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Sensory games for 2 year olds


Toddler Sensory Activities My Kids are Loving

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A list of easy and fun toddler sensory activities that my kids are loving! Try these sensory play activities with your toddlers, preschoolers and young kids.

Why sensory play? Sensory play activities encourage kids to learn through feeling, exploration, and creativity! It can also help the development of fine and gross motor skills as well as improve language development and problem solving.

Sensory play activities are important, but they don’t have to be extremely difficult or expensive to set up! If you are looking for an easy supplies list check out this post: Toddler Activity Supplies (Essentials & Equipment)

I’m sharing some of my kids’ favorite sensory play activities that I set up quickly and easily at their play table or outside. I’ve also listed supplies needed for each one as well as a quick description and a picture of the sensory activity in action!

As a slightly type-A person, it can be difficult to let my kids be hands on and get a little messy, but it’s part of the process with sensory play and great for fostering curiosity and sensory exploration… so sit back and relax and let them get dirty!

You might also like these related posts:

  • Fun Noodle Sensory Activity for Toddlers
  • Best Toddler Learning Toys for 2-Year-Olds
  • Easy Toddler Meal Ideas: 21 Meals for the Week

Toddler Sensory Activity #1: Car Painting & Car Wash

Your kids will love that you let them do something a little out of the ordinary and paint their toys! Use washable paint to paint toy cars (we love these car bath toys from Nuby). After the paint dries, let your little ones scrub it off with a soapy car wash sensory bin including their own scrub brushes.

Supplies:

  • Nuby Squirt Wheels Car Toys
  • Washable paint
  • Muffin pan
  • 16 qt Storage Bin
  • Scrub brushes
  • Soapy water

Toddler Sensory Bin #2: Jello Dig

Cool small animal figurines or other small toys into a pan of jello. Once cool and solid let your toddlers have a taste-safe experience rescuing the toys from the jello! Make it fun by using a theme such as blue jello for arctic or sea animals or use your toddler’s favorite color.

Supplies:

  • 13 x 9 inch baking dish (or similar size)
  • Small animal figurines (or similar toys)
  • Jello
  • Bibado full coverage bib (optional; use PINECONES20 for 20% off)

Easy Toddler Sensory Bin #3: Black Bean Construction Yard

Fill a medium sized storage bin with dried black beans (or noodles are another fun option!). Let your toddler dig around, scoop, and push the beans using small construction toys.

Read More >>> Fun Noodle Sensory Activity for Toddlers

Supplies:

  • 16 qt Storage Bin
  • Small Digger Toys
  • 5 lb dried black beans

Sensory Bin Activity #4: Water Beads

Water beads are a fun and unique sensory play experience that’s great for toddlers over 18-24 months or so or when they no longer put things in their mouths. Do this one outside or with a tarp underneath for easy clean up! If you keep the water beads moist they will keep for weeks or you can let them dry out and use them again later.

Bonus: Fill your water table (we have this one) up with water beads!

Supplies:

  • 16 qt Storage Bin
  • Water beads (this set comes with sensory toys and scoops)

Sensory Play Activity #5: Fruit/Veggie Stamping

Let your toddler explore different fruits and veggies and use them as stamps for painting! If it’s the fall, using apples and orange paint to stamp pumpkins is a fun one or you can just about any fruit and veggie to make different stamps and textures.

Supplies:

  • Washable paint
  • Construction paper
  • Fruit or veggies (apples, celery, bell peppers, etc).
  • Bibado full coverage bib (optional; use PINECONES20 for 20% off)

Easy Toddler Sensory Bin #6: Shaving Cream Play

Fill up a bin with shaving cream and let your toddler feel, squish, and smear it all over. For a taste-safe (but sticky) experience try using whipped cream instead. This one is best done outdoors and in swimsuits so your kids can be easily washed off. Throw in some water-safe toys and scrub brushes for even more play!

Supplies:

  • 16 qt Storage Bin
  • Shaving cream
  • Scrub brushes
  • Water-safe toys

Toddler Sensory Activity #7: Kinetic Sand & Play Doh

Simple but hours of fun! Your toddler may like exploring the different feelings of kinetic sand and playdoh and they can do slightly different things with each sensory play toy. Set these out at the same time or do them on different days and talk to your toddlers about the differences (colors, feel, smell, texture, ect.).

Supplies:

  • Shallow baking pans or trays
  • Kinetic Sand
  • Small Digger Toys
  • Or try this Kinetic Sand Construction Set
  • Play Doh set w/Tools
  • Pad is TokiMats Everywhere Mat)

Easy Sensory Bin #8: Toy Wash/Car Wash

Use things you probably already have on hand to make a fun and easy toy wash sensory play activity! Fill up storage bins with soapy water and give your toddler some toys and a brush to get scrubbing. This can be a great way to keep toys clean or wash off especially messy toys. You will want to do this one outside or lay down a tarp if inside.

Supplies:

  • 16 qt Storage Bin
  • Scrub brushes
  • Soap & water
  • Water-safe toys

Sensory Play Idea #9: Rock Box

We have a larger outdoor rock box (it can also be a sand box) or you can use medium storage bins if your space is more limited. Let your kids dig around, scoop, and move rocks for this easy sensory experience!

Supplies:

  • Little Tykes Big Digger Sandbox
  • or 16 qt Storage Bin
  • Pebbles from your local home improvement store
  • Scoops and diggers (these are included in the Digger Sandbox above)

Summary Toddler Sensory Activities

Here is a summary and breakdown of some of our favorite toddler sensory activities that my kids are loving:

  1. Car Painting & Car Wash
  2. Jello Dig
  3. Black Bean Construction Yard
  4. Water Beads
  5. Fruit/Veggie Stamping
  6. Shaving Cream Play
  7. Kinetic Sand & Play Doh
  8. Toy Wash/Car Wash
  9. Rock Box

For a full list of supplies check out: Toddler Activity Supplies (Essentials & Equipment)

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25 Sensational Sensory Activities for Toddlers

Every parent knows toddlers can be messy. You turn around for two seconds and suddenly your little one is somehow covered in mud, happily plastering your new lipstick between the couch cushions or drizzling a trail of honey across the floor.

It may not be fun to clean up, but all of that messy play is actually an essential part of your toddler’s learning experience. It’s called sensory play, and it includes any activity that stimulates one of the five senses for a young child. These sensory activities give kids a chance to explore and investigate the world around them while encouraging creativity and scientific thinking.

Of course, just because this behavior is productive doesn’t mean it has to come in the form of a giant, unexpected mess. You can help facilitate your little ones’ sensory learning by providing them with plenty of fun opportunities to engage their senses.

We rounded up some of the best sensory activities for toddlers the web has to offer. These ideas will be sure to keep your toddlers engaged and learning!

25 fun sensory activities for toddlers

1.

Flour sensory trays

This sensory activity from the Hands On As We Grow® blog couldn’t be easier—you likely have everything you need already in your pantry! Simply scoop some flour onto a tray, baking sheet or paper plate and let your kids go to town with finger drawings and handprints. Kids will love practicing their art skills with soft, powdery flour. Adding toy cars or measuring utensils to the mix will encourage imaginary play too!

2. Six smelly activities

Looking for some activities to help explore the olfactory system? Scholastic® offers six quick smelling activities you can set up with items around your house. Whether it’s a game of “smell and go seek” or a DIY stink bomb, these ideas are sure to engage you and your toddler in unique ways with this often-overlooked sense.

3. Flour & water dough

Once your kids have had their fun with plain flour, add water to make it a whole new experience! These instructions from TinkerLab will give you ideas for getting started, like including a spoon your child can use to add water or to mix the “dough. ” Your kids will see science in action as they witness how the water transforms the flour.

4. Popcorn senses

An activity that involves all five senses and popcorn—what’s not to like? Play To Learn Preschool designed a five-sense activity for preschoolers around making popcorn! From hearing the sound of popping to tasting the final product, this activity can take a simple kitchen task and turn it into intentional learning that finishes with a treat.

5. Sand table

Bring your child’s fascination with the beach indoors with a sand table. Simply fill a baking dish with colored sand from a craft store. Learn how to incorporate early literacy skills into this activity at Imagination Soup. Younger toddlers will have fun playing with and burying toys, while older kids can practice drawing shapes and letters.

6. Wave bottle

Little ones tend to love water. TeacherVision encourages this fascination with instructions and discussion questions to help toddlers truly observe what they experience. Using easy-to-find items from around the house, the wave bottle is a sensory activity that will help your toddler better understand how water moves in waves and the importance of that in our world.

7. Rock band

Making music is a great activity for engaging the senses! Kids Creative Chaos has the lowdown on how to make music fun and educational for your kids. Make your own instruments or turn your pots and pans into a makeshift drum set. Many people only think about textures when it comes to sensory play, but rhythm and melodies also play a role in sensory learning.

8. Fall leaf activities

Even for adults, the beauty of the fall season is captivating. Fantastic Fun and Learning offers a whole slew of activities directly related to the changes in the world that we see in autumn. Whether it’s projects based in art, exploration or science, there is a whole slew of ideas to help toddlers better understand the magic of the fall season.

9. Slimy eyes sensory bag

Skip the mess without losing out on fun and learning! Just add hair gel and googly eyes to a zip-top bag and your little monster will enjoy squishy sensations without the cleanup. Kids will love feeling the “slime” through the plastic bag, and you can add food coloring for a quick lesson in color mixing. Check out Hands On As We Grow for full instructions.

10. Wet paper exploration

Fill a small tub or bowl with water and provide old magazines or junk mail for your toddler to dunk. Your kids will be fascinated by the paper’s new texture! It might sound simple, but kids have a natural curiosity about everyday objects. Activities like this give them free rein to explore the world around them. Read more at Tinkerlab®.

11. Soapy slime fun

Looking for a fun outdoor activity that is sure to be a unique experience? Janice Davis, an early childhood teacher from Australia describes a unique way to let your toddler experience mess-making by creating a colorful, slimy and soapy substance. Despite this being a messy project, if you take it outside, you only need a hose for cleanup!

12. Shaving cream

Squirt some shaving cream on a piece of tinfoil and watch your kids have the time of their lives! Mix it up by adding sprinkles or substituting edible whipped cream for the shaving cream. Kids will practice hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, plus the crinkly tinfoil will also stimulate their sense of hearing. Check out even more variations at Kids Creative Chaos.

13. Loom band sensory bottle

You’ll need an empty, clear plastic bottle for this sensory activity from In The Playroom. Fill the bottle with water and add a handful of different colored rubber loom bands. Your child will be mesmerized watching the bands move through the water, and you can easily change out the bands for other materials next time.

14. Ice world

Empty containers, a little bit of food coloring and a freezer are all you need to help your kids bring their play to another climate. Learning4Kids details how you can use these materials to help introduce your toddlers to an arctic climate. This activity is especially rewarding if you organize it on a hot summer day. The contrast of the cold activity can be a refreshing change of pace!

15. Homemade finger paint

Is there anything more fun for a toddler than playing in colorful finger paint? There’s no need to worry about toxins, thanks to this homemade paint recipe from Tinkerlab. Kids will learn about color mixing, and they’ll have a blast getting messy and making art. Add even more fun by putting the paint in squeeze bottles!

16. ABC sensory table

This activity from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds is a great way to introduce colors, numbers and letters. All you have to do is place colored foam letters in a tub or large baking dish, along with different scoops or containers for your kids to explore. They’ll sharpen their early literacy and counting skills while practicing their sensory play.

17. Soapy sensory jars

Save an empty plastic container—like a peanut butter jar—to turn it into a sensory jar that will delight your toddler. Fill the jar halfway with water and add food coloring and soap. You can even throw in glitter if you’re feeling fancy! Your toddler will love watching the food coloring and soap bubble up together as they shake and roll the jar. Learn more at Hands On As We Grow.

18. Homemade sandcastles

So your toddler loves the beach—but it’s the middle of winter or raining outside. No problem! Taste of Home® offers instructions for how you and your young one can create sandcastles in your home together. This is a perfect project for those who need a little reminder that warmer and sunnier days of adventure are just around the corner.

19. Treasure chest

Recycle your old baby wipes containers and food jars to make your own sensory treasure chest! Use gold spray paint to transform the container into a magical treasure chest and the food jar lids into gold coins. Simply fill it with sand and hide your treasure for your little one to discover. Visit I Can Teach My Child to learn more!

20. Homemade drums

Kids Activities blog teaches you how to make homemade drums using tin cans, balloons and rubber bands. Have your toddler help you construct a full drum set and place various items—such as rice, marbles or beans—on top to demonstrate how sound is made. They’ll have a blast comparing the sounds and watching the objects bounce as they bang their drums.

21. Smelling bottles

Help your child discover the magic of smell by creating these smelling bottles found at Things to Share & Remember. Use empty spice bottles or recycle other used bottles. Put one cotton ball in every bottle and a few drops of various essential oils to create a different scent in each. From vanilla or cherry to cucumber and peppermint, your toddler will find their favorite scents.

22. I-spy bottles

This sensory activity takes those old I Spy books to a whole new level! Simply fill an empty plastic bottle with rice and throw in a few surprises for your little one to discover. Some fun ideas recommended from the Because I Said So blog are dice, pennies, buttons or marbles. Let your child move and shake the bottle until they find each item on the list!

23. Alphabet squish

Teach your toddlers letters with a little squishy fun with this idea from I Can Teach My Child. All you’ll need is shaving cream, liquid glue and alphabet stickers to create fun, puffy “letter clouds. ” Once complete, call out a letter and challenge your child to squish the correct cloud.

24. Outdoor listening activity

So many of the best activities for toddlers are as simple as letting them experience what adults do every day. Fantastic Fun and Learning details an easy but profound activity: Go for a walk and listen to nature. Allow your toddler in on the peaceful fun by predicting what sounds they will hear on the back of a paper plate—and every time they hear one of their predictions, they get to fold that portion over. Will they hear everything they thought they would? Did they hear something that surprised them? A great activity for exercise, guesswork and practicing those listening skills.

25. Goopy fun

Kids will love exploring this homemade, gooey concoction! Kitchen utensils will allow toddlers to manipulate the goop in even more creative ways. They’ll practice their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as they use utensils to scoop, spread and push the colorful goop. Get the recipe at Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds.

It’s time for some sensational sensory fun!

Dealing with messes is part of life with a toddler. Make those messes educational with these sensory activities for toddlers. Use these ideas to create significant learning experiences for your kids. You may even want to join in the fun!

If you love creating learning activities for young children, that might be a sign you should build a career in early childhood education. Our article “9 Signs You Should Be Teaching Preschool” lays out some of the telltale signs you’d be an effective early childhood educator.

Hands On As We Grow is a registered trademark of Oak Avenue Media LLC.
Scholastic is a registered trademark of Scholastic, Inc.
TinkerLab is a registered trademark of Rochelle Doorley.
Taste of Home is a registered trademark of RDA Enthusiast Brands LLC.

Sensory development of children 2-3 years old through didactic games

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04 October 2022

GATI memo

News archive

The article was prepared by

Voskoboynikova Marina Nikolaevna

teacher of the I junior group

Sensory development of the child is the development of perception and the formation of ideas about the external properties of objects: their shape, color, size, position in space, as well as smell, taste and others.

A person's acquaintance with the world begins with "living contemplation": with sensation and perception. Cognition begins with the perception of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world - sensory abilities form the foundation of mental development.

Sensory processes are inextricably linked with the activity of the sense organs. The object we consider affects our eye; with the help of the hand, we feel its hardness (or softness), roughness, etc.; the sounds emitted by any object are perceived by our ear. Thus, sensation and perception are direct, sensory knowledge of reality.

At preschool age, the development of sensation and perception is very intensive, although in young children ideas about the color, shape, size and other properties of an object are just beginning to accumulate. At the same time, correct ideas about objects, about sensory standards (established ideas about the main properties of the objective world: color, shape, size of objects, etc. ) are easier to form in the process of their direct perception, both visual and auditory and tactile, in the process different kinds of actions with these objects.

Familiarization with each type of standards has its own characteristics. When perceiving color, only visual orientation can be used. Teaching children how to draw a contour, as well as juxtaposing figures, plays an important role in familiarizing them with geometric shapes. Familiarization with magnitude involves arranging objects in rows of decreasing or increasing magnitude.

The development of the processes of sensation and perception in children significantly outstrips the development of thinking. Children still do not know how to independently examine objects, notice their characteristic features (shape, color, size). This means that it is necessary to purposefully form sensory standards. This problem is solved by using didactic games and game exercises aimed at developing children's ideas about shape, color, size.

At present, an adult has many means at his disposal that allow him to acquaint children with objects and their properties not in their natural form, but through photographs, drawings (pictures), didactic toys (matryoshkas, pyramids), that is, specially selected didactic material .

Children learn especially well about the world around them when they have the opportunity not only to contemplate, but also to act actively. Therefore, it is necessary to use didactic games for sensory development both in continuous educational activities and in the daily activities of the child. The active use of didactic games is one of the important conditions for the sensory development of preschool children. Parents at home can easily make and use didactic games from scrap materials - clothespins, pencils, toys, etc.

Didactic games and exercises can perform another important function - monitoring the state of children's sensory development. In order to determine the achievements of children in sensory development, exercises with didactic materials and games with the same turrets or insert toys can be used. By inviting children, for example, to select parts of the inserts by size, we can determine the level of skill development by how the child will act: those who solve the problem through chaotic repeated trial and error demonstrate a reduced level; children who purposefully use practical tests show an average level; and, finally, if a child accurately selects details only on the basis of visual correlation, one can speak of a high level of skill development.

Thus, in the general system of sensory education, both in kindergarten and at home, didactic games solve learning tasks. In addition, they are a good school for children to use the acquired sensory experience, ideas and knowledge, and, finally, perform the function of monitoring the progress of sensory education.

Didactic games

There are simple didactic games to develop tactile sensations:

  • "Detect by touch" (find objects that differ in one attribute)
  • "Recognize the figure" (it is proposed to take the proposed figure out of the bag by touch)
  • "Find a pair" (it is suggested that the child find pairs of identical objects by touch)
  • "Find an object of the specified shape" (the child is asked to find pictures depicting objects similar in shape to a given shape)
  • "What shapes does … consist of?" (you need to determine from the picture what geometric shapes the object consists of and how many of them)
  • "Find an object of the same shape" (learn to highlight the form in specific objects of the environment)
  • "Which figure is superfluous?" (definition of an extra figure in a series of four geometric figures, suggest explaining the principle of exclusion)

Didactic games and exercises to reinforce the concept of quantity.

  • "Compare objects by height"
  • "The longest, shortest" (suggest to arrange multi-colored ribbons along the length, from the shortest to the longest, as an option, you can offer to compare the ribbons according to several criteria)
  • "Multi-colored circles" (suggest to put the circles (or other geometric figure) starting from the largest, so that the color of the previous circle can be seen)
  • "Which box?" (distribute five kinds of toys of different sizes into five different boxes depending on the size)
  • "Further - closer" (suggest to determine the position of the game and objects from the drawing: which ones are drawn closer and which are further)
  • Didactic games and color fixing exercises.
  • "What color is gone?"
  • "What color is the item?" (offer to choose the right color for the item)
  • "Collect a garland" (suggest to assemble a garland from multi-colored circles according to the sample from memory)
  • "What colors are used?" (showing an image of objects of the same color and its shades, learn to name and distinguish between two shades of the same color, exercise in the use of words denoting color shades)
  • "Specify color" (learn to distinguish and name close colors)

13 sensory games for the development of children - Family and children - Home

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The kid drags everything into his mouth, opens boxes and cabinets, knocks lids, rustling bags, drawing on wallpaper, pouring water and throwing toys? Don't worry, he's not messing around - he's sensory develops.

13 Jul 2020 Author: Olesya Garanina

For the full perception of objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, sensual (sensory) development is of great importance. It is on this basis that memory, thinking and imagination, even readiness for school, will then develop.

You can say as much as you like - “sour”, “bitter”, “hot”, but until the child tries it himself, he will not know what it really is. And on the one hand, this is normal: such sensory experience must be passed through oneself, only then it matters for the development of the personality.

On the other hand, such entertainment can be unsafe both for the child himself and for the surrounding objects: give the baby free rein, he will “test” all the dishes for strength, and all the puddles to the depth.

Therefore, direct the energy and thirst for knowledge of the child in a peaceful direction - play sensory games!

1. Sort/sort by color/shape/size.

Arrange the figures cut out of colored paper or cardboard by color, sort them by shape (circle, triangle, oval) or size - large to large, small to small.

Ask the child to show the same small blue square or large yellow circle as you have in your hands.

2. Find the same / find a similar one.

On a walk or indoors, look for objects of your chosen colors: houses, cars, leaves, clothing items, pieces of furniture. You can search for anything small or large. At the same time, the child will also better understand the concept of relativity - compared to you, the bus is big, and compared to the house, it is small.

Also look for objects that resemble geometric shapes in shape - a house like a rectangle, a puddle like an oval, a sandbox like a square, etc.

3. Colorful fantasy.

Pour plain water into several glasses and show the child how it turns into different colors if you lower a brush with paint of any color into it. Try mixing different colors, getting new and new shades.

4. Large/small.

Let the child try on your clothes - it will be big for him, because he is still small, and yours is small for him, because you are already big.

Try to hide toys of different sizes in a fist - small ones can easily fit, but large ones cannot.

5. What does it sound like?

For each game, you can take 2-5 items, increasing their number depending on the age of the child.

Rattle, knock, ring the selected objects in front of the baby. And then, already turning away, let him determine only by ear what sounded - a bell, a spoon on the table, or a rustling package?

6. Listen to how it sounds!

Use every opportunity to draw the baby's attention to one or another sound of an object - how leaves rustle, rain drums on glass, an elevator rides, a dog barks, a drill works, etc.

A more sophisticated option is to try to give each sound an emotional coloring: for example, a drill sounds unhappy, an elevator is tired, thunder rumbles angrily, a tambourine sounds cheerful, and water flows with laughter.

7. Music games.

The task of the child is to go fast or slowly, depending on how fast you tap your hands or hit the tambourine.

It is not an easy task for very young children to stop when the music stops, especially if before that it sounded fast and energetic.

8. Mmm… how it smells!

Draw your baby's attention to a variety of smells - like vanilla pie from the oven or fresh bread in the store. What smells hover in the meat and sausage department, how pleasant the smell of fresh linen, book pages and a blooming flower on the window.

9. How does it feel?

To develop tactile sensitivity, invite your baby to touch a variety of objects, paying attention to how they feel: smooth, rough, fluffy, hard, prickly, soft, cold, hard, warm, etc.

Touch everything you can: fabric, clothes, furniture and toys, tree bark and leaves on the street, stroke your own or someone else's pet or parrot, try to pick up water, hide your palms in flour or cereal, roll out a spool of thread and a ball of wool, tear a piece of paper and touch the cactus.

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