Rainbow Sensory Activity

Remember that Secret Ingredient Cloud Dough I wrote about last week? Well we have been playing with it for a couple days now before I realized I never posted our activity! Here’s how we used it:

Can I just say that the cloud dough smelled so wonderful! It was quite therapeutic to squish between my fingers and get a whiff of the blue raspberry scent. This was one activity where I think I played with the material just as much as my son did!

The cloud dough came out such a beautiful color that it really prompted me to use it in a themed invitation to play, so I added another favorite material (dyed pasta) and made a beautiful, sensory-stimulating activity for Cannon.

Note to self: Don’t dry pasta on paper towels. Will use wax paper in the future!

Unfortunately, the beautiful presentation of the materials didn’t last very long- but I guess that’s a good sign (Cannon couldn’t wait to get his hands on it!) 🙂 As you can see, I added a few more tools for Cannon to explore during the activity (small red bowl, measuring spoon, and a funnel).

The big round pasta noodles proved to be a great choice to mix with the cloud dough because it squeezed it into snake like creations when forced through the center.

I must issue a fair warning that this activity is MESSY. Cloud dough was all over the floor by the time we were through with it. Maybe this is best to play with outside next time…

Anyhow, Cannon and I had a wonderful time with the rainbow pasta and yummy scented dough. I’m not sure how long the dough is meant to last, but I had it in my kitchen for several days and every time I walked in I couldn’t help but squish and sniff it 😉

ACTIVITY EXTENSIONS:

Sensory play is nice, but the experience is so much richer when you engage with your child and aim to be intentional with using it as a teaching experience. Here’s some ways to do that with this activity:

Identify colors
Create order (whether it is ordering the pasta colors or grouping them together, this activity leads to a deeper schematic organization of the world)
Examine texture (bumpy pasta, smooth dough)

The most important thing to do though is connect with your child. Laugh together. Be playful. Encourage exploration and promote positive self-esteem by letting him (or her) guide the activity every once in a while.

Hope this post inspired you to take out your sensory materials (or maybe make some for the first time!) and play with your munchkins 🙂

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