There are so many engaging ideas for sensory play here on Fun-A-Day! So if you’re looking for sensory activities for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten kids . . . you have definitely come to the right place.
You’ll find a wide variety of sensory bins, bottles, and bags in this post. There are ideas for your thematic plans, as well as sensory opportunities for holidays and seasons. In fact, you can use the activities shared below to plan an entire year’s worth of sensory invitations (maybe more!).
In addition to being fun, these activities allow kids to explore through some of their senses. You can integrate pretty much every subject area into them, they’re the epitome of hands-on learning, AND you can adjust the sensory fun based on the ages and needs of your students.
This post is the home of all the sensory play invitations I’ve shared here on Fun-A-Day. As I add more (and you know there will be more!), I’ll update the post.
Since it houses so many sensory ideas, you’ll find a multitude of links below. The links are underlined, blue text. So take a look through all of the activities and make a note of those you find most fit your needs. Then click on the links to get more details and ideas. Use it as the resource it’s meant to be – a place with lots of ideas to make your planning a little easier!
Table of Contents
Sensory Play
Since there are so very many sensory activities to share with you, I’ve broken them down into seasonal categories. Following the seasons, you’ll find a section of evergreen ideas for those everyday sensory ideas to use at any point during the year.
Winter Sensory Activities
Let’s kick things off with winter sensory play ideas. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, snow, and other winter activities for your sensory center can be found here.
Valentine’s Day Sensory Fun
Just what you need for the holiday about love and friendship:
- Valentine Sensory Bin
- Heart Glitter Jars
- Valentine’s Day Sensory Bottle
- 12 Valentine’s Day Sensory Bottles
- 10+ Valentine Sensory Activities
Sensory Play for Christmas
These sensory activities keep the kids busy and engaged in December:
- Christmas Sensory Bottle
- Reindeer Sensory Bin
- Christmas Sensory Bin
- Contact Paper Christmas Tree & Sensory Bin
- Christmas Playdough Mats
- Candy Cane Sensory Bin
- Christmas Sensory Play with Pom Poms
- 20+ Christmas Sensory Activities
- Collection of Christmas Playdough Activities
More Winter Sensory Fun
These are the winter sensory play ideas that don’t fit into the categories above, mostly general winter ideas to use throughout the season:
- Silver and Gold Sensory Bottles perfect for New Year’s
- Winter Playdough Mats
- How to Make Fake Snow with Flour
- Bear Sensory Bin with Fake Snow
- Winter Small World Play
- Arctic Sensory Bin
- Penguin Sensory Bin
- Arctic Small World
- Snow Writing Tray
- Water Beads and Ice Sensory Bin
- 15+ Winter Sensory Bottles
- 10 Snow Slimes
Now you have over 25 winter-themed sensory activities to try with the kids!
Spring Sensory Play
Let’s jump into spring sensory activities now. You’ll find ideas for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, as well as units about insects and more.
St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Ideas
Green, gold coins, shamrocks, and rainbows abound in these sensory play activities for St. Paddy’s Day:
- Rainbow Messy Play
- Shamrock Sensory Bin
- Rainbow Glitter Bottles
- St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bin
- Textured Rainbow Playdough
- Rainbow Sensory Writing Tray
- Book-Inspired Rainbow Sensory Bin
- 15+ St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bins
- 15+ St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bottles
Easter Sensory Play Activities
Eggs, rabbits, chicks, and bunnies can be found throughout these Easter sensory ideas:
- Easter Messy Play
- Rabbit Sensory Bin
- Easter Playdough Mats
- Chicken Sensory Bin
- Easter Sensory Bin
- Carrot Garden Sensory Bin
- 10 Easter Sensory Bottles
- Collection of Easter Sensory Activities
Sensory Play for an Insect Theme
Technically, you can use these insect-themed sensory activities any time of year. But spring tends to be when a lot of teachers plan their insect themes, so here you go:
- Bee Sensory Bottle
- Butterfly Playdough Mats
- Bee Sensory Bin
- Butterfly Life Cycle Sensory Bottles
- Bee Slime
- Butterfly Sensory Bin
- Insect Sensory Bottle
- Ladybug Letter Puzzles & sensory bin
- Insect Small World
- 10+ Bug Sensory Bottles
- 20+ Butterfly Sensory Activities
Even More Spring Sensory Ideas
Finally, here’s a collection of sensory play activities you can use any time during the spring:
- Scented Spring Sensory Bin
- Frog Sensory Bag
- Pond Sensory Play
- Seed Sound Matching Game
- Garden Messy Play
- Word-making Earth Day Sensory Bin
- Earth Day Math Sensory Bin
- 12 Flower Sensory Bottles
- 15+ Spring Sensory Bins
Summer Sensory Activities
Summer sensory fun is next! Apparently, I don’t have quite as many summer sensory play ideas written out for you. I’ll have to get to work on that and beef up this section.
Here are Fun-A-Day’s summer-themed sensory play invitations:
- Ocean Sensory Bin
- How to Make Play Sand
- Ocean Sensory Bottle
- Shark Sensory Bottle
- Coconut Cloud Dough
- Coconut Water Beads
- Pirate Messy Play
- Pirate Sensory Bottle
- Camping Playdough Mats
- Jell-O Soap Foam
- 10+ Pirate Sensory Activities
Fall Sensory Play
And finally, we have my fall sensorial activities! There are sensory play ideas for Halloween and Thanksgiving, as well as activities centered around apples, pumpkins, and everyday fall fun.
Sensory Ideas for Fall Holidays
Try these sensory invitations for Halloween and Thanksgiving, although you can definitely tweak some of them for any time of the year:
- Spider Slime
- Bat Sensory Bins
- Spider Sensory Bottles
- Halloween Sensory Bottle
- Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle with Spider Rings
- Haunted Pumpkin Patch Halloween Sensory Play
- Halloween Sensory Bin 2 Ways
- Turkey Sensory Bottle
- Thanksgiving Playdough Mats
Pumpkin Sensory Play Fun
These activities are just right for your next pumpkin theme:
- Pumpkin Seed Sensory Bin
- Pumpkin Sensory Bin
- How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds
- Pumpkin Sorting Activity
- Pumpkin Sensory Bottle Made 2 Ways
- Fine Motor Pumpkin Activity
- Pumpkin Patch Small World
- Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin
Apple Sensory Invitations
If you and the kids learn all about apples, here are some sensory play ideas to try:
- Apple Pie Playdough
- 2 Ways to Make an Apple Pie Sensory Bin
- Scented Apple Sensory Bin
- Apple Sensory Table
More Fall Sensory Play Ideas
Below are more fall-themed ideas for your sensory center. Corn, leaves, scarecrows, and more:
- How to Dye Popcorn Kernels
- Corn Sensory Bottle
- Rainbow Corn Sensory Bin
- Leaf Sensory Bottle
- Leaf Sensory Bin
- Scarecrow Sensory Bin
- Little Red Hen Sensory Bin
- Harvest Playdough
- Fall Sensory Activities with Cinnamon
Everyday Sensory Play
Now that we’ve gone through all four seasons, it’s time for the sensory activities you can plan for any time of the year.
Playdough Activities
If your students love all things playdough, these sensory play ideas are for them:
- Transportation Playdough Mats
- Forest Animal Playdough Mats
- Farm Animal Playdough Mats
- Dental Playdough Mats
- Space Playdough Mats
- Unicorn Play Dough
- Cat in the Hat Playdough Activity
Sensory Bins for Kids
Of course, we can’t not touch on everyday sensory bins for the kids to play in:
- Bear Messy Play
- Dinosaur Sensory Bin
- Space Sensory Bin
- Weather Sensory Bin
- Dragon Sensory Bin
- Frog Sensory Bin
- Music Sensory Bin
- How to Dye Rice with Jell-O for Sensory Bins
- Galaxy Sensory Bin
- Oats Sensory Play
- Ideas for Individual Sensory Bins
Sensory Bottles for Kids
And a few sensory play ideas using bottles and jars:
- Mermaid Sensory Bottle
- Star Sensory Bottle
- Lego Sensory Bottle
- 10+ Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottles
More Everyday Sensory Play Ideas
Lastly, here are the sensory invitations that don’t quite fit into the above categories:
- Tips for Using Water Beads
- Shaving Cream Messy Play
- Whipped Cream Sensory Play
- Vanilla Spice Sensory Writing Tray
- Tiger Slime
- Ideas for How to Make Slime with Kids
- 20+ Sensory Bags
- Scented Water Play Activities
- Smell Sensory Activities
- Collection of Simple Sensory Activities
Which of these sensory play activities would your students enjoy the most? Be sure to save this post for future reference. If you have a Sensory Activities Pinterest board, that would be a great place to do so!
What is Sensory Play?
The definition is in the term! Sensory play is play that engages the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and/or taste. Some activities focus in on just one or two senses, while other sensory ideas touch on all or most of the senses. They’re a way to encourage children to explore the world around them with the tools that are built into their own bodies.
These activities are, at heart, open-ended and hands-on. The kids are directly interacting with the materials, whatever they may be. It’s very, very important to note that sensory play activities do not need to be complicated either. Here are some very simple sensory ideas:
- Banging pots and pans with a wooden spoon
- Splashing water in a bin or in the sink
- Making mud pies outside
- Shaking a rattle or maraca
- Making and eating popcorn
I know some people deride sensory play a bit, saying it’s some kind term made up by influencers. I can assure you, this isn’t the case. Children throughout time have engaged in sensory exploration of one type or another. Either through adult-created invitations or by interacting with their environment.
When Should You Start Sensory Play?
Children are exploring with their senses from birth. Listening to adults sing and talk around them, being held and bathed, trying their first foods, smelling what’s being cooked for dinner, looking at the colorful mobile above their crib, etc.
So you can start sensory play at any point and time, as long as you keep it appropriate for each child. And, as with every single thing I talk about here on Fun-A-Day, as long as there is always adult supervision.
That being said, I think many people begin baby sensory play around six months of age. The newborn stage is passed, and maybe the little one is starting in on solid food. So you create simple, taste-safe sensory invitations based on what the child is into. And this can be as simple as placing a little smooshed banana on a high chair tray, letting the child touch and taste the banana.
Children of all ages can benefit from sensory exploration. So please don’t feel like you have to stop it at a certain point either. Teens and adults can get a lot out of it, too! And I know a variety of professionals who work with the elderly who incorporate sensory activities into their day.
Why Is Sensory Play Important?
As I mentioned earlier, humans explore the world around them through their senses. Sensory play encourages and expands upon that fact. Additionally, with the modern world we live in, kids aren’t necessarily outside and interacting with nature as much as they did in the past. Adult-created sensory ideas can help bridge that gap.
Sensory play also helps children learn so, so much. Here are some skills kids can learn and practice with sensory invitations:
- Sensory exploration (of course!)
- Descriptive vocabulary
- Language acquisition
- Conversational skills
- Counting
- Color identification
- Sound discrimination
- Visual discrimination
- Textural discrimination
- Patterns
- Fine motor skills
- Gross motor skills
- Absorption
- Color theory
Oh, that list is practically never-ending, so I just stopped there. You can incorporate almost every early learning skills into a sensory activity! I also love that you can adjust sensory activities easily so that you’re meeting the needs of the kids you care for.
5 Senses Lesson Plans
Let Preschool Teacher 101 save you a ton of time with fully-developed, done-for-you early childhood resources. Our goal is to make your teaching life easier! We have hundreds of lesson plans, dramatic play sets, math games, literacy activities, classroom management guides, and more.
Since we’ve been talking about sensory play, I feel like you need to check out our 5 Senses Lesson Plans. Click on the image below to get your own:
And be sure to learn more about The Pack, our membership for preschool and kindergarten teachers. Members have access to our materials at a very steep discount!
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Sensory Play Materials
So many things can be used as part of your sensory activities. Here are a few ideas to get you started (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Sensory table
- Shredded paper
- Water
- Yarn
- Chickpeas
- Rocks
- Scoops
- Small animal toys
- Funnels
Just a few items to get you started! Check out the materials lists for each of the individual ideas above.
