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25 Sensory Tray Ideas

I’ve been doing sensory boxes with J since he was 14 months old.  I usually do a new box a week and he’s now 25 months old, so I have done a LOT of sensory boxes.  I have whittled them down and have picked a “few” of my favorites.

Don’t know why sensory boxes are such a great learning tool? Check out my Sensory Trays: Why, How, and Where? post.

Ok, let’s get to it…shall we?
sensory box

Messy Boxes

Messy Sensory Box

Shaving Cream and Water Beads
Cornmeal Letter Discovery
Cloud Dough
Dirt
Whipped Cream *
Shaving Cream *
*Ok, so these two aren’t in boxes, but they could be.  Plus, they’d be way less messy that way!

Food Boxes

Food Sensory Tray
Salt Tray
Rice Cereal Tray
Ice and Jello
Dyed Noodles

Nature Boxes

Nature Sensory Box
Frogs and Rocks
Dirt and Bugs
Ocean Themed
Water and Bubbles
Leaves and Feathers
Sand

Holiday and Colored Boxes

Holiday Colored Sensory Tray
White
Red
Blue
Halloween
Valentine’s Day
Easter

Special Trays

Sensory Tray
A Box with a Slide
Glowing Box
Dish Soap Foam
A Box of His Own (Let child make their own tray)
Like what you see here?  Make sure you follow along on Facebook and Twitter for more fun stuff!  Don’t forget to leave a comment to let me know what you think!
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by Amanda 13 Comments

Filed Under: Play Tagged With: Preschool, Sensory Play, sensory tray, Toddler

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natassia Butler

    July 2, 2012 at 2:25 pm

    these are great! thank you!!!

    Reply
  2. Amanda

    July 2, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    Your welcome! Thank you for reading!

    Reply
  3. Veronica

    July 3, 2012 at 1:53 am

    We love sensory bins. I loved your holiday and themed ones. I’ve got to get a bit more creative with them. You’ve given me some great idea.

    -Veronica

    Reply
  4. Karyn Meyer-Berthel

    July 3, 2012 at 3:49 pm

    Oh wow! Thrilled to have found your site and see that you started your son very young. I’ve been wanting to do this with my toddler, but worried he was too little. Will take your thoughts/advice to heart!

    Reply
  5. Amber @ Wickless Candles

    July 6, 2012 at 3:37 pm

    I have a busy 3YO and 1YO, these are such great suggestions. Thank you very much for sharing!

    Reply
  6. Anna @ The Imagination Tree

    July 10, 2012 at 8:35 am

    what a fabulous collection!! You have been BUSY! wonderful

    Reply
  7. Joyce

    July 19, 2012 at 9:11 am

    I absolutely loved all of the ideas! I’ve pinned. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  8. Health and fitness

    October 25, 2012 at 3:51 am

    Playground equipment has evolved to make things more fun for kids. Wilkins Solutions provides playground equipment in Orlando for schools, hotels, apartments and more. playgorund equipment Orlando.

    Reply
  9. kristenrjs7

    November 10, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply
  10. kristenrjs7

    November 10, 2012 at 3:04 pm

    Love your ideas! I am a daycare teacher of one year olds and love all the suggestions!! They LOVE sensory!!

    Reply
  11. Suzanne

    January 2, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    What a great list of ideas for sensory boxes. I really like how simple yours are with just a few added items. That’s how I like to do them for my buddies, too. I think it encourages them to explore the sensory material more. I’m pinning this to my Teach and Learn board!

    Reply
  12. MEL

    February 25, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    Hello! My name is Miriam and I am a speech-language pathologist in Dubuque, IA (http://www.unifiedtherapy.com/). I am a SOS-trained feeding therapist (http://www.sosapproach-conferences.com/) and have been asked to present on feeding interventions for local parents, community members, etc. I googled some pictures of “messy play” to try and include hypothetical “cases” in my presentation (i.e., pictures and stories representing the kinds of kids that may benefit from feeding intervention). I was wondering if you would mind me using some of the images from your site. I would include your site address on the powerpoint as a reference. Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response! ~ Miriam Lind, MA, CCC/SLP miriam@unifiedtherapy.com

    Reply
  13. Erica

    April 20, 2013 at 5:48 pm

    Do you have any boxes for dealing with a strong sense of smell? And for older kids? Thanks!

    Reply

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