Step-by-step tutorial
Step 1
For this sensory box, we decided to go with a fall apple picking theme. We filled a plastic storage box with a few bags of dried split peas. Then we made trees with toilet paper rolls and brown and green felt.
Warning
Keep sensory box materials away from children who still put things in their mouths or pets. Very young children should always be supervised during sensory play.
Step 2
Glue brown felt around the toilet paper roll as the trunk. (Parents can cut the felt and allow children to glue it on.) Then cut out some green felt leaf shapes and glue them into one opening to form the top of the tree.
Step 3
Once you've made some trees, it's time to add some apples. For our apples, we used some small red pom-poms, since they'll stick to the felt leaves.
Final result!
Gather things that you think would be a nice addition to your box. We found some small wooden buckets at the craft store to use as apple picking baskets. You could use small baskets or tins or even empty apple sauce cups! We also added some cinnamon sticks for smell, a small rake made out of sticks glued together, and a craft foam tree. Small animals or dolls make a nice addition to sensory play as well.
There is no wrong or right way to play with a sensory box, let your child lead the activity. They will set up small scenes and play. When they are finished put the lid on the box and save it for another time.
You can make different boxes for other, themes, holidays or seasons by changing and storing the ingredients. Happy Sensory Play!