Sensory Tubs for Toddlers

I can’t believe I over looked the activity of a sensory tub! (slapping my forehead believe me!) I even took an Early Childhood Development class in college last year. (Slap! Slap! Slap!) Sensory tubs are amazingly fun. Children learn so much and they are entertained for a very long time and believe me, I like that! I was able to sit down and check my facebook mail like 30 times in a row! That’s fantastic!

I could tell you how important sensory tubs are and what skills they enhance our children with, but I rather you read it yourself 🙂 One of my favorite learning sites is called, Earlychildhood News, The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents. In school, we used this site for all sorts of projects. Click here to see their take on sensory tubs and how they can help children’s developmental skills.

I was completely excited to make a sensory tub that we did TWO today. One in the morning and one for night-time project time. (I just made that up starting today!) I realized that I’m happier when my children are busy instead of bored. Sometimes they look around for something to do and it could end up into a tug-a-war, which causes me to become nasty. By giving them an activity, we are all merry and that’s how I like it to be.

On to Sensoryville we go!

Here’s the basics: A sensory tub can be filled with anything and everything. It’s basically where children learn to improve those sensory….haha, skills. Our first tub was a “dry” one filled with beans and toys.

Included are measuring cups to scoop the beans into, a rake and bowl. They love to fill up items and watch what happens when they fall! I also made sure to have two tubs. I didn’t want them to share but to have different experiences on their own.

As you can see, they switched toys and filled up the truck and watched how it dumped them back in. Even though they are different ages, it was a perfect fundamental activity for them both!

Since this was such a big hit (and again, I was getting bored checking facebook because nobody wrote anything in that hour…boo!) I decided to make a “wet” tub for the second part of the day. Usually by the time dad gets home, its unwind time. I thought we should make a switch and let the festivities still roll! The water one was a lot of fun but then the mosquitoes broke up the party. 🙁

Add whatever objects you want. We play the “Will it float or sink” game. Even put food coloring in to change the water and make new colors!

One more thing about these tubs…it’s a frugal idea. Meaning, you don’t have to run out to the store to have fun on this activity! Just use what you have. Add more toys and exchange them for endless hours of fun!