25 sensory play ideas
Sensory Play Ideas for Creative Fun
Here are 25 sensory play ideas
that engage different senses and are perfect for young children, neurodivergent individuals, or anyone who enjoys hands-on exploration!
Tactile (Touch) Sensory Play
that engage different senses and are perfect for young children, neurodivergent individuals, or anyone who enjoys hands-on exploration!
Tactile (Touch) Sensory Play
- Rice or Pasta Bins – Fill a bin with dried rice or pasta and hide small toys for children to find.
- Slime Making – Create homemade slime with glue, baking soda, and saline solution.
- Oobleck (Non-Newtonian Fluid) – Mix cornstarch and water to create a fascinating solid-liquid mixture.
- Playdough Fun – Use scented or textured playdough for squishing, molding, and creating.
- Water Beads Exploration – Hydrate water beads for a fun, bouncy, and squishy sensory experience.
- Bubble Wrap Popping – Tape bubble wrap to the floor for stomping fun or use it for hand-popping.
- Frozen Toy Rescue – Freeze small toys in ice cubes and let kids melt them with warm water.
- Texture Boards – Glue different textures (furry fabric, sandpaper, foil) onto a board for touching.
- Glow-in-the-Dark Play – Use glow sticks, blacklight-reactive paint, or glowing sensory bottles.
- Kaleidoscope Bottles – Fill clear bottles with glitter, beads, and colored water for a mesmerizing effect.
- Rainbow Rice – Dye rice with food coloring and use it for scooping and pouring.
- Mirror Play – Use shatterproof mirrors to explore reflections and expressions.
- Lava Lamp Jars – Mix oil, water, food coloring, and effervescent tablets for bubbling fun.
- Musical Pots & Pans – Let children tap different kitchen items to explore sounds.
- Rain Stick Making – Fill a tube with rice and small beads to create a DIY rain stick.
- Sound Matching Game – Fill containers with different materials (rice, bells, beans) and let kids guess the sound.
- DIY Shakers – Fill plastic bottles with small objects like pasta, beads, or bells to shake.
- Scented Playdough – Add vanilla, peppermint, lavender, or lemon extract to homemade playdough.
- Herb Sensory Bin – Fill a bin with fresh rosemary, mint, and lavender for kids to explore.
- Coffee Bean or Cocoa Bin – Let children scoop and smell coffee beans or cocoa powder.
- Scratch-and-Sniff Paints – Mix a little Kool-Aid powder into paints for a fruity scent.
- Edible Finger Paints – Use yogurt mixed with food coloring for safe and creative fun.
- Jelly Digging – Hide soft fruits or toys inside jelly for kids to dig out.
- Cereal Threading – String Cheerios onto yarn for a fun fine-motor snack.
- Whipped Cream or Pudding Play – Let kids squish and smear whipped cream or pudding for messy, edible fun.