I recently dyed some rice and filled medium sized tub with a collection of fall themed curiosities, as a fun learning activity for my two year old toddler to explore!
I was inspired to make a fall themed sensory tub after checking out the website Counting Coconuts– where the author often fills tubs with various objects for her preschooler to explore. Below you’ll see what I used in our tub.
Though- you could use practically anything!
Step 1- I dyed some rice rainbow colors, by dropping food coloring in drops all over it in different colors- then mixing. For one solid color rice just put a few drops of one color food coloring in a baggy with rice and vinegar, mix and allow to dry on newspaper.
Step 2- I added special “fall themed” items to the rainbow rice base, and poured it all into a small metal basin.
(close up of the fall sensory bin inside)
I added: leaves of varying size and colors, pine needles, yellow leaves cut out of foam, a plastic spider (my daughter loves bugs!), a clay heart that smelled like pumpkin, and several acorns.
Step 3- I spread out a circle tablecloth that was autumn themed and explained to my little pumpkin that she could have fun with everything inside the tub- no rules except that everything had to stay within the circle! This kept rice from covering the living room! She followed the rule great!
Some Activities we did with the Sensory Tub:
- Compare the sizes of the leaves.
- Put the tops on and off the acorns. Do the small acorn tops fit the large acorns, do the large acorns tops fit the small?
- Do the foam leaves feel the same as the real leaves? Are they just pretend leaves?
- Do things sound differently when they are dropped in the tub?
Free Play: The pumpkin also enjoyed pretending to “cook” with the rice. She would fill up cups and containers and pour the rice back and forth telling me it was different things. Sometimes she was making soup- other times pouring water!
Favorite Activity: Standing in the rice! And letting mommy trickle rice on her bare legs and feet! She loved how it felt, and it was a great chance to to talk about words that described how it felt, like “tickles” “crunchy” and “sandy!”
Bottom Line: I will definitely be doing more themed sensory tubs! My pumpkin loved it- and it gave us a great chance to learn new things in a fun way:)
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
that’s awesome! it’s just like what we do in classrooms using sensory tables/activities. you’ve created your own mini lesson plan by just having fun and talking about it. 🙂
love it.
@becky, Thanks so much Becky! I had a great time making it- and I was surprised how many opportunities it gave us to talk about words and concepts I’d been wanting to explore with my daughter anyway!
Thanks for stopping by the blog! Are you a teacher? I’d love to hear other ideas you use in a classroom that you think would work in a home as well! Thanks for stopping by, and for the sweet comment:)
what a creative hands-on activity to make learning fun! I love this!
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That’s what I did wrong. I needed to put a cloth down under my attempt at a sensory tub.
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So fun! That turned out great!
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That is a super cool idea… and a great learning/development tool. Plus I love the way the bucket came out. It was almost “art”! And the what a cutie the little girl is in her pigtails and ladybug boots. Great photos!
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So much fun! We love sensory tubs around here and should do them more often!
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when I worked for Early Intervention, we did ideas like for sensory issues with the children. Looks like the little one is happy.
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Very awesome idea! Cool way to learn about colors and textures and sizes! and I just have to say – she looks like the cutest little munchkin sitting in the circle with her red rainboots and pigtails!!! I love those!!!
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I love it! Shannon, the concept of sensory tubs is totally new to me, and I think it’s a wonderful idea. I like the way that you themed it for fall, and the the tablecloth on the floor was definitely the perfect touch. I can imagine my girls (in their younger days) getting the most enjoyment from scattering the rice everywhere. I have a hunch I’D have fun playing in that sensory tub! I’m going to forward this to my siblings who all have younger children! Thanks!
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Stopping by from The Blog Frog. I love the picture here of your daughter standing the the tub. I’ve been wanting to do a sensory tub for my daughter but haven’t come across any of the little items you can put in for them to find.
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I LOVE this! I’m going to set this up as a playdate, can I link back to your post? I like that my baby wont get hurt if she ingests any of this as my back is turned – sand is too icky.
We’ll collect little items for our tub on our walk tonight! I found you on blogfrog – thanks for the great idea!
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This looks great! Thanks very much for linking back to my blog – I’m so glad you found some useful ideas & tips for how to use the tub! I love your idea about using the circle mat. Looking forward to seeing what else you come up with. 🙂
Warmly,
Mari-Ann
I LOVE sensory tubs! Great job with yours. The tablecloth was a good idea. Not only does it help control the mess but it serves the same purpose as a Montessori rug in defining your daughter’s work space.
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I want to play in the tub! Love that she’s all set in case it rains in the living room 🙂
I am excited to see this post at this point – you did such a great job setting the parameters and then discussing things that could be learned from the sensory tub. I bet it did feel great to stand in the rice! My son used to always put everything in his mouth (such as dried beans and uncooked rice) so I had trouble with some sensory tub activities. We couldn’t do anything that looked like food! I think we are just about ready to try this one, though. 🙂