Beach Themed Sensory Box

Themed sensory bins can be fun and spark imaginative play.  To make a beach experience add part sand and part blue stones, the kind you put in vases, add plastic sea creatures and people and have the kids have a day at the beach.

Kix cereal takes their cereal box, cuts off the front, adds sand and some beach items for a really simple version.

Coffee Sensory Box

If going to the local coffee shop is part of your regular routine (or even if it isn't) your kids will love this sensory bin.  Place whole coffee beans, spoons, stick stirrers, sugar and cream packets and cups in the bin and have the kids make their own creations. 

Wizard Wands

All Harry Potter fans will love this craft making wizard wands out of sticks.  Have the kids find some really great and straight sticks.  Then glue on some rope or twine to the top to give it more oomph.  And voila they'll be all ready to cast their first spells. 

Playdoh Cupcakes

Sometimes its fun to make something real with something pretend.  Here's a great cupcake recipe using playdoh and colorful odds and ends to decorate.  Start by rolling and kneading the dough, shape it into a cupcake liner, sprinkle and decorate and have a fun pretend birthday. 

The Writing Sensory Box

There are a lot of different methods to help kids learn how to spell. One common way is the have kids write in sand or other powder material like coffee grounds, salt, sugar, or even dirt.  Put different types of paper underneath like foil, waxed paper, saran wrap or sticky paper to add more sensory enjoyment.

Mrs. ricca kingergarten creates sight word seashells and lets kids practice writing with their finger in the sand box.  Fist she hides the seashells in the sand and as the kids find them they get to write them out.

Get the instructions here:
http://mrsriccaskindergarten.blogspot.com/2013/05/down-by-sea-math-literacy-centers.html 

Learning for kids places colorful construction paper under salt to make colorful surprises as the kids write words and numbers.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.learning4kids.net/2012/06/05/rainbow-salt-tray/

Ice Skating Boats

One fun task for a hot summer day is to make ice boats.  Using a cupcake liner, ice cube, tooth pick and plastic paper.  Freeze water in ice cube trays to make the boat but place a tooth pick in the center so that you'll have a mast for the plastic sails, then place them in cupcake wrappers and slide across a sensory box of frozen ice.  Kids will have fun as the boats float upon the ice.  Take it outside and as it melts they can see if the boats start to sink or float.

Alpha mom uses a cup to free the water to make her boat and uses a bendy straw for the mast.  She adds a paper sail.  For her version she floats them in a big bowl of water.

Learning 4 kids colors her ice and uses huge containers to make super big boats.

Cut Up Poetry

One fun way to have kids just learning how to read is to take magazines and cut up some of the more simple sight words and then turn them into poems.  Have the kids go through old magazines and cut out the words they can read.  Then have them work on their skills further by putting the words together to make poems that are either non-sense or fun-sense.