It always amazed me how my son loves to explore different temperatures and textures. Ice is always a favorite sensory experience for him, so this frozen arctic sensory set up is right up his alley. Don’t wait for winter to explore the arctic. This is actually a great sensory activity for the summer! The ice will offer a reprieve from the heat.
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The Benefits Of Sensory Play
If you have a baby, toddler, or child, you’ve likely heard about sensory play. But what exactly is it, and why is it so important for our children?
Sensory play is all about letting toddlers explore the world around them using their senses like touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing. It’s like giving them a chance to play and learn at the same time! In sensory play, toddlers can squish, squeeze, smell, taste, and listen to different things, which helps their brains develop and understand how things work. It’s super fun and exciting for them, and it helps them learn about the world in a hands-on way!
Here are some reasons why sensory play is important for toddlers:
- Develops Fine Motor Skills: It helps toddlers practice using their hands and fingers, like when they pick up and squeeze playdough or pour water into different containers.
- Encourages Exploration: Sensory play lets toddlers explore new textures, smells, and tastes, which helps them learn about the world around them.
- Boosts Creativity: When toddlers play with different materials, they can use their imagination to create all sorts of things, like building castles with sand or making art with paint.
- Calms and Soothes: Sensory play can be relaxing for toddlers, helping them calm down when they’re feeling upset or overwhelmed.
- Enhances Cognitive Development: It helps toddlers learn about cause and effect, like what happens when they mix colors together or pour water onto sand.
- Promotes Language Development: Exploring different textures, smells, and sounds gives toddlers new words to learn and talk about with grown-ups.
- Builds Confidence: When toddlers can explore and play freely, it boosts their confidence as they discover new things and master new skills.
How To Create An Arctic Sensory Play Station
Sensory play is amazing. It’s even more amazing when the sensory activity is easy to set up. This arctic sensory play station is super easy to put together.
If you’re planning to do this activity on a certain day of the week or for a specific event, be sure to take into account that you need to freeze a tray of water and ice cubes. This will need to be prepared the day before the planned activity.
In preparation for the arctic sensory play, you’ll need to gather the following items:
- A large tray to freeze water and create the base of your play station
- Water
- Blue food coloring
- Ice cube tray
- Arctic animals set
- Insta-snow, for that extra special added effect
Let’s begin with the base of the arctic play station. Grab a large tray and a large cup for water. Fill the cup with tap water and put a couple of drops of blue food coloring into the water. Give it a swirl to mix well.
Pour water into the tray and place the tray into the freezer. Let it freeze overnight to ensure it’s completely frozen.
This next step is magic. If you’ve never used Insta Snow, prepare to be amazed. Be sure to prepare the insta snow with your child because it is truly wonderous. Follow the directions on the package to ensure you get the ratios correct. Place a small amount of insta snow into a cup and add a little water. Watch the powder turn into snowy magic!
Drop the snow onto the frozen tray of blue water.
Next you’ll want to add ice cubes on top of the snow and the frozen blue ice.
The base of your arctic frozen sensory station is complete! Now it’s time to add the arctic animals.
In addition to the amazing elements in your sensory station, provide your child with extra water, spoons, whatever you like to make the experience extra special!
Click the video below to watch Anya Montessori From The Heart making this arctic frozen sensory station!
