Snow Sensory Tub

I’ve seen these on blogs and Pinterest, but this is my first sensory tub made with snow.  Although Gabriela seems to growing out of sensory tubs, I think she would have done this tub all day if it hadn’t melted!  Think snow play without going outside in the cold!  Okay, so there are some things you must be outside to do (a real snowman, snow angels, snowball fights, etc.), but this is a nice alternative if you want them to stay in.

Gabriela did 3 different activities with the snow tub.  The first was simple scooping, smoothing, and stirring.

The second, and by far the favorite, was penguin land!  The penguins are from the Safari Ltd Penguins Toob set.  We made hills, caves, and slides (and a tiny snowman).   

The final activity, which we tried the next day with a fresh batch of snow, was using an eyedropper to “paint” the snow with colored water.  I first saw this idea at A Magical Childhood.  Gabriela loved it!   It cracked me up when Gabriela informed me that the yellow water on the snow looked like “cat pee.”

Later on, Moriah had a go at doing this activity.  By then the snow was quite slushy.  She used a lot of green and blue to make the scene look like hills and a lake.

This is our shortest-lived sensory tub but probably the most played-with.  Maybe we’ll still have snow tomorrow so Gabriela can play with it again.  (In all honesty, this mommy thinks we’ve had enough and is very eager for summer now).  Well, anyway, happy winter fun!

Back to School Sensory Tub

Right in the middle of all my hard work trying to get school organized and ready by next week, I decided to make Gabriela a new sensory tub.  The last one I made was for St. Patrick’s Day in March, so it’s been awhile.  Since Gabriela is starting Preschool this year (a little more formal than Tot School), I decided on a Back to School theme.  I came up with a basic idea and then turned it over to Isaac to fix up.  I made a few recommendations, but he did most of it.  Even Moriah chipped in a little.

The base is made up of shredded construction paper (blue, red, yellow).  Isaac added a few pieces from a school play set the girls have (chalkboard, desks, little animals).  Moriah added the clock, a little eraser, a small pencil, and a teacher bell (all from her teacher kit).  We also added magnetic numbers, lots of scrapbooking ABCs, 4 plastic shapes (from attributes set), a ruler, 4 jumbo crayons, 3 regular pencils, a few interlocking cubes, and several plastic apples.  It’s not pictured, but I’m thinking about adding a pair of scissors at some point so she can cut some of the shredded paper if she wants.  Here are a few close-up photos:

Counting Coconuts also has a brilliant Back to School sensory tub.  That’s where I got the idea.  Check it out here:  Back to School.

Does anyone know a place to link up sensory tub posts? The linky at Our Worldwide Classroom is apparently closed now. You can still go there to find links to loads of sensory tub ideas, though.

Sensory Tub: St. Patrick's Day

I was just going through photos and realized I had never done a post on this sensory tub.  But then, we were very busy at the time preparing for our trip back to the US.  Anyway, this is the last tub we did while still in England.

St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Tub

This tub contained:

Different shades of green paper “grass”

Plastic leprechaun hats

Plastic St. Pat’s picks

Wooden treasure chest

Plastic gold coins

Golden-colored “nuggets”

Tiny green pitcher

Green dog, man, tree, and house counters

I'm linking this post to "More Sensory Tub Ideas" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

February Sensory Tub

Because I was late on my winter tub (the week before Valentine’s Day), I bought a separate (red) tub to make a this one…so Gabriela has 2 tubs to play with this month. 

Contents:

Pink and red pompom balls

Pink and red spiky balls

Silky hearts

Felt hearts

Plastic Valentine tub

Red Heart box with lid

Mini heart erasers

Foam “Love” stickers and one foam heart sticker

Cloth heart chain (buttons together at ends)

Tutti-frutti candle

I'm linking this post to "Sensory Tubs" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Winter Sensory Tub

This tub was meant to be for January, but I’m a bit late…oh well.  This one is a bit messy, but Gabriela loves it. Just a side note--I've noticed that Gabriela is much more interested in sensory tubs now that she's 4. She just wasn't into them at ages 2-3. Isaac and Moriah always love all the sensory tubs, too! I had Moriah asking if she could play with Gabriela's sensory tub during recess.

Contents:

Beanbag filler (polystyrene beads)—that’s the messy part…they stick to everything!  On the plus side, they feel really cool to stick your hands in.

Purple snowflake ornaments—they’re made with a soft plastic.  The best thing about them is that they aren’t quick to sink in the polystyrene beads, and they act as a netting to keep everything else from sinking (that is, until Gabriela begins playing with it).

Light blue, purple, and white pompoms

Winter-themed erasers (penguins, snowmen, polar bears)

Plastic animals (several deer, penguins, polar bear, wolf)

A bit of shiny tinsel

Silver pipe cleaners

Tiny snowmen buttons

White cartwheel beads

Purple scoop

 

Gabriela’s favorite thing about this tub is letting everything sink to the bottom and then trying to find them!

I'm linking this post to "Sensory Tubs" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Christmas Sensory Tub

Last year, I used tinsel as a base for our Christmas sensory tub.  To date, that post has been my most popular blog post!  Despite all the views I had, Gabriela actually didn’t care for that tub at all.  This year, I decided to change it up a bit, and she really likes this one!  Hurray!

 

This year’s sensory tub is composed of:

Rice—I used food coloring to color some of the rice red and green, and I left the rest white.  I love it—it reminds me of sprinkles on Christmas cookies!

Foam stickers—Candy canes, gingerbread people and houses, reindeer, and Christmas trees

Mini Christmas bows

Mini Christmas ornaments

Mini bells (I tried jingle bells, but of course the rice kept getting stuck inside)

3 robins (European robin—big Christmas symbol here)

Pieces of tinsel—red, green and gold

A pompom reindeer pin

A gold-painted pinecone ornament

A scented candle (it’s cinnamon—I really would love peppermint or cookie scented, but I don’t have time to search for one—you have to go to the right places to find a good selection of small scented candles here)

The first time I presented this tub to Gabriela, she got tired of it really quickly, so I decided to add something for her to do. 

Additions:  Wooden scoop and plastic red flower cups

I'm linking this post to "More Sensory Tub Ideas" at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Fall Sensory Tub

I was a bit reluctant to blog about this tub.  First of all, Gabriela didn’t like it.  Secondly, the acorns caused problems.  Because I used real acorns, I can’t cover the tub; otherwise, it gets moisture inside and starts smelling musty.  I’m not going to keep this one for long.  However, it looks pretty (I think), and maybe this idea could be used in different ways.  I probably should have stayed with last year’s fall tub—it smells nicer anyway.  If I end up using acorns again, I will probably keep them in an open tub and add in different objects, such as a toy squirrel.  Let me know if you have any ideas for using acorns in a sensory tub!  When Gabriela did play with the tub, she enjoyed putting acorns in little tins and pretending they were pies.

This tub contains:

Acorns

Silk leaves

Corn, acorn, and gourd beaded decorations

Fall-theme cookie cutters

Felt pumpkins and gourds

A scented candle

Later, after I had already posted this, I came up with an addition that made Gabriela happier. I added a small stuffed squirrel, and the leaves, acorns, pumpkins, and gourds became food (in the small pie tins) for the squirrel.


I'm linking this post to "More Sensory Tub Ideas" at Our Worldwide Classroom.