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10 sensory activities to do at home

Sensory activities at home don’t have to be expensive or complicated and it is so rewarding to share your child’s sensory learning and experiences. Below are ten budget activities that you can do at home with your child to encourage sensory play. 

  1. Make home-made playdough

Playdough is perfect for developing fine-motor skills - squeezing, rolling and shaping the dough helps develop finger muscles and hand control. Playdough can also have a calming effect, helping children to reduce stress and anxiety. 

Click here for a link to making home-made playdough.

  1. Finger painting

Roll up those sleeves, cover the sofa and carpet and any other areas you would like to keep paint-free and open as many coloured bottles of paint as you can.  Encourage your child to mix colours to make new colours, and just enjoy the messy, fun time.

  1. Sorting pebbles

We have plenty of those in Cornwall! Learning how to categorise and sort different objects is an important skill for children to discover at a young age.  Allow your child to sort the pebbles into whatever category they prefer – size, colour, texture…

  1. Painting with water

You can use paving stones, brick walls and patios… just give your child a bucket of water and a paint brush and watch them create their design, then they can watch the sun magically make it disappear!

  1. Potato printing

Using vegetables as stamps is a cheap and creative way to make your own play equipment and lots of fun!

  1. Create a sensory bin

You can use oats / cocopops / rice to make your sensory bin.  Encourage your child to explore the sensory bin, with their eyes open to see the colours and shapes and with their eyes closed so they can focus on the textures.

  1. Make a rain stick

One for the older children with more developed fine motor skills. Rain sticks are a fun sensory play activity. Please click here if you would like to have a go!

  1. Make a treasure box

Creating a treasure box for your child can stimulate hours of sensory play at home.  As long as it is safe and supervised, there is no limit to the items you can put in the treasure box! Get creative with textures, shapes and sizes.

  1. Foraging

Collecting rosemary, garlic leaves, lavender and all kinds of other scented plants and herbs is wonderful for the senses – touch, smell, sight. You can dry out the lavender and use the herbs in cooking to encourage healthy eating.

  1. Make edible water beads

This is a new craze that children love, and is a safe fun way to enjoy sensory play.  Please click here for a link to a video explaining how to do this!

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