So Much More Than Just Fun! Some learning benefits of sensory play:
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Exposing children to sensory play helps them develop and refine the use of their senses.
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Sensory play encourages children to use descriptive and expressive language, and to find meaning behind essentially meaningless words or gibberish. Take for instance, the word “slimy.” Sure, you can explain what it means with different adjectives, but until you experience something slimy firsthand, that’s all it will be: words.
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Children develop prewriting skills as they pour, spoon, grasp and work on eye-hand coordination tasks while using various materials.
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Certain sensory play options allow children to be in complete control of their actions and experiences, which boosts their confidence
in decision making and inspires their eagerness to learn and experiment.
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Sensory play can also teach kids about cooperation and collaboration.
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Sensory experiences provide open-ended opportunities where the process is more important than the product. Process oriented play
promotes creativity as children come up with new ways to use and manipulate materials and tools.
Bubble Recipe:
6 cups water * 1 cup light corn syrup * 2 cups Joy dishwashing soap (If using
an ultra concentrated dishwashing liquid, use only 1 1/3 cups)

In a large bowl (at least 3 quarts) stir water and corn syrup until combined.
TIP: Our best bubble solution was just the soap and water portion of the
recipe above but we made it at night, covered with saran wrap and sat
overnight. The bubbles we blew the next morning were much stronger!
Recipes for Sensory Play:
Goop: 8 cups of flour and 1 cup baby oil. This becomes a
moldable goop. Make castles, balls, anything. Add glitter
for more sparkle. (This can keep for a while; put in a Ziploc bag or plastic shoebox.)

Add dishwashing liquid and stir very gently until well mixed.

Dip (don't stir) bubble wands into bubble liquid and blow bubbles.
Bubble Maker:
Cut the bottom off a water bottle. Put a sock over the end and
secure with a rubber band. Put dishwashing soap and water
into a large dishpan, mix gently. Dip the sock end into the
soapy water. Blow out from the top of the water bottle. For
more colorful fun, put some food coloring onto the sock.
Remind your child to blow out, not suck in.
Goop 2: Baking Soda & water. Add koolaid, frosting powder, or extract for flavor and food coloring to the baking
soda.. Slowly add the water to the baking soda (and flavoring and color), until
you have a slightly damp moldable
dough.
Beyond its obvious use, the Pool
noodle is a rather inexpensive
material that can be used in a
myriad of ways. Using it in cool
ways can teach your child innovativeness.
The Pool Noodle is interesting because of its many attributes: 
Length  Lightweight  Floatability  Comes in variety of colors
 Easy to poke into Easy to cut
(with scissors or knife)  Flexibility  Soft (kids won’t get hurt) 
Permanent marker write well on
these  Duct tape sticks well  Can get wet  Can
stand erect  Childproof (safe)
You can use pool noodles for:
Some more bubble makers

Limbo stick
Soap Clouds Break an Ivory bar of soap into two. Place in a
large bowl into the microwave for 2 minutes. It will expand into a cloud. Wait until it cools off. Fun texture to
explore.
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Slotted spoons
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Sports Goals
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Spatulas,
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Fly swatters
Marble races (down the hole in the middle) or
split the noodle in half to make a track
Shaving Cream Fun:

Badminton rackets

Sprinkler (poke holes and attach to a hose)
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Potato mashers
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Colanders
Lacing activities (cut the noodle into smaller circles and lace with yarn.
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Berry baskets

Obstacle course

Car race track (split noodle down the middle
for a multi car track)

Stamping (cup noodle into smaller rings and dip
in paint, stamp on paper)
Put a few spoonfuls of shaving cream onto a paper or in a tin
pan. Your child can ‘fingerpaint’ with the shaving cream.

Add some glue to the shaving cream for a
different consistency. It will dry as puffy paint.

Add glitter or food coloring or a bit of water-paint for more colorful fun.
CHEDER CHABAD
 5713 Park Heights Avenue  Baltimore, MD 21215  410-585-1498  WWW.MYCHEDER.ORG
Block of ice:
 Fill a lasagna pan with water.
 Freeze to a block of ice.
 Give your child some supplies to try to melt or crack
the ice:
 Spray bottles (add
some food coloring
to the water),
 Mallet,
 Sponges
 And whatever your
child thinks may
work.
Oil/ Ice experiment:
 Freeze colored water (food coloring) in ice cube trays.
 Fill a glass jar with oil halfway.
 Put the colored ice into the oil.
 Watch the ice melt and color
drops fall to the bottom.
Some tips and more fun ideas:
 When the block is partially frozen, put some plastic toys inside, then freeze.

Sprinkle salt on the block; it will begin to form cracks which
can hold food coloring for a while. (Use an eye dropper to
add color to the ice).
 Put a towel under the block so it won’t move around as much
when children are playing with it.
 Create 2 different blocks and have a race to see which one
melts faster.

Don’t freeze fully, take
out to play when the
center is still water.


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Find a child-friendly (medium size so not unwieldy) pair of tongs

Collect some colorful pom-poms or packing peanuts

Set up an ice cube tray, egg carton or baskets for sorting

Your child can transfer the pompoms into the separate compartments
or baskets.

Add a colored paper to each compartment or basket to add color sorting
to this great fine motor activity.
Reuse empty water bottles by filling them with interesting objects or
materials.
Magnetic Fun.

Fill a sturdy water bottle with paper clips, pipe cleaners,
nails and other magnet-attracting items.

Use a magnet outside the bottle to drag the items up the
inside of the bottle.
Icy color fusion

Make ice cubes in primary colors.
Density Bottles.

Place a yellow cube and a blue cube into a ziploc bag

Fill 2 empty bottles with 2 different liquids.

Add food coloring

Shake, then let settle. The lighter liquid will rise separating the color.

Experiment with lots of different liquids—alcohol, water, soap, honey,
etc.

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Colored Icescapes:
 Create colored ice
cubes
 Let your child drag the
ice cubes over paper or
on the sidewalk.
Watch it turn to green water.
What other colors can we
make?
Water Bottle Bird Feeder:
Summer Snow:

Ice in the kiddie pool
 Create ice in different containers to create a variety of size
and shape. (make sure to
use flexible containers or
disposable ones like old juice
bottles that you can cut
away to let the ice free)
 Place ice in kiddie pool
 Add some tongs and other
scooping utensils for ice exploration
Fizzy Ice experiment
 Freeze vinegar in ice cube
trays (your child can add food
coloring).
 Place baking soda in a lasagna
pan.
 Put in the vinegar ice.
Watch the fizz.
Sprinkle baking soda directly on
the vinegar ice for more fizz!
Sorting with Tongs:

Spray (cheap) shaving cream
into a lasagna pan and freeze.
When frozen, use a spatula or knife to break it up a bit and let
your kids play. (Make several pans, kids can’t get enough of
this.)

Drill a hole through the bottle, a little larger than the
handle of a wooden spoon

Place one (or more) wooden spoon(s) through the hole,
creating a bird perch

Fill the bottle with bird seed.

Place the bottle on a deck railing or hang with rope from a tree

Watch the birds enjoy their treat!
Water Bottle Art:
Summer Snowballs :

Mix 2 boxes of corn starch and 1 can of shaving cream.

Mold into balls and start throwing!

Pour a few drops of different color paint into a water
bottle.

Seal tightly.

Roll the bottle around to create art inside the bottle.
CHEDER CHABAD  5713 Park Heights Avenue  Baltimore, MD 21215  410-585-1498  WWW.MYCHEDER.ORG