Winter Sensory Play Table

We’ve made it to February and that means winter is getting closer to its end. Although yesterday we learned that we still have six more weeks of winter-we honestly haven’t had too bad of a winter yet. Thankfully. I was really dreading this winter and being stuck indoors with two toddlers. I stocked up on a pile of target dollar spot novelty items, which have definitely been great for boredom busting.  I also decided that our water table didn’t get a break this winter. It’s been living in the corner of our playroom for the past few months and we’ve been using it as a sensory table. I try to change it up about every three weeks, we've had four different set ups so far:

Our first version of the sensory table was dyed pasta.  It’s simple to make your own dyed pasta:

• Add about half a box of pasta to a gallon size plastic bag. We used different shapes and textures (shells, bow ties, ziti, spirals, wheels, smooth rigatoni (I need to study up on pasta names, I'm sure there is an actual name for that). 
• Add about a teaspoon of food coloring.  I used mostly gel, but also regular old fashioned food coloring, and I didn't notice a huge difference in the finished product.  
• Finally add a small amount of vinegar (you can also use hand sanitizer) into a Ziploc baggie. Give it some good shaking until it is evenly coated, then let it sit for about ten minutes. Pour onto a paper towel or cookie sheet and allow a few hours to dry out.

We used six different pasta types which filled the table nicely.

E and C both really enjoyed the pasta. We used a variety of shapes and textures, and they actually spent a good 20-30 minutes just running their hands through the pasta the first few days. E loved using the pasta as cargo for his trucks, and C was big on filling and dumping with the play kitchen pans. We also did a simple color sort with the muffin tin (my muffin tins spend more time in the playroom than the kitchen). You could also use the pasta as counters, for fine motor practice with stringing, matching colors or shapes, or as an art medium (pressing into play-dough, making necklaces...)

Tray of various shape and color~color spots in each muffin section

We sorted by color this time, but shape or texture would be fun as well!

All sorted! 

We used the table as a light table briefly around Christmas. Basically E really loves having different things to drive his trucks through, so we played around with some old light strands and other odds and ends from the Christmas supplies (bows, small boxes, ribbons). It also added a nice little glow to the playroom in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

*Light*Bright*

Next we tried rainbow rice (made the same way as the rainbow pasta, above). This was definitely the messiest material we’ve had so far, so if you try it out just be comfortable with a little extra sweeping. E was pretty good about keeping the rice in the table, but quite a bit still ends up on the floor simply from moving toys. C, on the other hand, LOVED throwing big handfuls of rice into the floor, with a big smile on her face the whole time, fully embracing and enjoying her "defiant" side. Beyond that, both E and C enjoyed filling and dumping bottles, dropping the rice into the metal muffin tin (this makes a great sound and it was my favorite part of this table). Actually, when I wasn’t thinking about sweeping up the rice, it was pretty relaxing to play with. We also did lots of scooping, filling of trucks, burying objects (and hands), hiding little toys to search for in the rice, and we also tried out some of our bath strainers and funnels. We are still finding little rice grains here and there a couple weeks after cleaning this table up. You might try covering the floor with a large cloth or sheet in an attempt to confine the rice a little more, as I've seen some people do. 

10lbs of beautiful rainbow rice

Our newest table has a Valentine’s theme, and I even added a little shelf of related Valentine’s activities to go along with the table. I spent about $10 at the dollar store, along with some items we had at home. The table is filled with some silky rose petals, glittery hearts, foam conversation hearts, heart bead strands, fuzzy pipe cleaners, crinkly crepe paper, and a few scraps of tulle.

Red and white and pink and pink...and more pink

E&C Sweets

Play table accessories

E is working on using the kitchen tongs,
 using them to pick up the small pieces is a fun fine motor challenge

C enjoys filling the Valentine’s mail boxes up, and we count the number of items we can fit into the boxes. She also enjoys when I hide the different objects in the mailbox and she can open it and see what’s inside. I added a Target cupcake puzzle that I’ve been saving, and we have been having fun hunting for the pieces and then completing the puzzle.

Thank you Target Dollar $pot

Along with the usual scooping and filling items, we have some extra imaginative play items to fit a sweet shop theme. We have a few different pretend treats, and some oven mitts that E and C enjoy trying on.

Kitchen Fun

C's oven mitts

Check out my next post for our fun and easy Valentine's Day treat games!