Ocean-Themed Sensory Play: How to Make Ocean Sand
- Gina
- May 28
- 3 min read
In this BLOG post I will teach you how to make this ocean-themed sensory bin and share the benefits of sensory play.
This recipe is a fun and festive way to incorporate sensory play into your day! The ocean theme is amazing for summer, but you can also adjust it to meet whatever theme or interests you have.
It is soft, squishy, buildable and moldable. It can be used to create sandcastles, to hide fish in or just to scoop and dump and pour.
Thematic sensory experiences are a great way to incorporate learning and creativity into play.
While they explore, they can ask and answer questions such as:
How does the sand feel?
Have you ever swam in the ocean?
What kind of animals live in the ocean?
What can you do in the sand?
What happens when you squeeze the sand in your hands?
Can you build a sandcastle?
You can also explore skills such as identifying ocean animals, discussing color names and discussing the characteristics of each animal.
Looking for other ocean-themed activities?
Check these out!!
Materials:
Shaving cream
Baking soda
Food coloring (optional)
Mixing bowl
Spoon
Sensory tray or bowl
Ocean-themed trinkets
Step 1: Mix 2 cups of shaving cream with 2 cups of baking soda. Stir well.
Step 2: If you are using food coloring, mix in 5-6 drops now. Mix well.
Step 3: Add to a sensory tray or bowl and PLAY!
There may be some color transfer with the food coloring. Wash off with soap and water.
Storage: Because this has a shaving cream base, it will not last as long as other sensory bins. You can reactivate it with a bit more shaving cream.
Taste Safe Option: If you are searching for a taste safe option, you can omit the shaving cream and mix baking soda with a few tablespoons of water. I would not recommend this if someone is heavily exploring with their mouths, but if they sneak a little taste it is ok.
Check out this taste-safe foam HERE!
How To Dispose of It: Dump this in the trash when you are done playing with it. Wash bowl or bin after use with soap and water.
There are SO many skills hard at work!
Fine Motor Skills: the more kids scoop and squeeze and poke and push, the stronger their fingers, hands and wrists will get. Those muscles are so important for things such as zippering your coat, feeding yourself and holding your pencil.
Math: kids will use measurement when creating the recipe together with you. They will also have opportunities to explore math concepts as they scoop, fill, dump and explore the sensory gin with cups, bowls and spoons.
Social skills: sensory play has SO many opportunities for social skills strengthening. They will work on patience, time on task and increasing their attention and focus. They will also have opportunities to work on sharing space and materials, using manners and problem solving.
Self-regulation: sensory play can be such a great tool for self-regulation. It can be calming and support deep breathing. It can also be a safe way to release big emotions though scooping, banging, pushing and squishing.
You get to decide what is safe and manageable in your home. Always monitor young children.
コメント