sensory play

Playdough Made with Hair Gel

Homemade playdough is always so much better than store bought. Over the years, we have come up with some go-to playdough recipes that are sure to work. While there is nothing wrong with a guaranteed recipe, I wanted to try something different. This playdough made with hair gel certainly fits that description!

One of the nicest things about this recipe is that it doesn’t need cream of tartar. I don’t always have cream of tartar in the house, so it’s nice to be able to make playdough without it.

Playdough Made with Hair Gel:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of clear hair gel*
1/4 cup of water
neon food colouring
1 to 1 1/2 cups of flour

*Note: This doesn’t need to be good quality hair gel. The containers from the Dollar Store work just as well as the expensive kind.

Directions:

Place 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup of the clear hair gel in a medium sized bowl.
Add 5 drops of neon food colouring to the liquid mixture.
Stir until this is well combined.
Add 1 cup of flour to the liquid.
Begin stirring until the contents begin to clump.
At this point, you can decide if you need to add additional flour. If the mixture feels sticky, add an additional 1/4 cup of flour, and continue to stir.
When the flour has been incorporated, test it for stickiness.
Add additional flour if needed.
When the playdough is no longer sticky, it is ready to play with!
Store in an airtight container when not in use.

Sensory play ideas with playdough:

Shape it onto a playdough mat.
Play Stuck in the Mud with toy cars.
Roll it, squish it, press it, shape it.
Use stamps or cookie cutters with the playdough.
Put out a variety of small objects like beads, sequins, and buttons for kids to press into the play dough. This is a great way to work on fine motor skills.
Another good fine motor activity is to cut rolls of playdough with scissors.
Make pretend food.

Some of our other homemade playdough recipes:

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough Peppermint Essential Oil Playdough

Glittery Snow Playdough

Bright Butterfly Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

The inspiration behind this butterfly sensory bin was actually a package of pasta! I was at the store and spotted brightly coloured bow tie pasta. As soon as I saw it, I thought “those look like butterflies”. So of course I bought it so that I could make a butterfly sensory bin.

The pasta looks so much like little butterflies that the other butterflies in this sensory bin blend in with it. The kids enjoyed exploring with this activity.

Butterfly Sensory Bin:

Materials needed:

brightly coloured bow tie pasta in a variety of colours*
clear silicone butterfly stamps
butterfly shaped cookie cutter
butterfly shaped foam piece
small magnifying glass
plastic butterflies from the butterfly Toob
glow in the dark butterfly wand (I find a 3 pack of these at the dollar store)

*If you can’t find bow tie pasta that’s already coloured, you can buy regular bow tie pasta and colour it yourself. You can find a tutorial on dying pasta for sensory play here.

Directions:

Pour the dry pasta into a plastic bin.
Add the other items.
You can also add small cups or bowls as scoops.
Invite your child to play!

This sensory bin provides visual, auditory, and tactile sensory input.

I always find it interesting the way that each of my kids approaches a sensory bin differently. This one was no different. One of our sons just scooped around in the bin, hiding butterflies and finding them and even mindlessly running his fingers through it to hear the sound of the dry pasta moving. One of our daughters took her time examining the butterflies with the magnifying glass while commenting on their features. She also enjoyed squishing the silicone stamps and foam piece.

Another of our daughters went about her play very differently. She carefully picked out individual pasta shapes and methodically built a large butterfly on the counter. She planned out the colours and had everything just so. Later, she brushed the pasta into her hands and put the pieces back in the bin.

Ways to expand this and make this sensory bin part of a unit on butterflies:

I bought the shaped foam piece that went in the sensory bin in a large pack. If you do this, you can use the remaining foam to have kids decorate their own. They can use glitter pens, markers, sequins and glue, or stickers.

Use pasta, beans, leaves, a twig, and paper plate to create a butterfly life cycle visual.

Raise your own butterflies. We did this one summer and the kids were absolutely fascinated. You can purchase butterfly raising kits that walk you through how to do this. My kids were in awe when the butterflies emerged from their cocoons.

Insect Lore Butterfly Growing Kit – With Voucher to Redeem Caterpillars Later

Set out books about butterflies:

Butterfly Butterfly: A Book of Colors Handbooks: Butterflies & Moths: The Clearest Recognition Guide Available Butterfly Activity Book for Kids Ages 4-8 My, Oh My–A Butterfly!: All About Butterflies Butterflies For Kids: A Children’s Picture Book About Butterflies From Caterpillar to Butterfly The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Butterfly Sensory Bag

Mermaid Stress Balls

By Sharla Kostelyk

Homemade stress balls are so easy to make. They are so much less expensive than the store bought ones and I actually like the feel of them better as well. We have been making DIY stress balls for years, but this time, I wanted to try something a little bit different, so we made mermaid stress balls.

An opaque ball contains green, blue, and clear balls and sits on a white background with confetti sprinkled on it. The words "DIY Mermaid Stress Ball" are in the middle. Below, there is a balloon attached to a small purple funnel and the filled balloon next to a small bag of white faux pearls.

I really love the way they turned out. They look super fun, but they also offer a very different tactile experience because of the textures in them. Children will enjoy exploring through their sense of touch.

Stress balls are sometimes called squeeze balls or sensory balls. Kids can get visual and tactile sensory input from these. Homemade stress balls are also a great calming tool for kids (and adults). They are perfect for including in your child’s calm down kit.

These are also small enough to be kept in a backpack, desk or a child’s room. This enables kids to have a calm down tool with them wherever they go. They also make a great fidget and are quiet to play with, so most teachers don’t mind students using them in the classroom.

Squeezing stress balls can ease tension and when combined with calm down breathing techniques, are an effective method of reducing overall stress or calming down in the moment.

How to make mermaid stress balls:

Materials needed:

blue, green, and clear water beads
faux pearls
holographic white glitter
clear balloons
small funnel or an empty water bottle

Water Beads Faux Pearls Holographic Glitter Clear Balloons

Directions:

Soak the water beads according to the directions on the package so that they are full sized.
Stretch the end of the balloon over the end of a small funnel or the tip of an empty water bottle.
Add the glitter, faux pearls and water beads to the balloon. You want to fill it until it is the size you want.
Tie off the end of the balloon. Cut the excess away.
Your mermaid stress ball is now ready to squeeze, squish or hold.

You may also want to read:

What to Include in a Calm Down Kit

Mermaid Sensory Bag

Homemade Stress Balls

Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle

By Sharla Kostelyk

There are lots of ways to make a glow in the dark sensory bottle, but you know me; I like to keep things simple. Instead of making this glow through a complicated scientific process, this involves using glow in the dark items so that the hard part is done for you.

I don’t know about your kids, but mine have always loved anything glow in the dark. They like to take it into the one bathroom we have that doesn’t have a window and turn the lights off so that it’s as dark as possible.

Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle:

Supplies to make the sensory bottle:

Voss style plastic water bottle* (see note)
clear dish soap
glow beads
bright sequins
glitter
glow ceiling stars
super glue

*I like to look of Voss water bottles, but sometimes Michael’s carries empty bottles that look similar but are just slightly smaller. The Michael’s ones are a bit easier for little hands to grip. The problem is that they are not always easy to find.

VOSS Plastic Water Bottles Glow in the Dark Pony Beads Glow in the Dark Stars

Instructions:

Pour dish soap into the empty bottle until it is 2/3 of the way full.
Add glow beads, glitter, sequins, and stars.
Fill the remaining space in the bottle with water. Super glue the lid in place, especially if young children will be using the bottle.
When your child is not playing with this sensory bottle, keep it in the light so that the “glow” items can recharge.

Parental supervision should be used for this or any other sensory play activity. Even if the lid is secure with glue, it is possible that your child could get it open and there are small objects inside that could be choking hazards.

Learning and Sensory Benefits:

This activity provides children the chance to improve their communication and vocabulary as they describe what they observe.

Kids can experience the change when taking the sensory bottle from the light into the dark. Older kids may want to research what it is that causes the glow in the dark items to glow and why they need to recharge. This sensory play activity offers visual sensory input as well as a bit of tactile (holding the bottle) and proprioceptive (carrying and flipping over the bottle) input.

You can also incorporate math concepts by having your child count the number of stars they see or the number of a certain colour of bead.

Join the thousands of others who have enjoyed the free 5 part email series Sensory Solutions and Activities (just pop your email into the box below) and get a printable list of 175 Great Sensory Ideas.

You might also enjoy these sensory bottles:

Spring Sensory Bottle

Ocean Sensory Bottle (one of our all-time favourites!) Space Sensory Bottle

Lemonade Sensory Soup

By Sharla Kostelyk

Have the feeling of summer any time of the year with this lemonade sensory bin water play activity. Give kids the opportunity to explore through many senses. In the colder months, you can bring a bit of sunshine in by creating this bin inside. And in the Spring or Summer, this is a great sensory play activity for outside. This lemonade sensory bin offers olfactory, tactile, gustatory, and visual sensory feedback.

Olfactory (smell) – Kids can smell the lemons.

Tactile (touch) – Children have the opportunity to explore temperature with the cold of the ice. They can discover textures with the feel of the outside of the lemon contrasting with the inside, the seeds, the water, the ice, and the added kitchen tools.

Gustatory (taste) – This is a sensory activity where tasting is encouraged. Some kids will love the sour taste while others will not. But this gives them the chance to talk about their thoughts on the taste of the lemons.

Visual (sight) – The bright colour of the lemons against the water really pops. Most children will find this activity visually appealing.

Lemonade Sensory Bin:

You’ll want to prepare this sensory bin immediately before your child plays with it so that the ice doesn’t melt before they begin to play.

Materials needed:

lemons
ice cubes
water
tongs
ladle
slotted spoon
plastic cups
bin
optional: zester
play food lemons or play lemon slices

Directions:

Pour several cups of water into a plastic container.
Slice several lemons. (This step should be done by an adult or by an older child with adult supervision.)
Add a few cups of ice cubes to the bin.
Float the lemon slices in the bin.
If desired, you can zest some lemon peel into the water. This will add more scent.
Add spoons, ladles, tongs, cups, or other kitchen gadgets to the bin.

Invite your child to play in the bin. They can touch, squeeze, smell and even taste the lemon slices. Kids can pretend to be making lemonade or lemon soup.

The opportunity to taste and smell the lemons will also provide a chance for vocabulary practise as they learn or reinforce words like “yellow”, “sour”, “fresh”, “bright”, “cold”, and more.

This sensory invitation to play activity is great for kids of all ages. As with all sensory play activities, adult supervision should be used.

Check out some of our other olfactory sensory activities:

Coffee Sensory Bin

Calming Lavender Sensory Bin Water Play

Peppermint Scented Playdough Invitation to Play

Melting Ice Cream Playdough

By Sharla Kostelyk

Pretend play comes alive with this melting ice cream playdough. With a consistency in between oobleck and playdough, it really does mimic the look of melting ice cream. Kids can pretend that they are making ice cream or creating a play ice cream parlour. It’s fun to make this dough in several colours.

Melting Ice Cream Playdough:

Materials needed:

1/2 cup of cornstarch

1/4 cup of coffee creamer

a few drops of food colouring

Directions:

Combine the coffee creamer and the cornstarch.
Add a few drops of food colouring.
Mix well.
You will be able to form a ball with the dough, but it will ‘melt’.
When not playing with it, store the ice cream playdough in a resealable freezer bag in the fridge.
Allow it to sit out for a bit to get to room temperature before playing again.

The dough feels like a solid, but it behaves as if it is a liquid. The result is an interesting and engaging sensory play material!

Although this playdough recipe is technically taste-safe, it doesn’t taste good! So while kids may want to pretend to be assembling ice cream cones, they probably won’t want to pretend to eat them.

Sensory Play ideas:

Create a playdough station. Set out plastic ice cream cones, bowls, spoons, and an ice cream scoop. I’ve found some really cute ice cream bowls and spoons at the Dollar Store that would be perfect. If you want, you can also set out sprinkles. Kids can then make pretend ice cream cones.

While they play, kids can discuss the texture of the dough and what happens when they handle it. They can also talk about the look and smell of the dough. It may smell a bit like ice cream and they can try to guess why that might be based on the ingredients in it.

Check out some of our other playdough stations:

Snow Playdough

Peppermint Scented Playdough