A Sensory Explosion

October greetings from Barbara at The Corner On Character. I visited Rachel Chapman's preK class at Westwood-Bales the other day and look at the cool tactile tools I found - 

A Sensory Explosion! 

Rice dyed blue and red in plastic bins with all sorts of fun stuff to scoop up and arrange. Mrs. Chapman tells me she used three cups of rice with three Tablespoons of colored water, though she added that she might try a little vinegar next time to seal in the color. 

A bin full of colorful magnetic letters for place and trace.

A bean bin for counting, sorting, and fine motor practice.

And back in my office, a calm-down basket filled with 

scented rice and puddle stones. Hide the puddles and challenge them to find the one with the letter A. What could that represent? There are also two with a secret message on them for older learners.

Do you want add another layer to your sensory explosion? Use these things to explore feelings. Find out from your little learners which items might represent mad. They could choose the scissors 'cause it cuts or something red because of its color. Which item(s) represent happy? Perhaps the plush puffs or the smooth stones. Scared? Silly? Sad? Reinforce these feelings concepts with a book like 
Happy, Sad, Silly, Mad: My World Makes Me Feel 
by John E. Mitchell and Jana Christy.

Then sing along with Rock-ucation's 
Happy Sad Silly Mad song:

Click {here} for more activity suggestions by Shelley Frost to help your little ones learn and explore more about their feelings.