The best sensory activities for toddlers in PDF format are right here! As a parent or caregiver, you’re always looking for ways to engage and nurture your toddler’s growth.
One of the most effective and enjoyable ways to do so is through sensory activities. Sensory play encourages exploration, helps toddlers make sense of the world around them, and plays a crucial role in brain development.
From tactile experiences to auditory and visual stimulation, sensory activities can enhance your child’s motor skills, language development, and even emotional regulation. If you’re on the lookout for sensory activities to support your toddler’s growth, you’re in the right place!
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Free Sensory Activities For ToddlersPDF
This post will give you 20 fun and simple sensory activity ideas, plus a special bonus: a free Toddler Sensory Ideas Checklist PDF, packed with more creative ways to stimulate your little one’s senses. Simply enter your email in the form, and the checklist will be sent straight to your inbox!
Why Sensory Play is Important for Toddlers
Before diving into the activities, let’s briefly discuss why sensory play is so important for toddlers. At this age, children are learning through every touch, sight, sound, and smell. Sensory play offers countless benefits, including:
- Brain Development: Sensory activities help toddlers build neural connections that strengthen their brain, which supports learning and memory.
- Motor Skills: Many sensory activities involve using hands, feet, or even whole bodies, promoting fine and gross motor skills.
- Language Skills: Sensory play introduces toddlers to new vocabulary as they explore different textures, smells, and sounds.
- Emotional Regulation: Sensory play can help toddlers understand and manage their feelings. The hands-on, engaging nature of sensory activities often soothes children and helps them develop coping mechanisms.
- Creativity and Problem-Solving: Sensory activities encourage toddlers to think critically and experiment with cause-and-effect relationships.
20 Sensory Activities for Toddlers (+PDF)
Now that you know why sensory play is crucial, let’s get to the fun part—20 sensory activities your toddler will love!
1. Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin
Fill a shallow bin with coloured rice (you can dye plain rice using food colouring and rubbing alcohol). Add scoops, cups, and spoons for pouring and scooping.
The bright colours, texture, and sound of the rice will keep your toddler entertained while also enhancing fine motor skills. Putting it in your hand and sprinkling it into theirs will be a firm favourite.
2. Water Play with Different Textures
Fill a basin or bathtub with warm water. Add various objects with different textures—sponges, soft toys, plastic cups, or rubber balls.
Encourage your toddler to explore how the objects feel in the water. You can even introduce safe plastic food items for them to “cook” and “serve.”
Remember to always supervise around water even though it is a great learning tool we also want to keep our children safe. Water will keep your kids busy for hours.
3. DIY Sensory Bottles
Create sensory bottles using clear plastic bottles filled with various materials, such as glitter, beads, rice, or water.
These bottles provide visual and auditory stimulation. Your toddler can shake the bottles and watch the contents move or listen to the sounds they create.
You could even make these with them, and let them pick what you are going to put inside them. They get to be creative with the design process and have fun with the result as well.
4. Edible Finger Paints
Make edible finger paints using ingredients like yogurt, cornstarch, or pureed fruits and veggies.
This activity allows toddlers to create without worrying about harmful chemicals in traditional paints. Plus, they can safely taste the “paint” as they explore.
Have you ever noticed kids love to put things in their mouths? This is a totally normal part of their development and being able to safely encourage their curiosity is key.
5. Playdough Fun
Homemade playdough is one of the best sensory activities for toddlers. You can even add textures or scents like cinnamon or vanilla for extra stimulation.
Toddlers can squish, roll, cut, and shape the dough, which helps with fine motor skills and creativity.
Introducing different colours and mixing the different coloured playdoughs together is a great way to show kids the early concepts of colours and mixing.
6. Nature Exploration
Take a walk outside and encourage your toddler to explore the natural world. Let them touch the grass, smell flowers, or listen to the birds chirping.
Nature provides endless sensory opportunities, from the cool breeze to the rustling leaves.
Even placing your young baby down to feel the grass is stimulating for them. It becomes so interesting to watch toddlers testing out their senses and noticing different textures and sounds within nature.
7. Finger Painting with Foam
Finger painting doesn’t have to be messy! Instead of regular paint, use shaving cream or foam soap.
It’s soft, squishy, and easy to clean up afterwards. Your toddler will love the texture and feel of it as they create their masterpiece.
8. Sensory Bins with Seasonal Themes
Create sensory bins based on seasons or holidays. For example, fill a bin with dried leaves, mini pumpkins, and pinecones for fall, or cotton balls and fake snow for winter.
Changing the sensory bin with the seasons helps toddlers connect with the world around them. Maybe for summer you add some sand and a little plant and make a beach-like scene.
9. Bubble Popping
Blow bubbles for your toddler to pop! This is a simple yet engaging way to enhance visual tracking, hand-eye coordination, and motor skills.
Plus, toddlers love chasing and popping the bubbles, making it a fun and active sensory experience.
Bubbles are a cost friendly way to enhance your little ones world. Bubbles machines are also a really good price on the market and will create hours of fun for your toddler.
10. Mud Play
Let your toddler get messy! Set up a mud play station outside where they can dig, squish, and explore the cool, wet earth.
The tactile sensation of mud will stimulate their sense of touch and can be very soothing for little ones.
Helping them get used to different tactile feelings is very beneficial for their development and keeps them excited to try and feel new things.
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11. Sound Jars
Create sound jars using small containers (e.g., mason jars or plastic bottles) and fill them with different materials like rice, beans, or beads.
Seal the jars tightly, and encourage your toddler to shake them and identify the sounds. This helps with auditory development and teaches cause and effect.
12. Sensory Walking Path
Create a sensory walking path at home using different textures such as carpet, bubble wrap, soft towels, or rubber mats.
Let your toddler walk barefoot along the path, which helps with balance and sensory input for their feet.
13. Cornflour And Water “Goop”
Cornflour and water make a texturally interesting mixture. It creates a hard goop that when you pick it up in your hand melts away.
The best part of it is, once you’re done and it gets everywhere, as it drys you can just dust it off and it is like you never even made a mess in the first place.
This one is safe for kids to explore on themselves and in their mouths and that’s what makes it so good for sensory development.
14. Ice Cube Exploration
Fill an ice cube tray with water and freeze small toys or objects inside.
Let your toddler explore the ice cubes as they melt, and talk about how the ice feels cold and slippery.
You can even add a few drops of food colouring for visual fun!
15. Shaving Cream Play
Spray shaving cream onto a tray or high chair tray and let your toddler explore the soft, foamy texture.
You can add small toys for them to push around or let them draw shapes with their fingers. It’s fun and easy to clean up afterwards!
16. Texture Sensory Bags
Fill resealable plastic bags with different textured items, such as fabric swatches, feathers, or rice.
Seal the bag tightly and let your toddler squish and feel the different materials inside. This activity stimulates the tactile senses without the mess.
17. Music and Movement
Use simple musical instruments, such as tambourines, maracas, or drums, to introduce your toddler to different sounds.
You can also play music and encourage your toddler to move their body to the rhythm. This promotes auditory processing and motor skills.
Kids will quickly develop favourite nursery rhymes it is important to encourage this and enjoy the songs they love frequently.
18. Play with Sand
If you have access to a sandbox, let your toddler explore sand. Provide scoops, cups, and small toys for digging, pouring, and building.
The texture and sensation of the sand will be fascinating for them and great for hand-eye coordination.
It is great for developing creative play as you get told to sit down and watch while they whip up a batch of cookies!
19. DIY Sensory Path
Set up a sensory path in your living room or backyard using different textured materials.
Include things like bubble wrap, foam mats, and soft towels. Have your toddler walk barefoot along the path and experience the variety of textures underfoot.
This can also be a great way to teach them the floor is lava game, by introducing different textured obstacles to cross. Sensory activities for toddlers PDF will help remind you of all these fun activities for you and your toddler,
20. Pom Pom and Spoon Sorting
Fill a small container with colourful pom poms and provide spoons for scooping. Let your toddler sort the pom poms into different containers based on colour or size.
This activity boosts hand-eye coordination, concentration, and fine motor skills. You can even pick containers that match the Pom Poms colour for another layer of challenge.
Get Your Free Sensory Activities For Toddlers PDF Wall Art/Checklist
If you’re looking for even more sensory play ideas to keep your toddler engaged, I’ve got a special gift for you! Simply enter your email below, and I’ll send you a free Toddler Sensory Ideas Checklist PDF, packed with more fun, easy-to-do activities that you can implement right away. The checklist/wall art is a great resource for busy parents who want to keep their toddlers engaged while promoting their development.
Sensory Activities For Toddlers PDF Final Thoughts
Sensory activities for toddlers are not only fun but also essential for their overall development. They promote brain growth, improve motor skills, help with emotional regulation, and encourage creativity. The best part? Many of these activities require minimal materials and can be done at home, in your backyard, or even on the go.
So, grab that sensory activities for toddlersPDF and start exploring these activities with your little one. Whether you’re making playdough, filling sensory bins, or simply taking a walk outside, these activities will create meaningful moments of play that you and your toddler will cherish.
Happy playing!
If you found this post helpful, feel free to share it with other parents who could benefit from these sensory play ideas. Don’t forget to download your free sensory ideas checklist, and stay tuned for more helpful tips and activities for toddlers!
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