HELLO!!!!!
Y’all, who’s ready to start our first round of Sensory With Mi ??? From November 8-12th, I will be posting a new sensory activity each day on my reels for all of us to do with our kiddos! #sensorywithmichallenge is the hashtag we’ll be using so if you’d like to participate next week, let’s make sure you have all the proper supplies! It was important to me that everyone would be able to participate, so you’ll find both budget friendly & age friendly alternatives below! I tried my best to do a mixture of messy / mess-free & quick / more time consuming activities!
Why should I do this?
Sensory play is so beneficial for kids of allllll ages. It is especially good for….
+ building nerve connections in the brain
+ encouraging the development of motor skills
+ supporting language development
+ encouraging ‘scientific thinking’ and problem solving
+ involving mindful activities that are beneficial for all children
With all of those benefits I’ve also found that it’s a really easy way to connect and entertain kids of all ages! Anytime I find my kids getting wild or needing some type of direction, I turn to sensory play! My goal with this #sensorywithmichallenge is that it will take you out of your comfort zone and into exploring sensory play! Every activity is intended to be done with parental supervision at all times.
Sis…I Don’t Like Messes?!
Listen…I didn’t like messes either. They would drive me crazy and I would micro-manage everything until I realized two things-
1. Mess will happen with kids 2. We can take the necessary steps manage the mess. Once I accepted those 2 things, sensory play became an enjoyment instead of stresser. Clothing can get washed, tables can get wiped, floors can be vacuumed. But I get it, even then it can be annoying to clean up all the time especially since we’re doing activities 5 days straight. So my biggest tip…do it in the bath/shower. Not all of these will be that messy, but an easy solution is to strip them down to their undies, a diaper, or swimsuit and have them complete the sensory activity in the bath! That way, once the activity is done, you can wipe them down and keep all the messes inside the shower for quick clean up!
With all of that in mind, ARE WE READY??? each activity is listed below!! along with supplies, age requirements, prep time & everything else you’ll need! I also went ahead and created a list on amazon with everything needed so all my amazon lovers can quickly purchase! If you chose to purchase else where, I highly suggest the Dollar Store, Hobby Lobby (sand), Michael’s, and Walmart.
*note: you’ll find detailed instructions in my reels, so follow along next week on instagram for a step-by-step guide of each activity the day prior ☺️
*** To make it suitable for children under the age of 6 months, place frosting in a bin with large plastic animals or toys.
*** To make suitable for children under 6 months, simply make jello but take it out before it fully sets to create a gooey and edible activity.
*** To make suitable for children under 6 months, replace shaving cream and body soap with whipped frosting for it to be taste safe.
*** This is suitable for children under 6 months, but I would recommend using large plastic animals that will not be a choking hazard.
*** Most items needed for play are common household items like water, baking soda, shaving cream, etc. The more expensive items are the plastic animals which can be replaced with trucks, trains, or any toy that your child might have! I have found that most sensory supplies are way cheaper in bulk- I have a huge can of baking soda that I have used for 1 full year now so if you plan on continuing (which I hope you do!!) maybe consider buying bulk! It’s an investment at first but then 100% pays for itself!
Sources: Exploring the Benefits fo Sensory Play, Good Start Early Learning, (2016), https://www.goodstart.org.au/news-and-advice/october-2016/exploring-the-benefits-of-sensory-play
