I can…
Elephant Digging Tusks Sensory & Math
We continue to explore Going On Safari with Mother Goose Time. This fun math activity…
Safari Habitat Sensory Bin
Going On Safari from Mother Goose Time has been awesome this month! I was inspired…
Winter Ice
One of our awesome days of Experience Preschool Curriculum lessons focusing on Sights and Sounds…
The Sound of Drums
This December our preschool theme is Sights and Sounds (Cozy Winter Senses – 2021) from…
Super Soft Pumpkin Play Dough
Fall is just around the corner so you may be planning your fall fun centers.…
Learning About Responsibilities
Week three of the Alphabet House theme was all about household chores and learning about…
Gardening Sensory Bin
Everyone learns best by doing so I made a gardening sensory bin for my preschoolers…
Pink Bubble Gum Slime
Loving this fun Pink Bubble Gum Slime of slime version – the texture and scent…
Ocean Commotion Sand Foam Sensory Experience
I set out the shaving cream… and the blue sand… Everyone wanted to know “What…
Coral Collages and STEAM Station
I have some awesome Coral Collages and STEAM Station activities to share with you today…
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
Sensory play is necessary for children all year long. We know that children learn through…
Dinosaur Sensory Bins
Creating sensory bins is one of the most fun parts of planning my environment. Each…
Dinosaur Fossil Clay Recipe
We are well into our January dinosaur theme from Experience Preschool It’s been so fun…
Gingerbread Man Play Dough
The holidays are coming and it’s a wonderful time for all activities sensory for the…
Noodle Brain Sensory Play
Last week we started learning about My Amazing Body: Body Parts. We learned that our…
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
Sing a Song of Sixpence is a strange nursery rhyme (a lot of them are!)…
What’s Inside a Pumpkin? Discovery for Young Learners
What’s inside a pumpkin? Opening a pumpkin and looking inside is a seasonal, hands-on learning…
Starry Night Sensory Play
One of our favorite activities from July’s Art Studio theme was the Starry Night Sensory…
Treasure Sand Sensory Play
Sensory play is a major component of our play and learning in preschool. While playing…
Hang It Out To Dry
We had the most fun with laundry day during our Bubbles, Boats and Floats theme…
Soapy Bubbles Water Play
This month we’ve been learning about water through play with the Mother Goose Time’s Bubbles,…
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 Preschool Activities
The Desert Discovery theme from Experience Curriculum starts out with a week all about the…
Fizzy Ice Sensory & Science Experiment
During our Outdoor Sights & Sounds of Winter theme with Mother Goose Time, we covered…
Play Dough Ideas for Halloween
Originally I saw this idea to use tangram shapes or PLAY DOUGH AND PATTERN BLOCK PUMPKINS to…
Nature Play Dough
All through July we’ve been enjoying nature activities along with our Nature Detectives theme. One…
Alphabet House: Rooms in a House
We continue learning with The Alphabet House theme – this week is Alphabet House: Rooms…
Growing Gardens: Planting the Garden
The first week of our Growing Gardens theme is all about Planting the Garden. We learned…
Chinese New Year Preschool Sensory Play
Chinese New Year is a spring festival celebrating the change of the Chinese calendar. It…
Dinosaur Egg Sensory Play
Our dinosaur egg sensory play bin dinosaur eggs and kinetic sand for preschoolers makes a…
Holiday Wrap Cutting Activity Bin
Some of the preschoolers in my group need to work on their cutting skills. To…
Simple Fall Science Centers for Preschoolers
Setting up a couple simple fall science centers for preschoolers is super easy. Sometimes my…
4th of July Sparkler Wands
While shopping at Michael’s, I spotted red, white and blue mesh tube ribbon. I’ve never…
4th of July Sparkle Bottles
Happy 4th of July! Today’s the day and I have several fun activities for the…
Valentine Water Sensory Play
Looking for a Valentine-themed sensory bin? Look no farther. This one is pretty easy to pull…
Preschool Water Table Ideas -Sponges in the Water Table
While out shopping I found these sponges and decided to switch up the sensory table…
J is for Junk Jar ~ Preschool Alphabet Activities
We did this activity a long time ago, but it was so fun, it’s one…
Waiter, Waiter! Preschool Restaurant Dramatic Play
Perhaps this isn’t such the glamorous part of dining out, being the waiter. Children are…
Snowflake Play Dough
Snowflake dough is super soft, white and lovely to play with! Not cold like real…
Alphabet Ice Painting
We’ve had some very cold days already this winter. Last week temps with wind chills…
Winter Snow Bin Sensory Play
Here in Wisconsin, it’s -2F with the windchill at noon today. There’s a wind chill…
Outdoor Art: Autumn Leaf Collage
I like to incorporate a variety of activities in our outdoor play including art. This…
Preschool Community Helpers Construction Worker
There are many fun ways to explore the role of a construction worker through play.…
Spooky Googly Eye Glitter Water Play
What a fun morning playing with Spooky Googly Eye Glitter Water Play! I loved this…
R is for Rocks | Preschool Activities
Our rock activities included water and rocks sensory play, scrubbing rocks with water and brushes,…
Little People Car Wash Water Play
Make a toy car wash with toys you already have! Our Fisher-Price Little People car…
Animal Wash Soapy Sensory Play
One of the simplest sensory activities is so fun! Make an animal wash soapy sensory…
Easter Egg Water Sensory Play
Make an Easter Egg Water Sensory Play bin with colorful eggs, pastel water, and some glass…
Ocean Sand Sensory Bin
This sensory bin doesn’t coordinate with our current theme, but I was inspired to make…
Preschool Activity Trays
This post contains Discount Supply affiliate links. My group has really enjoyed the new activity…
Scented Kool-Aid Paint
We’re learning about bees and butterflies this month. We’ve learned that both use their sense…
St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Play
Make a St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Play bin for March with simple supplies. Gather some green…
Mini Volcanoes
Throughout our dinosaur theme, I think the volcanoes captured the boy’s {I currently have all…
Play Dough Monsters
I received this great “Rainy Day Survival Kit” set of craft supplies free, from CraftProjectIdeas.com…
Smelling Sensory Bottles Free Printable Labels
For our “My Amazing Body” theme, I made some Smelling Sensory Bottles. Although my version…
Flyswatter Bubbles
Bubbles are a childhood necessity. Everyone loves bubbles, lots of bubbles and that’s what happens…
Space Sensory Discovery Box
As I was gathering ideas for my space sensory box, I decided that I didn’t…
Homemade Bubbles and Refill Station
With summer comes lots of fun outdoor play that wouldn’t be complete without bubbles! A…
Rainbow I Spy Bottles
Rainbow I Spy Bottles are a fun summer sensory and craft activity for kids of…
Rainbow Kool-Aid Play Dough with colored toothpicks
Our rainbow theme has ended but I still have several posts that I didn’t get…
Rainbow Rice & Garden Sensory Play
Rice has been used in sensory play in preschools and kindergartens for ages but coloring…
Rainbow Ice Cube Painting
This was something new for us, Rainbow Ice Cube Painting. I froze LIQUID WATERCOLORS (filled the…
Ponds and Muck
Yesterday we made a simple pond in our water table with sticks, cholla wood (logs),…
Moving Water Sensory Play
Moving water sensory play isn’t anything new, but it’s still really fun. Today we played…