Taste Safe Sensory Activities
As a mom and Occupational Therapist, I know how important it is to allow your child to explore their environment and learn about their bodies. Whether it’s crawling under furniture while learning not to bump their head or playing with their food, there are so many sensory activities that you can do with your child. Children can participate in these activities, even as young as 8 months old! Since your child is now able to sit and play, these activities are a perfect opportunity to learn to explore with their eyes and hands, develop coordination, and have fun! You may even have fun playing with some of these textures too!
Rainbow Path:
For those babies and children who like crawl or walk, make a rainbow path with some bubble wrap and colored construction paper. Just tape together the colored construction paper and then lay the bubble wrap (either way up) and tape along 3 edges, leaving the long edge free. Splash different colored paint all along the construction paper, seal the last edge, and let your child crawl and/or walk all over the path! For a more secure path, roll some tape underneath the construction paper and onto the floor.
Items needed:
Duct tape
Construction Paper
Bubble Wrap
Washable Paint
Underwater Jello Exploration:
Jello is such a fun experience and a great way to use both hands for play. Even for the little ones who might not be sure what to do, learning to poke holes into the Jello is a great fine motor starter. Make the Jello only using the hot water. Pour the Jello into the silicone molds and then use silicone or plastic toys and put them inside the molds and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. This is best to do with your child before they go to bed, and they can play in the morning while you drink your coffee! For those babies who may be hesitant to touch this consistency, you can make the Jello in the molds and then when it’s ready for play, push small food into the Jello and watch your child dig for it!
Items needed:
Silicone molds such as cupcake molds
Blue Jello
Small plastic or silicone toys
Goldfish, Cheerios, or Puffs
Edible Dirt with Flowers and Animals:
Most children love digging in the dirt but sometimes you might not want them digging up your yard. This activity is great for hand strengthening and coordination. Dump a sleeve of Ritz crackers and about half a cup of cocoa powder into a Ziplock bag and let your child squish it and stomp on the contents until it looks more like powder. If you want the dirt to be wetter, you can add a little vegetable oil to it. When it starts to look like dirt, dump it into a large food storage container or baking pan and throw in some toys. Scooping and placing the dirt into stacking cups or make a garden with flowers or play food is great for creativity and problem solving, not just coordination. See how imaginative your child can be with the different items you provide for them to play with.
Items needed:
Cocoa powder
Ritz Crackers
Vegetable oil (optional)
Large Ziplock bag
Small shovels (or formula scoopers)
Stacking cups
Play food
Fake flowers
Small pretend animals
The Archeologist Dig:
Kinetic sand is fun and fairly easy to clean up, but you don’t want your child to put it in their mouths. Using only 2 ingredients, this activity is a ton of fun for both you and your child! This cloud sand recipe is so much fun and acts exactly as kinetic sand. Using your hands, mix together the flour and oil in a large bowl until combined. Then pour it out onto a cookie tray with rimmed edges. With this mixture, you can build small sandcastles, make hand and foot prints, and dig for buried treasures (I like pretzel sticks for “bones”) with scoopers. Clean up is simple with a vacuum!
Items needed:
5 cups of flour (heated in oven prior to use at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, then let cool)
1 cup of vegetable oil
Pretzel sticks
Small shovels (or formula scoopers)
Stacking cups
Beach toys