Sensory Make and Take

The June Sensory Make and Take was a four week pre-registered program that provided parents insight on how easy making child activities can be with things you most likely have around home. No need to go and buy expensive toys!

Week One- No Bake Jello Playdough

This playdough is made with Jello powder instead of cream of tartar. It makes the most vibrant colours and smells so good you will want to eat it…which may happen!

Recipe

3 – 3½ cups flour

½ cup salt

6 oz. jello in desired flavor

3 tbsp. cooking oil

1 cup hot water

Glycerin (optional)

Steps:

1. Add 2½ - 3 cups of flour.

(start with 2½ cups and add in rest as needed - it will depend on the texture you want)

2. Add ½ cup salt and jello and mix well.

3. Add in oil and stir.

4. Mix in water & stir.

5. Let cool a bit before kneading the dough.

6. Knead dough until playdough forms.

Add flour as necessary when kneading until you have your desired consistency.

Glycerin may also be added while kneading to give it a little extra shine.

Week Two- Under the Sea Sensory Bottles

Materials:

•   Clear plastic bottle (ie. water or juice bottle)

•   Water

•   Blue food coloring

•   Cooking oil (ex. vegetable, sun seed, canola, etc.) or baby oil.

•   Small seashells/stones, glitter, plastic fish/shells, sea themed beads, coarse sand, etc.

•   Super glue or duct tape

•   Alka seltzer (optional)

Directions

•   Fill 1/3 of the bottle with water and the rest with oil.

•   Add 1 drop of blue food coloring and the small sea items.

•   Since oil and water do not mix, the oil creates slow waves in the water when you turn the bottle back and forth. 

•   By adding Alka Seltzer tablets, you can create a cool lava lamp effect.

•   The cap can be secured with a hot glue gun to avoid any leaking.

Week Three- Paint Chip Colour Books

Directions:

To create these Colour Books we used several different colours of paint chip cards picked up from a local paint store. We then wrote the colour at the top of each card and added an assortment of stickers in the matching colour.  For example: We wrote “orange” on the orange paint chip card and added stickers of orange fruit, pumpkins, etc. You can add as many stickers as you desire. BE CREATIVE! To make the individual cards into a book, we punched a hole at the top of each card and used a ring to put them all together. This is a great idea to help your child learn their colours with “colour to word” association.

Week Four- “I Spy” Bottles

Directions:

Begin by colouring the desired amount of rice.  To colour rice add a tablespoon of vinegar and a few drops of food colouring then mix and let dry. Before class, I made several batches of different coloured rice so the rice would be dry and ready to use.  At class we filled a clear plastic water bottle with the rice (note:  a clear plastic Ziploc bag can be used instead).

We then added these items into the bottle:

To finish it off, use a glue gun to secure the lid or if using a Ziploc bag secure by using packing tape along the top to ensure that it does not open.

I printed off the pictures of the items which we then put on to construction paper, punched a hole in the top and secured to the bottle with an elastic.

Eye spy bottles are great for the long summer road trips you may have planned this summer!

Sad you missed this program? No need to worry – another Sensory Make and Take program will be back in August with some new and different ideas. Call Laura at Scott (306) 523-3512 to register.

Click here to see what else is happening at the Centres over the summer.

Laura Bieber