Inside: Water sensory play to engage child-led learning
Okay, okay, I hear you.
What we put in the water next?
Guess what? This time it is buttons.
You see, this idea began with a simple trip to Hobby Lobby. As I searched new fabrics for your Activity Card Storage Bags, the boys tore up the button aisle.
“Mom. We neeeeeeeeeed these buttons. We do. We really need them.”
“I don’t think so, Grey. We really need to get what we came for.”
“But mom, we neeeeed to use these in our water activity bin!”
I bet you can picture my expression. Total light-bulb moment.
You see, I am a strong believer that all these fun, simple activities we create for our preschoolers end up rolling right into their everyday play.
RELATED: Let’s back up. Here is how you introduce sensory play to your toddler.
But WHY water sensory bins?
Why are we encouraging sensory play and adding buttons to water? Does that actually teach them anything?
For starters, creating sensory bins in general help facilitate working together, making decisions and experimenting with problem-solving. Take a second to read how it promotes communication skills here.
Another major reason why we set up sensory bins is that it promotes child-led learning.
This means that your preschoolers are in charge of what comes next. Now guess what? Here’s where the magic happens. Your preschooler will begin to take what they practiced in the morning Breakfast Invitation and apply it to their independent play.
Materials for Button Water Sensory Play:
Amazon Affiliate links below
Read how to set up a successful sensory bin here. It is all about the size of the bin, and what’s underneath.
Set this up in less than 5 minutes!
Fill your bin with water.
Add buttons. – Stay close to make sure your preschooler or toddler does not put any in their mouth. These are a choking hazard and you want to make sure you are watching.
An assortment of kitchen tools
At first, my boys did a lot of scooping and pouring, filling and dumping.
This practice is a wonderful way to better understand quantity, space, trajectory, and cause and effect.
Your preschooler will begin to test how much can full a bucket before it spills over, or how many scoops it takes to empty all of the buttons out of your storage container.
As your preschooler begins to sort the buttons by size and color, you can keep in mind that by Kindergarten children will begin to classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.
There is so much more to “buttons and water” than we would think.
What will you add to your water sensory bin first?
Who wants more water play? Find 35+ Water Play Ideas HERE all in one place.
