Sensory Table Activity Guide

The beauty of a sensory table is that the possibilities are endless.

It’s simply a space for children to tinker with treasures and textures, scooping and pouring and making up stories. It’s a home base for messy projects, nature finds, or some random stuff from the pantry/closet/garage. It’s one of those things you can’t do wrong.

Looking for inspiration?

Notice what your children are noticing. What are they talking about and looking at and playing with right now? What is happening in their world? What is happening in nature? Bring elements of that into the table, step back, and watch. It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy, just a few items interesting enough to stimulate the senses and get those creative juices flowing. You’ve got this.

Let’s get started! Here's a giant list of ideas to pull from whenever you need it. 

Themes: seasons, holidays, celebrations, books, movies, shows, zoo, farm, bugs, space, construction, transportation, dinosaurs, ocean, space, weather, gardening, cooking, cleaning

Fillers: water, sand, oats, rice, corn kernels, cornmeal, lentils, chickpeas, beans, peas, fresh produce, pasta, seeds, straw, dirt, shaving cream, water beads, kinetic sand, playdough, clay, cloud dough, ice, beads, buttons, pipe cleaners, bottle caps, flowers, leaves, pinecones, acorns, fabric, corks, pom-poms, shells, gems, coins, tree cookies, peg dolls, dollhouse furniture, vehicles, animals, figurines, letters, numbers, marbles, slime, sprinkles, glitter, tees, nuts and bolts, legos, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, bells, blocks

Tools: cups, spoons, bowls, tongs, tweezers, scoopers, funnels, jars, pipettes, cooking utensils, ice cube molds, spray bottles, muffin tins, egg cartons, cookie cutters, tupperware, canisters, boxes, tiny buckets, paper towel rolls, magnifying glass, scale, mallet, magnet wand, spray bottle

Wishing your kids many magical moments of independent sensory play!