When we talk about sensory play, it’s not all about touch. This time we shall try to explore our sense of smell with apple scented sensory play, perfect for younger kids like toddlers and preschoolers. This apple themed sensory bin adds a bit of fine motor practice with all the scooping, pouring and working around with apple scented rice.
Welcome to our new series – A-Z of Sensory Play! Over the next 26 weeks, we will bring you a sensory play activity based on the letter of the week. Each sensory activity will be easy to set up and create hours of endless fun. What is more, each Thursday we shall post further alphabet activities from across the internet to inspire your play. Today we kick off the A-Z of Sensory Play series with A is for Apple Scented Sensory Play for Toddlers.
How to create apple scented sensory bin base
Here is what we used to create our sensory base:
- Two bags of economy rice
- Two ziplock bags (find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom)
- Two shades of green paint
- Two Apple and Cinnamon tea bags (find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom)
- Baking tray
Place one packet of rice into a zip-loc bag and pour a generous amount of green paint inside. Empty the contents of the Apple and Cinnamon teabag inside before closing it securely. Now the fun part – give your child the closed zip-loc bag to mix the contents together. This is a great activity to get them using up any excess energy as they move the paint around to cover the rice. My son seem to think jumping with the bag will help the process!
Repeat the same procedure in the second zip-loc bag with another shade of green to get a two tone effect. Then spread the rice out evenly on a baking tray and wait for it to dry. We left ours overnight, but it should be dry within an hour.
What to add inside apple scented sensory bin
As with most of the sensory bins, setup is flexible. Kids will be happy with a cup and a spoon! On other hand, to keep things a bit more exciting, we try to add a variety of different tools for fine motor practice. This time, we added several items to this apple scented sensory bin like:
- colored plant pots (find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom)
- apple shaped bird feeder
- Learning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set Toy (find here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom)
- spoons
Setting up apple scented sensory play
The next morning I poured the two shades of apple scented rice into a green box along with four brightly coloured plant pots. Each pot contained a variety of tools perfect for developing fine motor skills. In the middle, I placed an apple shaped bird feeder I picked up from the Dollar Store.
First we separated the apple shaped bird feeder and filled it with the green rice. I challenged my son to see who could empty the feeder – it took a while before he realised it had to be shaken. The smell from our apple scented rice was subtle and didn’t linger on our hands. It felt wonderful to bring up handfuls of the sweet smelling rice and watch it fall.
Next he explored the different fine motor skill equipment. Each tool was used to transfer the rice from the sensory bin into the coloured flower pots. The scoops were the easiest for the toddlers to use and they managed to fill a pot up quickly. The Squeezy Tweezer, which strengthens hand and finger muscles, was great for transferring small amounts of rice at a time.
The Handy Scooper, great for encouraging the motions needed for scissor use, picked up large quantities of rice which we emptied into the flower pots. For an additional challenge, I wanted to see if my son could pick up the rice using a Jumbo Tweezer. This was certainly harder than it looked, but practice makes perfect.
Add a learning element with a book about apples
We will here suggest few books you can add as a follow up activity after or during your child’s play with apple scented sensory bin. You can choose age appropriate book from these suggestions.
See 5 little apples become 4, the 3, as the animals eat them up one by one, until there’s none left. But watch for a wonderful surprise at the end! This is a perfect book for the youngest counters. Lift the flap to reveal who eats the apple on each page of this board book—little ones learn to count backwards and begin to subtract! This sturdy little book is the perfect size for toddler hands and features basic math concepts, friendly, smiling animals, and bold, bright kid-friendly design. Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Young children love to eat apples and go to orchards. Here’s a Hello, World! board book that teaches toddlers all about how apples grow—from seed to sapling to tree to applesauce. Hello, World! is a series designed to introduce first nonfiction concepts to babies and toddlers. Told in clear and easy terms (“Apple seeds start to grow when they are planted in soil and given sunlight, water, and fresh air”) and featuring bright, cheerful illustrations, Hello, World! is a perfect way to bring science, nature, and culture into the busy world of a toddler, preschooler or kindergartener, where learning never stops. Find the book here: United States | Canada | United Kingdom
Other apple themed activities you can try with your child
Here are few more ideas for you:
- How to Make Apple Print Puppets – Make your own apple print puppets and use them to talk with toddlers and preschoolers about different feelings we experience daily.
- 33 Sensory Apple Activities for Kids to Enjoy this Fall – You will find here a variety of apple sensory activities, including: sensory bins, sensory bottles, art & craft projects and STEM activities.
- Printable Apple Math Grid Game – It’s always fun to add a math lesson for toddler or preschooler through play plus this is a good introduction to more complicated board games.
