U is for Underground Sensory Play
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Today I am happy to have Helen of Peakle Pie sharing with you all as part of the A-Z's of Sensory Play for Kids Series. She has a really great idea for underground sensory play.
Peakles and I have been exploring the world around us through lots of sensory and imaginative play. We often visit museums and places of interest because Peakles is intrigued about how ‘things that are underground are from the olden days!’ Where we live (North East Coast of England) is steeped in a rich history of Roman occupation, Danish invasions and the beginnings of Christianity in Britain.
We have also visited archaeological digs, castles and forts. Peakles wanted to know more about what we can find underground which led to this sensory play idea for U is for Underground.
Setting the Scene.
I took a large clear plastic box and added a layer of play dough. In this I placed some shells and pebbles. The next layer had sand in which I placed some dinosaurs in it. Then I added a layer of sand and pebbles with some ‘bones’ (dog biscuits!) in. The last layer was soil or earth with some building bricks and some little plastic figures. Finally I planted some herbs and flowers on the top with a building block structure.
I decided this was a perfect outdoor activity as it could get messy, however it could be used indoors if placed on top of a large shower curtain or sheets of newspaper.
Sensory Play Time
Peakles could see the layers through the side of the box and wondered how we were going to use it. I gave her some large spoons and some brushes and explained that we were going to explore underground.
First she decided to take the plants out as this is what happens when the road workers dig up the road! We put them to one side to plant out in the garden later. Then she dug a hole in the middle of the box. She was interested in the different layers that she came across and soon was moving things out of the way with her hands. She liked finding all the different things in the soil and soon had a large collection of found things.
Peakles was particularly impressed with the bones she found! Once we reached the sandy layer she took the brush and brushed it away to reveal the dinosaurs! Peakles then decided to fill in the hole and dig some tunnels underground.
Learning though Play
Peakles enjoyed the different sensations of the layers in this sensory play. She spoke at length about how different it was to some of the other things we have done and how exciting it was to keep finding things like a real scientist! I was also impressed with her empathy for the living plants and how she wanted to make sure that they were safe. I think that this also helped her to understand how old things are hidden deep underground and new things are near the surface as well.
All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our sensory play with U is for Underground!
Related Posts from Peakle Pie:
Hello! I’m Helen and Peakles is my four year old daughter. Peakles and I have been crafting, learning, playing for many years now and I write about it all on our blog called Peakle Pie.
We love playing and we love creating things from the books that have inspired us! Over the past year we have made lots of colourful sculptures, painted pictures and made up our own games too. Peakles is very proud of what we do and will tell everybody she can that she is Peakle Pie!
I try to maintain that ‘hands on’ feel with our site and Peakles is involved with every craft and activity featured.
We are thrilled to be part of the A-Z of Sensory Play series.
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For more sensory fun ideas, be sure to follow my Pinterest board below and keep up with the A-Z's of Sensory Play for Kids series.
Heather Greutman, COTA
Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with experience in school-based OT services for preschool through high school. She uses her background to share child development tips, tools, and strategies for parents, educators, and therapists. She is the author of many ebooks including The Basics of Fine Motor Skills, and Basics of Pre-Writing Skills, and co-author of Sensory Processing Explained: A Handbook for Parents and Educators.