15+ Fun Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers
Are you looking for ways to stimulate your toddler’s senses and keep them entertained for hours? Look no further than these sensory table activities for toddlers!
In this article, I’ve put together a list of 21 fantastic sensory table activities that are guaranteed to engage your little one’s curiosity and creativity.
From rainbow rice sensory activities to glow in the dark sensory play, there’s something for every toddler to enjoy!
Get ready to explore a world of textures, colors, and sounds that will boost your child’s sensory development.
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Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers: Sense of Sight
Explore these sensory table activities for toddlers to stimulate their sense of sight with vibrant colors and engaging visual experiences.
1. Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin
Putting a rainbow rice sensory bin in your sensory table offers an engaging way for toddlers to explore different colors and textures.
This sensory table activity is simple to set up and provides hours of entertainment for your little one.
2. Glow in the Dark Sensory Play
With this glow in the dark sensory play activity, toddlers will love the magic of light and sensory stimulation.
As they explore this unique experience with glow in the dark sensory eggs, they will be delighted by the glowing effects and encouraged to engage their senses in a whole new way.
Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers: Sense of Touch
Engage your child’s sense of touch with these sensory table activities for toddlers, featuring various textures and materials for tactile exploration.
3. Textured Sensory Playdough
Textured sensory playdough provides toddlers with a hands-on experience that engages their sense of touch and encourages creativity.
With different textures, colors, and scents, playdough offers a multi-sensory experience that improved their hand-eye coordination and develops their fine motor skills.
Plus, keeping the sensory playdough inside a sensory table lets kids have all the fun without the mess.
4. Color Sorting Sensory Bins
Color sorting sensory bins offer a fun and educational way for toddlers to explore colors and practice their sorting skills.
With a variety of objects in different colors, children can engage their senses while learning to categorize and group items based on their color at the sensory table.
This hands-on activity not only promotes cognitive development but also encourages creativity and fine motor skills.
5. Exploring with Kinetic Sand
This is one my absolute favorite sensory table activities for toddlers!
Toddlers can squish and mold the kinetic sand again and again, developing their fine motor skills and creative expression.
The unique texture of kinetic sand adds a new dimension to sensory play, inviting children to experiment with different shapes and forms.
6. Sensory “Ice Cream” Play
Sensory sand that looks like ice cream offers a stimulating experience for toddlers as they explore the squishy, slippery sensation of cool sand while scooping their pretend ice cream!
This sensory activity engages children’s senses as they create imaginary stories with ice cream toys and scoops.
Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers: Sense of Sound
Introduce different sounds and rhythms with these sensory table activities for toddlers designed to enhance their auditory senses.
7. Sensory Play with Bubble Wrap
If you’re ready for a mess-free sensory table activity, toddlers can continue their sensory journey with bubble wrap.
Popping bubbles, feeling the texture, and hearing the satisfying sound engages their senses and promotes fine motor skills.
Plus, putting the bubble wrap inside the sensory table gives them a chance to practice balancing and increase their core strength while they play!
All you need is bubble wrap!
8. Musical Sensory Play
For musical sensory play, gather up an assortment of musical instruments, rattles, or shakers.
Encourage your toddler to stand at the sensory table to shake, twist, and turn them to create a variety of sounds.
This activity not only stimulates their auditory senses but also provides an opportunity for physical movement as they dance and shake along to the rhythm.
9. Sand and Shovels Sensory Table
In the sand and shovels sensory table, toddlers can dig their hands into a sandy beach-like environment filled with shovels of different shapes and sizes.
This sensory experience allows children to explore textures, patterns, and colors while hearing the different sounds sand and shovels can make.
You could even play ocean sounds in the background to really transport this activity to the beach!
Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers: Multisensory Play
Explore these engaging sensory table activities for toddlers that offer a multisensory experience, stimulating their senses of touch, sight, and sound all at once!
10. Sensory Paint Swirls
For sensory paint swirls, set up a variety of colors of non-toxic paint in shallow containers at the sensory table.
Provide toddlers with paintbrushes and invite them to create beautiful designs by swirling and mixing the colors together on a large piece of paper.
This hands-on activity engages their sense of touch and sight as they explore the different textures and hues.
11. Exploring with Magnets
As always with sensory table activities for toddlers, be sure the magnets you choose are not a choking risk. Always monitor children closely during sensory play.
Toddlers can further expand their exploration by playing with magnets and magnetic coins, experiencing the magnetic force and discovering the principles of attraction and repulsion.
This hands-on activity will captivate their curiosity and provide a fun way to learn about science concepts.
12. Sensory Water Play
For sensory water play, fill your sensory table with water, or get a separate water table, and provide various containers, cups, and toys for toddlers to explore and splash around in.
This activity not only stimulates their sense of touch and sight but also introduces them to the concept of volume and water displacement.
13. Sensory Texture Matching
In sensory texture matching, toddlers can explore different textures by touching and feeling various materials such as sandpaper, cotton balls, and fabric swatches.
This activity helps develop their tactile senses and encourages them to categorize and match objects based on how they feel.
Sensory Table Activities for Toddlers That Teach
Discover sensory table activities for toddlers that teach important skills while providing an educational experience for your little one.
14. Space Sensory Bin
For this out-of-this-world experience with a space-themed sensory bin, fill a bin with black beans or kinetic sand as the base.
Add in toy planets, stars, and rocket ships. Include scoops and cups for scooping and pouring fun.
This sensory play activity can spark their curiosity about space and planets while enhancing their fine motor skills as they explore the textures and shapes.
15. Dinosaur Sensory Play
All you need for this dinosaur-themed sensory activity is to fill a bin with green rice or sand as the base, and bury toy dinosaurs for them to discover.
You could even add in rocks, plants, and small trees to create a prehistoric landscape!
This sensory play activity can ignite their imagination and love for dinosaurs while improving their fine motor skills as they dig and explore the sensory materials.
16. Letter Formation Sensory Table Activity
Letter formation sensory play is an interactive way to help toddlers practice forming letters while engaging their senses.
Fill one of the bins in your sensory table with a base material like colored salt, cornmeal, or shaving cream.
Add letter cards or mats with dotted outlines of letters.
This activity not only helps with letter recognition but also improves fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
17. Shape Exploration Sensory Bin
Shape exploration sensory bins are a fun way for toddlers to learn about different shapes and improve their tactile skills.
Fill a bin with a base material like kinetic sand or shredded paper.
Add objects of various shapes, such as plastic shapes, cookie cutters, or building blocks.
Toddlers can explore the shapes by touching and manipulating them, encouraging cognitive development and spatial awareness.
18. Sensory Farm Play
In sensory farm play, toddlers can immerse themselves in the sights, sounds, and textures of a farm environment.
From handling toy animals to pretending to plant seeds in a sensory bin filled with rice and beans, this activity sparks their imagination and encourages hands-on exploration.
Conclusion
Engage your toddler’s senses with these interactive activities and watch as their sensory development flourishes.
Create lasting memories and spark your child’s creativity with these engaging sensory table activities for toddlers.
Get ready for hours of fun and learning ahead!
As you explore these sensory experiences with your toddler, remember that every touch, smell, and sound is shaping their understanding of the world around them.
So, don’t hesitate to get messy, get creative, and most importantly, get ready to make unforgettable memories with your little one.
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Safety tips and words of caution
All materials you choose for your sensory bins should be nontoxic and should not be of a size or material that could cause choking or other dangers. Monitor anyone using a sensory bin, bag, table, etc. closely, especially young children.
The general recommendation for sensory bin age-limits is no younger than eighteen-months-old, with materials within the bins including other water, sand, and fixed plastic objects (something they can’t pinch their fingers in, for example).
If the toys can fit inside and slide through a standard toilet paper tube, they are too small for babies and toddlers, and should not be included in your sensory bins.
Rules for Keeping Sensory Play Safe
A great tip for young children is to make sure their bellies are full and that they’ve eaten a meal in a place that is separate from where the sensory bin play occurs before using the sensory bin, which can help reduce the desire for children to want to eat the sensory bin’s contents.
If you struggle with this, try to switch out your base material for food or something that is food-safe and okay for the child to eat. Keep your rules for sensory play consistent.
Want more? Read Sensory Play for Babies next!
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