Letter X Sensory Bin Activity with a Fox Theme
It’s tricky to teach preschoolers about the letter X! Unlike all the other letters, no words start with the /x/ or ‘ks’ sound. This activity and free printable will help you teach it playfully.
Say hello to the Letter X Sensory Bin, featuring a pretend fox den and a set of engaging printables…
Let’s dig in and see how you can set up this hands-on learning experience in your classroom.
Letter X Sensory Play Activity
This activity has three parts: a fox habitat sensory bin, a “fox den” box, and a recording sheet.
Materials & Preparation
My free printable will help you pull this all together – there’s a signup for it at the end of this post. Here are all the other things you’ll need to do to put this letter X activity together:
Sensory Bin
You can get creative with your sensory bin, or keep it super simple. You’ll want to make sure you have a toy fox though!
I wanted to get a little fancier for mine, just to show you the possibilities. I looked at this cute forest sensory bin for inspiration and then poked around my craft supplies and then my local craft store for more ideas. This is what I ended up using:
- Brown fun foam (to line the bottom of the bin)
- Green reindeer moss (this may not be taste-safe)
- Split green peas
- Small stones
- Small pinecone
- Toy fox, or several foxes if possible
- Thin slice of a log
- Letter X’s – I used a letter X magnet, stickers, and paper cutouts
- Letter X word cards from my free printable set
Fox Den
I tried to make this part easy for you to prep. Just print off the Fox Den page from the free printable and cut it out. Then you’ll just need these items:
- Empty square tissue box or similar size container
- Glue stick or tape
Glue the “fox den” onto the front of your tissue box. Then, if you have a large sensory bin you can place this box inside the bin. If your container is smaller like mine is, then just set it down nearby.
Recording Sheet
Use a recording sheet to reinforce learning by having students match the letter X sensory bin cards to the corresponding pictures on their worksheet. Kids can then cover the pictures with letter X magnets, stickers, etc.
Alternatively, provide the black and white version of the recording sheet and offer crayons for coloring the pictures. For kids who don’t like to color, dot markers would work too – though the circles are much larger than a normal dot marker worksheet.
Exploring the Letter X Sensory Bin
Once your sensory bin is all set up, it’s time for the fun to begin! Invite your students to dig in and explore the different textures and elements. As they play, encourage them to pick out the word cards and say the words pictured on them. You can repeat the /ks/ sound back to them to make sure they learn it.
Download the Letter X Sensory Play Printable
Ready for the free printable to help set up your sensory play activity?
To get your very own copy, you can sign up right here:
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Happy Teaching!