25 Sensory Activities for Kids

Sensory activities are almost always a no fail activity. It opens the door for free play. It lets the kids explore a material. And its just fun!

Sensory activities tend to end in a mess at our house. But if you’re not a mess fan, take preventative measures with our 10 tips for keeping messy play clean.

Sometimes, I have a hard time differentiating a sensory activity from any other activity, because really, everything the kids do has to do with their senses, right? Touch especially.

I’m challenging myself in the next few weeks to get the kids to explore with senses other than touch. I’m going to find more activities that intentionally get them to use their sense of sound, taste, sight and smell. I’m kind of excited to really stretch ourselves out of our normal element!

Most of these sensory activities listed are to do with the sense of touch. However, a couple break out of that too. Can you find the ones that explore the other senses?

Enjoy our 25 sensory activities for kids!

I’ve broken our list up into two sections. The first is the majority of our sensory activities and they’re more of a ‘sensory tub’, even though they’re not necessarily always in a tub. They’re set out as an activity to explore a material or some sort.

The second section is the accidental sensory exploration through the creation of something else. I love these the most because there seems to be a purpose for the exploration even though the sensory part is an activity in itself.

Sensory Tubs:

Dry Pasta	Corn Meal

Cloud Dough	Play Dough

Happy Birthday Sensory Tub	Treasure Box

Bubbles	Dish Soap Foam

Cooked Spaghetti	Squishy Gel Bag

Corn Kernals	Tissue Paper Bag

Fabric	Ice Excavation

Baby Food	Flour Piping

Soapy Jars	Ice Cubes

Wet Newspaper
Sensory Exploration while Creating:

Salt Painting	Sponge Painting

Shaving Cream Painting	Sand Art

Finger Painting	Frozen Paint