Give the Gift of Sensory Play

If you are new around here, let me let you in on a secret. I LOVE ALL THINGS SENSORY! Thats why I am so excited to share with you what I am giving my 2.5 year old niece for Christmas this year. SENSORY PLAY all wrapped up in a box. I am going to share how you too, can give the gift of sensory play!

Why Sensory Play?!

I decided to give my niece a sensory table and all the goods for Christmas this year. She has enjoyed playing with Tucker’s sensory table when she comes over, so I know it will be a hit!

If you have never heard about the benefits of sensory play, I have a few posts for you to read. Read all about Sensory Needs and why Sensory Play is important!

How to Build a Sensory Table/Bin

There are 5 steps to building a complete sensory table or sensory bin.

  1. Base
  2. Filler
  3. Tools
  4. Toys
  5. Storage

The Base

So, you’ve decided you want to give some sensory play as a gift, what do you need? You need a table or bin or some type of storage. I personally absolutely LOVE my IKEA sensory table that Tucker has. Its minimalistic, it has covers, its cute and it is the perfect height. We live in sunny Southern California so I keep it outside on our patio!

Will they need a full table? Is it going to be outdoors and do you want covers? Will it be used inside only? Do you want a small bin for easy storage? There is no right base for sensory play, it depends on the needs of the family/classroom! See my other recommendations at the end of this post!

The Filler

What are you going to put inside the sensory bin/table? You can choose to use rice, cons cous, noodles, beans, water beads, corn, moon sand or kinetic sand. Personally, my favorite thing is rice. I like to dye it for a colorful pop!

Here is a little printable guide to dying sensory fillers. This method works for rice, cous cous and noodles. You can download this visual for free by clicking HERE or clicking the image below. If you are in the classroom and looking for donations or parent help, consider asking a family to dye rice for you and providing them with this handout!

When dying sensory fillers, I recommend doing it in bulk. It is a simple process, but it can be time consuming. I bought a 25 pound bag of rice to make the rainbow!

The Tools

After you have the base and the filler you need to add the tools. You can use ANYTHING, I mean anything. Got some junk in the junk drawer? Walking through the dollar section of target? Anything works! Here is what I bought for my niece for Christmas!

The Toys

You’ve got the base, the filler and the tools, now you need some toys! I like to change out seasonal and thematic toys to keep sensory play fun at home with Tucker and when I was in the classroom! You can use toys you have laying around, puzzle pieces you already have or the items listed below. It is with these toys where you can really customize and cater your gift of sensory play to meet the kiddos interests! I chose these mini figurines for my sensory gift because I thought they offered a good variety of themes as a starter set!

The Storage

I could be the “fun aunt” who dumps all these sensory goods on my sister and say “have fun storing this crap.” Or, I can be the nice sister and provide a way of storing it all! LOL. I chose to use this cute container to easily store the rice, the tools, the toys and the goods! It fits everything! I have more recommendations at the end of this blog post.

Wrap it Up!

If you are giving this as a gift, simply stack, wrap and tie it all up! I HIGHLY recommend considering gifting a gift like this to classrooms too. Of course, talk to teachers and staff ahead of time. Not every classroom may want a sensory table!

My Recommendations:

Here are some additional recommendations for each step to building a sensory table for your home or classroom.

Base Recommendations:

Filler Recommendations:

Tools Recommendations:

Toys Recommendations:

Storage Recommendations

I hope you enjoyed this little gift guide. Gifts like this are so special because you are not only giving hours of open ended play, you are also creating and working to make a bundle of stuff tailored to that child. I am so excited to give this to my niece on Christmas this year!

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