6 HOUSEHOLD ITEMS FOR SENSORY PLAY : DON'T THROW THIS AWAY
From the moment they’re born, babies, toddlers, and children use their senses to learn about the world around them. This is why your little ones are always reaching to grab things off shelves, trying to put your keys in their mouths, oohing and ahhing at things on TV they just want to learn!
Sensory play isn’t just fun for our little ones, it’s also one of the best ways to help them learn and grow! Encouraging sensory stimulation supports the development of their fine motor skills, social skills, problem solving, creativity, and more!
You don’t have to break the bank buying trendy sensory kits and Montessori tools or equipment to introduce sensory play into your home! I’m a HUGE fan of recycling, which means I’ve found ways to prevent waste, and turn common household items into fun, beneficial, and sensory-friendly arts and crafts!
If you’re looking around your house trying to find which recyclable items you can turn into sensory activities, look no further! I’m about to give you a round-up of the best ways to turn household items into sensory play!
6 Household Items for Sensory Play: Don’t Throw THIS Away
Cardboard Boxes
Taking those cardboard boxes you have stacked in the corner to throw away work perfectly for sensory play there are SO many versatile approaches to creating activities that will target different areas of children’s development.
One of my toddlers’ most used toys over the years has been the counting box. It’s a fantastic way to introduce your little one to math without making it overwhelming! Even if your child isn’t at the “math age” yet, using it as a posting box helps them practice voluntary release, which really targets those fine motor skills.
If you’re fighting to get work done because those little fingers are always in the way of your keyboard, using a cardboard box to create a DIY computer will be your holy grail. Kids just enjoy the opportunity to press the buttons after all, so using some bubble wrap to create the “keys” won’t just help develop fine motor skills, it also helps them practice their creativity and computer skills! You save money, and can get back to work with less distraction.
For more cardboard ideas, check out my rainbow puzzle, lacing boards, and wipeable paint board!
Ice Cube Trays
Using ice cube trays are great for sensory play too! Especially during these super hot summer days. There’s no wrong way to play with ice, but one of my girls’ favorite activities is “frozen rescue.” It involves freezing their favorite toys in an ice cube tray and then letting kids use eye droppers of warm water to set them free. (Yes, this one takes a LONG time and keeps kids engaged for hours.)
Ice paint is one of my favorite types of activities to do with my kids. Before you ask, it is totally safe for kids to lick the popsicles while playing with them. Honestly, who can blame them when they look so bright and refreshing?! Ice paint is a super creative way for your toddlers to work on social skills and language development, too. You can help by asking things like, “What color is this?” or “Now you’re using blue!”
Another taste safe ice cube activity is my DIY fizzy blocks. We all know that if kids can bring something to their mouth, they’re gonna! So with these ice activities, you don’t have to stress about it being hazardous. This activity is a great way to keep young children of any age occupied, and it makes for pretty easy cleanup. This is another way to watch your wonder-full (no pun intended) little ones use their creativity.
On the Mothercould in Your Pocket resource, you’ll find even more ice play ideas like ice cup bath bombs, color ice mixing, and more! Check it out!
Paper Plates
Paper plates are always floating around. Whether you have a bunch of mismatched plates from the last few birthday parties or you have a giant Costco stack just waiting for meal time, chances are you’ve got some plates handy. If you do, you can use it for a bunch of beneficial activities!
This DIY analog clock is not only engaging and inexpensive since it uses materials you already have lying around, but it’s reusable! Your older kiddos can learn to tell time and set the time using this easy afternoon project!
For something for younger kids learning to use scissors, try this rainbow cutting activity! It uses a paper plate, some coloring time, and yarn to create a super-fun and beneficial sensory activity. You can also check this post for other ideas like paper plate painting and paper plate animal creating!
Egg Cartons
Egg cartons are like the OG of recycled toys! It’s so easy to make something engaging for any age group with a carton with lots of compartments and an easy closure mechanism. Plus, you probably get a few of these every month that usually just end up in the trash. Instead, turn them to treasure!
I like to make a “life skills egg carton” with buttons, bottle caps, pom poms, and more to help with practical fine motor skills. This is another one your kids will be able to use again and again. And, you could actually create multiple sets focusing on different life skills! The possibilities are seriously endless.
Plastic Cups
Plastic cups are an essential when it comes to creating budget-friendly activities, they make for plenty of fun sensory play. And because plastic cups are an easy reusable item, it’s a great way to teach your kids the importance of recycling.
I know I can’t be the only one finding stickers ALL over my house. Of course we can’t throw them away because the second we do our kids will notice they’re missing, but what else are we to do with them? But… I found my answer. Sticker twist match cups. Not only is this the best way to put your pile of stickers to use, it’s also an important sensory activity that will help show your little ones the importance of “under/over/in/out”.
This one is just a fun, easy, and enjoyable activity for the whole family. Monster shoes DIY can get out some of that built up toddler energy, and give you a good laugh while you’re at it. Not to mention, the process of this activity helps with movement coordination, motor skills, exercise, and giving your kids a little healthy dose of competition. Teach ‘em while they’re young!
Plastic cups can also be used to create ornaments, make DIY mess-free paint cups, and more! Here’s my whole list of plastic cup sensory activities!
Paper Rolls
Whether it’s paper towel or toilet paper rolls, these cardboard tubes are the best! Just hand one to your child and you’ll see how much it instantly inspires them. This fine motor tube craft uses Q-tips and small holes in a paper roll to help children refine their fine motor skills. This activity can also be modified for color-matching! You can make it harder depending on where your child is developmentally.
For a more challenging activity for early spellers, try this word family DIY! It takes minutes to put together but provides hours of engaging and beneficial play. Your kids will learn all about word families, spelling, and reading while having a blast!
Other paper roll activities include this emotional literacy experiment, this DIY painting easel, and this play dough roller idea. You’ll find even more on the Mothercould in Your Pocket resource!
How To Use Items for Sensory Play
Choose the right items.
When looking for items to use for sensory play, I’m all about reuse, reduce, and recycle. There are tons of things around your home that work perfect for sensory activities. It’s not just about keeping it inexpensive though, it’s important to find items that you children will enjoy as well.
Factors to consider are specific needs based on age, multi-sensory engagement use, non-toxicity, easy clean-up, and of course, safety and durability. You can find my full list of useful household items (and my suggested purchases) on the resource.
Transform it visually.
Food coloring and rainbow colored EVERYTHING is your best friend when it comes to sensory play. A little color can make almost any household item look 10x more appealing to your kids. Would they want to play with dried beans in their sensory bin? Maybe not. But would they want to play with COLORFUL dried beans? Absolutely!
Children can also be the biggest critics on appearance. If an activity looks colorful, easy to use, and entertaining, they’re all for it! They’ll grab for it again and again!
Store it appropriately.
Plenty of these activities are easy to store or even easy to discard when you’re finished because you can just recreate them. Stackable containers, storage jars, and baskets are my best friend when it comes to clean-up.
Not only will the containers keep everything organized, but hopefully they’ll help some of these more fragile items maintain their shape and durability. A paper towel roll or egg carton won’t last forever, but it’ll last a lot longer with a hard-sided container protecting it! Just make sure to label everything and put it at the appropriate height for its age appropriateness!
Use them for premade sensory kits.
Premade sensory kits take all the hassle out of sensory play! You simply theme each bin, label it, and fill it with items inspired by that theme! You can use these household items as some of the filler for your sensory kits. Maybe a cut up paper plate becomes a sliceable cake to serve? Maybe an egg carton becomes a busy bee hive? Or, maybe a paper roll becomes a rocket ship? Then just add tools like measuring cups, tweezers, molds, and more!
The possibilities are endless if you get creative! You can either use the containers as your sensory bin, or you can make a DIY sensory table for all the filler to go into. Just get out your supplies and start brainstorming. You could even bring your kids in on the fun.
Keep sensory play fun and inexpensive with these recycled activities!
Sensory play is all the rage . . . and for good reason. It’s one of the best things you can do to foster your child’s development. However, because it’s trendy, there are a lot of businesses capitalizing on the process, making sensory play feel expensive and inaccessible but that’s not the case at all! As you learned in this post, tons of FREE household items can be recycled and transformed into engaging and beneficial sensory activities.
If you enjoyed the activities and ideas about, there are plenty more on my Mothercould blog. For some more exclusive content, guided play recipes, printable recipe cards, my favorite hacks, and tons more, don’t forget to check out Mothercould In Your Pocket!