A simple sensory activity that all kids will enjoy. Corn meal is a wonderful sensory material for kids to explore!
Keeping George busy and entertained while Henry is at school each morning has become interesting. It’s amazing to see how much he has grown just in the last couple of months intellectually.
Even still, sensory play is a hit. I think it is for all ages (Henry still loves it at age 4).
Digging around my pantry the other day, I came across a tub of corn meal that I’ll never use. So I set it out on a pizza pan for George to explore.
What did we include in our corn meal sensory activity?
Along with the tub of cornmeal, I set out some old medicine cups, plastic forks and measuring spoons.
George spent the morning exploring this indoor ‘sandbox’.
He scooped and poured, transferring corn meal from one container to another, over and over.
He eventually saw the marks he made on the pan with his fingers and made tracks.
George got up from the table a couple of times to go find his own additions.
Of course, he had to bring a digger and loader in. What scoops and pours better than that?
My boys mostly just like to scoop and pour with sensory materials such as corn meal. I’m curious how I can encourage other types of play, such as writing and mark making, in these types of materials. Any suggestions for me?
What sensory materials are your child’s favorite to explore?
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Ayman says
My daughter likes to play with sand. She likes to pour it all over herself.
Janina says
Thanks for sharing all this resources. This is great!!
To encourage writing you could print letters on a piece of paper and tape them on the tray. Then ask them to discover the letters hidden and also to trace them over with their finger. They could also write the letter on the tray once they’ve found them. Hope it helps!
Trudy says
To encourage writing, put out magnetic letters, blocks with letters on them or draw a few yourself…start with the first letter in his name! Have fun, don’t stress hehe.
Alimat Adebimpe says
water can also be added to it to feel the texture.
Karen says
OT here. Couldn’t resist answering your question about encouraging making marks. With a toddler or preschooler, just make a line (straight first), call it a road and then drive a car or train along the line making car and train noises. Doesn’t matter if the toddler likes to actually draw the roads or just drive the train, they are still laying the foundations of eye-hand coordination for drawing / writing. Next start to label the lines you draw (“I’m going to make a short straight road down / long curvy road across / road that goes around and around in a circle”) to start to lay the foundations of directionality and shapes. First rule, have fun!
Rene Kalata says
I did this with my 19 month old twins recently. Their high chair trays made the perfect “bin” for each of them to have their own play space. They loved moving the cornmeal a pinch at a time from the tray to a small container or measuring cup. I also gave them spoons and other things to help them explore further.
This idea inspired me to take it a step further the second time. This time, we started with dry oatmeal which was easier for them to pick up and move. Then I added some dry corn flake cereal, raisins, and yogurt melts. The activity quickly turned into a play/snack time. I had to keep adding more raisins and yogurt melts to the mix. The girls had a blast with this and the mess was easy to cleanup with my Swiffer SweepVac. Thanks for the great idea! We are looking forward to trying some more of your activities.
Jamie Reimer says
Well done Rene! Thanks for sharing!
Jacqui Graham says
My boys loved this activity! A large bedsheet or tablecloth on the floor under the table will make cleanup easier.
Jamie Reimer says
Great tip Jacqui! Thanks for sharing.
Georgina says
Just wanted to let you know that we have now played with this sensory bin (my son loved it), and I’ve linked the post to you here:
http://craftulate.blogspot.com/2013/02/cornmeal-sensory-bin.html
Georgina says
I love such simple ideas as this – I just know my son will love it too!
Thanks!
Eddie - The Usual Mayhem says
I never thought of using cornmeal! I’ll have to dig a bag out; I bet it’ll be a big hit. Thanks for the suggestion!
Faigie says
what about adding templates of the alphabet