Sensory activities include any activity that stimulates a child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing. Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore. But activities found in Sensory Tubs are also perfect for practicing essential skills. Let me show you what I mean.
Where Have All The Sensory Tubs Gone?
I recently conducted a poll on Facebook, specifically targeting kindergarten teachers, to determine how many still use sensory tables or other forms of sensory play in their classrooms. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to learn that many teachers have been instructed by their administration to remove sensory play from their curriculum due to lack of time, space, and perceived lack of academic rigor. As a result, I am determined to save our sensory tables and show folks how Sensory Tubs are perfection for mastering essentials skills.
Why Sensory Tub Activities Are So Important
I’m here to plead with teachers, administrators, and anyone who will listen to . . . “please do not neglect your sensory tables.” This is a serious plea. Hear me out before you abandon those lovely tables full of gloriously colorful, squishy, scratchy, soft, hard, pointy, smooth, bumpy, and smelly materials. You know I will need to talk to you a bit about how sensory tables allow you to differentiate for your class. I have to because here’s the thing, sensory work is not only academic, but it also addresses a student’s learning profile and interests! ( . . . and when you’re really good . . . you can meet their level of readiness too.)
Using Sensory Tubs for Essential Skills in the Classroom
I use fall-colored rice for another sensory tub around the same time of the year for sorting syllables. And this time, I added some fine motor work by having students pin their sorted cards under the correct number of syllables. It just adds a little bit of fun and interest to keep them engaged. (RF.K.2b)
I often use whatever is available and on hand when the need arises. When I was working with my Word Family sorts this fall, I wanted to spice things up a bit, so I grabbed a bucket of acorns for my guided reading group to dig through and sort word families. (RF.K.2.c)
During our study of polar animals, these little guys were in our table with some tinsel, fake snow, and Styrofoam. Students retold facts they learned about polar animals through retelling. It was one of the most favorite sensory stations all year. (SL.K.2, SL.K.4, SL.K.6)
Getting Started
Sensory Tubs, Tables and Bins
What To Put In Your Sensory Tub
I actually keep a list of ideas and items for each month of the year in my planning binder. They’re part of my Getting Started with Sensory Table Activities Pack and will be included in each new monthly Sensory Table pack as well.
I like to use items that will last a couple of years. I have my kids wash their hands before and after they use the table, so in my mind, there aren’t as many germs (right?). In any case, colored pasta is always a good way to start the year because it is large, and with it, you can easily teach clean-up procedures. And the color . . . I love using neon-colored food coloring for these because it turns out so pretty.
Rice is also a good material to use. In the winter months, just white is just fine, but of course, dying it makes it spectacular.
Green for St. Patrick’s Day with discarded gold carnival tokens (I printed real and nonsense words on them.) Who doesn’t like searching for gold?
Natural items are fun and cheap. I can usually wrangle a couple of boys to collect acorns each year for me, but you can do almost anything you can find outside.
Colored sand makes things POP!
How about some garbanzo beans painted gold, as in leprechaun’s gold, for St. Patrick’s Day? And hey, a pot for your gold is the perfect container for some St. Patrick’s Day sensory fun.
Keeping Sensory Activities Organized
There are a couple of tips I’ve picked up from using sensory tables over the years that will help you stay organized. First, I like to keep all the items a student needs close at hand. Under my table, you’ll find a small drawer system, my extra sensory tote, and other materials I may use for that particular set of materials. I change things out as the contents of the table change. You’ll also notice I have some command hooks hanging from the sides.
I do that so that when and if there are response sheets (I like to laminate mine when I offer them.) that go along with the activity, students can have a place for their response sheets without putting the clipboard IN the table.
I keep my response sheets and instructional/I Can cards in the top drawer of my container. If they are differentiated, three different envelopes will have coordinating colored dots. I also have clean-up materials (Don’t you love my Dollar Tree dustpan and broom?), various containers for sorting (I’ll show you how those work in a minute, and things like scissors, hole punches, or any other materials that correspond with the tasks cards for the materials that are in the table.
I often allow my students to choose how they want to sort their items, either in buckets (Stick a little velcro on the back of the cards and on the bucket for quick changeover of sorting labels.) this sorting tray (Dollar Tree . . . again!) or from a rope with clothes pins. Everyone loves a little variety.
Or if there is a response sheet, it looks like this:
But I also have modeled the activity prior. When students complete the activity, they have a set of task cards that I have chosen for them to use and that make sense to use with the materials in the table. Students can look through the task cards and choose an activity.
It might be sorting, counting, cutting, weighing, measuring . . . but the part they like is THEY get to choose, and I don’t have to worry about them misusing the materials or doing ‘nothing.’
The task cards are all aligned or address a specific skill. So when your administrator walks in and ask what on earth your students are doing at a sensory table, you have the standard right there to show them.
Getting Students Started and Expectations
As with anything, this is a station you need to model, demonstrate expectations, make the expectations visual, follow through, and establish a routine. It will take some students no time at all. They will catch on the first time. There may be a few that will have to have more practice than once. They must be excused from the table if they can’t remember how to use it. It doesn’t take too many times of being excused from the table before those students figure out what they need to do.
I also have a set of procedure and expectation cards that I like my students to review before they start at the table. It provides some visual reminders.
I also think that when you can build on familiar activities, it makes returning to the table and the tasks easier. So even though the table materials may change, students still understand the activities and processes for completing activities. The skills may evolve over time, but the content’s novelty will keep them engaged and motivated to ‘play.’
Wow! This is a great post! I love your intentionally, organization, and passion for the sensory table. I teach pre k, the sensory table is a part of my daily routine. Thanks for the ideas!
OK….I think you have me convinced!!! Now I need to go invade the storage area at school, I’m pretty sure I saw a sensory table out there a while ago!!!
Love! I have always used a sensory table and when I taught K5 I would do beginning sound sorts as part of our literacy stations. Now that I teach K4, I don’t have to hide my use of the sensory table. The water orbs are found at Dollar Tree- where? Called what?
A few favorites I fill the table with are coffee beans, scented water using extracts, flour with cinnamon. My favorite sensory table content was a watermelon! cut in half, gave the kids tweezers and had them count how many seeds they found but could differentiate by making groups of 10, sorting the white and black seeds etc. It was a sticky mess but the kids of course loved it!
Great ideas Andrea! Thanks so much for sharing.
Marsha
I absolutely love this!! I did sensory tables many years ago when I taught at a child development center, and I have wanted to start a sensory table in kindergarten. This awesome post gives me a great place to start, thank you so much for sharing!
Angela
The Daily Alphabet
Welcome back to the sensory club Angela!
Marsha
Fabulous ideas! I am going to K next week, and there is a sand table in my room. I never had one when I taught K years ago because it was so messy. Now I want to use it, but I think I will use a plastic box to make it easier to change out materials. The other teacher uses hers for play, only with sand. I see you use it more for educational activities. When during the day do your students use it?
I used it during math stations and often during Daily 5.
Marsha
Love this wealth of creativity!! Thanks for taking the time to share :). How do you color your noodles?
It’s so easy. Stick the noodles in a gallon size zip lock bag. Add 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol and several drops of food coloring. (I like the neon colors.) Then let them sit for a while…sometimes I let them sit for an hour even. Then dump them on waxed paper or tin foil to dry.
Thanks!! I can’t wait to get started :). Thought of you today at Michael’s craft store. They have “glow in the dark” fingers with the nails in orange, purple and green ~ your colors ~ for pointing to words, etc… and not as gross looking as the usual halloween ones. Just had to share!
How many boxes of pasta did you use in your table?
I don’t really remember. I got them in bulk from Gordon’s Food or Sam’s Club. Sometimes I ask parents to donate a box at the beginning of the year.
Marsha
Marsha, I really want to incorporate some sensory activities in my classroom! I love this! I know you bundled the “Sensory Throughout the Year”, but will you be selling them individually at any point? Thank you!
Yes, they will all be sold separately as well as part of the bundle. You just get a bit of a better deal with the bundle.
Marsha
Hi Marsha!
I’m working with students who have thrive on sensory stimulation. In other words, if I’m not providing the environment for appropriate sensory stimulation, they will find it elsewhere! I purchased your year-long packet and started following your pinterest to keep up with ideas. I’m a first grade special educator, so a large covered bin with be our “table” this year. I’m looking for more ways to keep the rigor of Common Core while balancing what my students really need to be successful. This will be an adventure 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration…I look forward to reading more!
Jen
Thank you so much for sharing this! I am a kinder inclusion teacher turned Early Childhood Specialist and I am so excited to see the way you’ve meshed standards with developmental appropriateness. It makes me so sad to see so many rooms without sensory tables. I am definitely going to share your post with my teachers! thank you!
One of my goals for next year is to incorporate sensory tables into my literacy centers. When I mentioned this to my principal she mentioned that she could probably find money in the school’s or PTO’s budget to cover the cost – so exciting! My question to you is how much would it cost to buy the tubs and supplies for a year’s worth of sensory bin activities? Obviously it won’t be a specific exact amount, but a ballpark would be great so that I could go to them with an estimate.
Thanks for all you do!
Great questions Jackie (and a potential future blog post subject). This is not an easy one to answer, but I can give you some things to consider. First of all, do you have a sensory table or will you be going the tub route or are you doing both? You don’t have to have a table to do sensory activities, you can get low sided totes with covers (I think they are for under the bed storage), and they are a great alternative. I also have a smaller version of these that I use for a two person or one person sensory tub activity. As for fillers for the year, at the beginning of the year I have my full year kind of mapped out of what I will using. Many many many things can be used more than one year, some things can be gleaned from nature and still other things I request parents to donate if they are able. For instance, I live in Northern Michigan so my hunting dads and moms always are willing to donate a bag of dry eared corn for my table. I also aways ask for pasta and a bag of beans. Pasta is cheap . . . especially when you aren’t buying the tri-colored type. I can always get lots of it. I dye it based on the theme or holiday. Rice is another thing you can request although I have been using some of the same rice for the last 3-4 years. There is so much alcohol in it when I dye it and my kids always wash their hands before and after. Other items like shredded paper and the like, I throw out. It just depends. I also have some scoops, tongs, magnifying glasses that I use for exploring in the sensory table and for activities that I have going on in there. I’m not sure if this helps, but if you have other questions, you are welcome to contact me. Good luck and have a ball!!!
I loved the fall idea with the acorns/corn. A word to the wise though, I tried that this year, I went in on a weekend to put it together because I was so excited to get it all set up (I have a table similar to yours with beans in it and put the acorns along with corn and fake leaves in a small tub for an extra table.) I put my sorting cards in it and then was soooo disappointed on Monday morning! The acorns and corn had turned my cards moldy and it all stunk so badly, not to mention worms…eeek!! So be super careful if you use these, I have several kids with bad allergies so I had to throw it all away. None of it was wet when it was put in so I’m not sure what happened but it was horrible!
Kim, thanks for your comments. Yes! You have to have dry product to put in your bins. Also, when I collect acorns, I always stick them in a large plastic bag in the freezer for a couple of days to kill any critters that might be lurking about. That usually always does the trick.
Marsha
I just found you through Pintrest and am so excited about using a sensory bin with preschool and kindergarten special needs children in speech therapy. I have IEP goals to target oral language, listening comprehension, play/social skills, sensory needs, attention, behavior… I have tons of ideas for themes, books, and seasons but I want to start simple. I have an extra under-the-bed box I’m taking up to school to use. I’ll be able to pull it out from under my desk and use it over and over. I don’t want to overload the little ones with bright colors, smells or textures (especially since I don’t know them yet). Any suggestions on where to start? would love to hear comments. thanks.
I like to start with colored pasta or just some different dry beans. If you think the pasta colors are too distracting beans is probably the way to go. They are easy to clean up and students can still get in there work with them in different ways.
Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.
Marsha
Wow Marsha. Thank you so much for this post. It has been eye opening for me. I am just a mom who loves to volunteer at head start and I am now pursuing my CDA Credential. I am a firm believer in Sensory Tables. My son who has SPD was classified as a kinesthetic learner because his OT uses them in therapy. Once we adapted his routine to fit his way of learning he has thrived. He is going now to Kindergarten and I cannot wait to talk to his teachers and the teachers in Head Start about incorporating Sensory play more frequently. I will come back for more. Again, thank you so much; it is nice to know there is other people interested in this important tool out there.
What a wonderful comment. I’m so glad you liked the post and found it useful.
Marsha
Hi, I stumble upon your post while looking for ideas for sensory bin. Thanks for explaining in details about what sensory bin is really all about and I like the instruction sheets you created!
I’m homeschool my boy and I am integrating sensory bin into his routine. I would like to know, how often should I do sensory bin activities, once a week or daily? And how long the bins stays for- a day or throughout the week?
I actually have several small bins going at one time. They usually last at least a couple of weeks and then I switch them out but it really depends on my kids and how they are progressing.
Marsha
I’m sold! I bought a sensory table with my budget this year, and I’m currently printing all the task cards 🙂 Just wondering how you keep your years worth of task cards stored and organized? I’m working on getting it all set up this summer, and want to be ready come fall!
I actually file them amongst my monthly themed tote boxes. So when a new month comes up, I have all the activities for that month available to pick and choose from.
Marsha