Discover Big Kid Sensory Play!
Even big kids can enjoy sensory play. Children of all ages love digging their hands into a tray full of beads. They adore the feeling of the beads, and the sounds they make rattling together. They like the imaginative possibilities beads hold.
I didn’t always know this.
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My twins got
an amazing bucket
of beautiful wooden beads for their 4th birthday. It was similar to this Big Bead Box
, except it also had letter beads. For a long time, we just used them for stringing necklaces and bracelets.
I didn’t want the beads to spill and make a mess, so I kept them on a high shelf.
Yes, my kids really are growing. The other day they took the beads down from the high shelf, and started playing with them.
Beads for Sensory Play
Only, they weren’t stringing the beads. They were dividing them into categories, pouring them into baskets, and carrying them around. Their enthusiasm inspired me to share the idea
of using beads for sensory play.
I pulled out a basket, lined it with a leftover
scrap of fleece fabric, then dumped all the beads in. Then, to make it more
interesting, we added an ice cube tray and a small bowl for sorting into.
hardly wait for me to finish taking pictures of the setup. They wanted to put
their hands in and play!
I had been thinking of this as sensory play for preschoolers.
Yet, once I let my 5-8 year olds loose, they entertained themselves for a surprisingly
long time.
how a new presentation of an old toy will spark kids’ imagination.
kiddos have their fill of free play, consider these activities:
Language
Activities
- Use letter
beads to form simple words.
Yes, telling a story with beads might sound crazy…bear with me.
Did you ever read One
by Kathryn Otoshi? Or Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni? The characters in these books are just blobs of color. Yet the stories are
wonderful!
own using beads as characters.
Math
Activities
- Estimate
how many beads there are. Then count them. - Sort beads
by color, shape, and texture. - Organize
beads into a repeating pattern.
- Use them to
add and subtract, and even group them to demonstrate multiplication and
division concepts.
Fine Motor
Activities
play with beads of this size is great fine motor practice. Here are a few more
ideas:
- Stringing
beads – I like to use embroidery thread and a dull needle. I thread the needle,
then secure it with an overhand knot. On the other end, I tie on the first bead
to make a “stopper” for the other beads.
- Line beads
up in shapes – draw simple shapes, or even short words, for kids to line with
beads.
- Stack up as many square shaped beads as
possible before they topple.
Use Your Imagination
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Great ideas! Sensory play is a great way to hone attention skills by having children notice different things about the objects, and no one is ever too old for that!
I still like running my hands through the bins at the Lego store. 🙂 I'll have to get the beads down for my girls.
We have a huge bin of beads, and sorting through them is one of the great joys of my daughter M. She's 9! Thanks for linking with #TwinklyTuesday.
Great idea! My daughter picked out some new beads the other day and one set was difficult for her to string. We will try these ideas.
I hope it helps. Beads are so much fun for kids. Another trick that we've done is use elastic beading thread. It is stiff enough that it doesn't even need a needle.
I hope it helps. Beads are so much fun for kids. Another trick that we've done is use elastic beading thread. It is stiff enough that it doesn't even need a needle.