sensory
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Friday Freebie – Pumpkin Spice Sugar
I have a bit of an unconventional freebie for you today. I found a recipe for Pumpkin Spice Sugar on The Cottage Market, and it comes with these really cute printable labels. How fun would it be to mix up a batch of Pumpkin Spice Sugar and some Cinnamon Sugar to jazz up some toast for snack time. Then you could send little containers of each home with your students so that they could share with their families! Go check out the recipe and the labels and have a wonderful weekend!
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Fine Motor Orange Pomanders
Have you ever made orange pomanders? I remember making these in preschool, but I haven’t seen them around much recently. I always love to refresh some of the activities that left an impression on me personally, so it seems like this one might be a keeper. They are very easy to make, you just need some oranges (any kind will work – even little clementines), whole cloves, something to poke holes with (a toothpick, push pin, screw, etc.), and some twine or ribbon. Start by showing the children how to poke starter holes into the skin of the orange. Once the starter holes have been made it is easy to…
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Spice Painting
Historically, spices were often used to create paints because many of them have very distinct colors. Making your own spice paints is a great way to explore spices and their scents at the same time! All that you have to do is mix a good amount of a single spice with a small amount of water until the paint is the consistency that you want. You can also add a little cornstarch to make your paints go a little farther. Here are some spices to try and the colors that they will make: Paprika = Orange Turmeric = Mustard Yellow Saffron = Bright Yellow Parsley = Green Cinnamon = Brown…
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Sensory Spice Jars
Thanksgiving lends itself to a completely unique sensory experience due to all of the wonderful smells associated with the holiday. This is the perfect time to explore your sense of smell, and there’s no better way than creating a set of smelly spice jars for your science center. There are so many different ways to make these, but the key is to make sure you still get the scent without actually leaving any spices in your jars – you don’t want to deal with the sneezing that will come from inhaling the actual spices. I love to use the actual spice containers that the different spices come in when I…
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Seasonal Sensory Materials
While I was working on yesterday’s post I realized that I’ve posted sensory materials to explore for autumn, but I’ve never posted sensory materials for the other seasons. I decided to put them all together in one great big list. This will be easy to reference when you’re planning sensory experiences. I’ll start with Autumn: Colored leaves Acorns Straw Soybeans Pumpkins Pumpkin Seeds Field Corn Corn Stalks Soybean Pods Mini Pumpkins Black Walnuts Osage Oranges Gourds Mums Apples Candy Corn Fake Spiderwebs Slime Winter Ice Snow Cotton Balls Scarves, Hats, and Gloves Christmas Ornaments Tinsel Ribbon Gift Wrap Jingle Bells Pine Needles Cranberries Peppermints Pinecones Cinnamon Confetti and Streamers Marshmallows…
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EASY Halloween Sensory Bin
I was going through my Instagram feed earlier and I came across this photo from a couple of years ago – the timing couldn’t be better so I thought I’d share it here. This is honestly the easiest sensory bin ever, I just took some Halloween colored paper and ran it through the shredder. I finished it off by turning make-up remover pads into eyeballs with markers, that’s it. This would be perfect for your spooky Halloween party!
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Cranberry Sauce Texture Exploration
I don’t think I actually know anyone who enjoys cranberry sauce. It always shows up at Thanksgiving, but personally I would rather have cranberries in my baked goods, or even dried cranberries in my salad. I think it’s a texture thing, whether your family does cranberry sauce from a can or homemade, both versions have physical characteristics that are all their own, this is precisely what makes cranberry sauce the perfect subject for a texture comparison. Whenever I use food in the classroom it is strictly for exploration, the children are always welcome to taste it if they want, but it isn’t required. Any sensory exploration is different depending on…
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Spice Air Freshener Craft
This activity is a great way to explore spices and a cute keepsake for families to use throughout the holiday season (plus, it’s REALLY easy to make). You’ll need canning jar lids (not the rings, just the lids), some ribbon, white glue, and spices (Invest in a bulk jar, any pie-related scent will work – cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin or apple pie spice), paintbrushes, and something to catch the spices as the children sprinkle them on their lids (I used paper towels, but you could use waxed paper, printer paper, or activity trays). The first step is one that you’ll want to do outside of the classroom – attach a small…
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Exploring spices
When I think Thanksgiving there are a few scents that come to mind, specifically spices, which are perfect for helping children explore their sense of smell. Here are some great ideas for exploring spices in the classroom: Create a Spice Tray Scent your playdough Paint with Spices Make Cinnamon Salt Dough Ornaments Learn scents and vocabulary Make a gift families can enjoy together Scent your pie art Make your own scent jars Match the raw spice with the bottled spice Taste test spices in cool whip or pudding Check back tomorrow for another great spice craft!
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Autumn manipulatives for the preschool room
Autumn is my favorite time of year to use seasonal manipulatives because there are so many different options. The items on the list below are great for math games, patterning, sensory tables, tactile language activities, the block area, and fine motor exercises. Some autumn manipulatives you can include in your activities and center include: Leaves Acorns Miniature pumpkins Soy beans Corn kernels Popcorn Sunflower seeds Candy corn Pumpkin seeds Seasonal confetti Seed pods Orange, yellow, and brown gems Apples Apple seeds Pinecones I’d love to know how you use some of these items in your classroom, share your ideas in the comments!
