2 Easy Sensory Activities to Encourage Play + Development

Did you know sensory play benefits your child's growth and development?

"Sensory play focuses on activities that engage your child’s senses, helping them develop language skills and motor skills. It also helps with cognitive growth, fosters social interactions and encourages experimentation." - The Cleveland Clinic

We've partnered with two members of our community, Madison Page and Alessa Formentin, to share engaging sensory activities their littles love!

Handprint Rocket Ship

Blast off your little's creativity with this immersive activity from Madison Page, incorporating little hands (great for exploring touch and sensation!) and a few simple household items.

Things you’ll need:

Non-toxic paint
Paint brush
Construction paper

Also Used:

Step by Step:

Step 1 - Lay out Splat Mat

Step 2 - Pour the paint you’ll need into silicone dish

Step 3 - Paint the child’s hand and stamp it on paper

Step 4 - Paint your nose cone and fins in the color of choice

Step 5 - Add your own details (flames, door, windows, etc.)

Sensory Pink Lemonade

Make sensory lemonade! Invite your little ones to explore textures, smell, movement, and color with this engaging idea from Alessa Formentin.

Materials You Need:

1 sponge
1 lemon
Yellow paint
White paint
Purple paint
Cardboard cut out for cups
Paint brushes
2-3 Clothespins

Also Used:

What to Do:

Have an adult cut out the shapes for cardboard cups and cut the sponge into squares ( for the ice cubes) and lemon in half.

Step 1: Paint the cup purple ( or your color of choice.)
Step 2: Use the lemon as a stamp. Dip into yellow paint and stamp onto the cup.
Step 3: Grab the sponge cutouts with the clothespin, dip them into white paint and stamp them onto a cup.
Step 4: Get messy with Bumkins!

Want more insight into sensory play? Check out this awesome chat with Kendra of @learning.for.littles where she debunks common misconceptions around play based learning!