Rainbow Adventure Sensory Tray

Materials:

• CleverPatch™ Exploration Light Tray – 16620

• Wooden People – Pack of 8 – 18255

• CleverPatch™ Acrylic Paint Tubes – 75ml Set of 14 Colours – 19855

• Chenille Stems – Bright – Pack of 100 – 10825

• Pony Beads – Pastel – 300g Pack – 19688

• Pom Poms – Assorted – Pack of 150 – 16600

• Mini Patty Pans – Coloured – Pack of 1,000 – 17960

• Mini Popsticks – Coloured – Pack of 1,000 – 12402

• EC Sensory Magic Sand – Orange – 1kg Tub – 19701

• EC Sensory Magic Sand – Green – 1kg Tub – 19702

• EC Sensory Magic Sand – Purple – 1kg Tub – 19703

• Craft Bowls – Coloured – Pack of 4 – 10717 craft bowls and let the children explore and experiment!

• Other materials required: Paint brushes.

Creating a Sensory Tray for children to explore, learn and play doesn’t have to be hard – or messy for that matter! The main thing is to combine a variety of textures, add in some tools or ‘play’ items and then let the children’s imagination run wild! This type of play encourages problem solving and creativity, as well as fine motor skills.

1. Toys & Tools – It’s always nice to provide play items or tools when making your Sensory Tray. We are using wooden people, each one painted with a different colour of the rainbow. You can also use play items such as animals or cars, or tools such as tongs or scoops. Anything that will spark imagination!

2. Soft Textures – Collage materials such as pom poms and chenille stems provide some lovely sensory play for children. Children can be encouraged to sort the pieces into colours or sizes and the chenille stems are great for threading beads onto.

3. Hard Textures – Beads and popsticks are a great contrast to the soft textures of pom poms and chenille stems, and a great way to introduce texture comparisons. They can also be used for grouping exercises, as well as building and threading activities.

4. Sensory Sand – These brightly coloured sands are a great way of encouraging investigation and experimentation. Children can observe changing states as the sand is pressed into a solid or crumbled through their fingers. It provides a unique tactile feel and makes a great base for Sensory Trays. It’s also easy to clean up as the sand ‘sticks’ together!

5. Patty Pans – The humble patty pan comes into its own in a Sensory Tray! The corrugated sides provide great texture and the colours can be used for sorting activities. They can also be used as scoops or cups to hold other items in the Sensory Tray. Children can use them to group items of the same colour, or for counting activities by adding a certain number of items to each patty pan.

6. Trays and Bowls – Our large Exploration Light Tray is perfect for sensory play as the items can be neatly confined, reducing clean up time. Craft bowls can be used at the start of play to organise and separate the different pieces before play begins. This gives the children the opportunity to add objects to the tray in the order they see fit and omit anything they don’t wish to interact with.