Sensory activities for children are one of the most beneficial activities you can incorporate into your child care setting. The setup and materials are normally minimal, yet the benefits of sensory play are massive.
What Is Sensory Play?
Sensory play is any activity that stimulates the senses: Hearing, Touch, Sight, Smell, and Taste. This type of play helps children interact with and make sense of the world. Sensory processing is how the brain sees, organizes and responds to sensory input.
Did you know? Anywhere from 5-16% of children experience sensory processing difficulties.
Incorporating sensory activities and elements into your child care space helps you support these children as well as all kids in your care. Sensory activities enhance development for all children while also reducing challenging behaviours in little ones who struggle more with sensory processing.
Benefits of Sensory Play
The benefits of sensory play are enormous. Benefits of adding sensory play to your daycare or child care center include:
- Enhanced cognitive, language and motor skils
- Improvement of emotional regulational
- Better social interactions
- Reduction of anxiety and challenging behaviours
- Large reduction in stress and meltdowns
- Smoother daily transitions
While children of all ages – and even adults! – can benefit from sensory play or activities, the age groups of 12 months to 4 years are where the greatest benefits exist, and where daycares can truly incorporate some amazing sensory play ideas such as water sensory activities and bubble sensory activities. There are so many simple and fun ways to add water and bubble sensory activities to your daycare! Let’s look at the ways.
Water Sensory Play
Water play promotes calming sensory input, enhances motor skills, language development, and emotional regulation. Often all you need are simple materials to get started. Incorporate basic scientific concepts like float/sink, volume and flow. Then let the magic calming action happen! Bonus benefits include enhanced language and vocabulary skills through interaction.
12–18 Months Sensory Water Activity : Scoop and Pour
Materials:
- Small tubs or shallow bins
- Plastic cups, scoops, containers
Instructions:
- Fill shallow bins with water.
- Allow toddlers to explore scooping, pouring, and splashing gently.
Benefits:
- Enhances fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, and tactile exploration.
Language & Vocabulary Guide:
- Words to model: water, wet, splash, pour, cup, empty, full, more, all done
- Interactions: Narrate actions clearly (“You poured the water! It’s full!”). Reinforce vocabulary by repeating simple words frequently.
2–3 Years Water Sensory Activity: Water Wash Station
Materials:
- Plastic dolls, cars, animals, or toy dishes
- Small washcloths or sponges
- Shallow water bins
Instructions:
- Set up bins with water and invite children to wash the toys.
Benefits:
- Encourages role-play, social cooperation, and fine motor skills.
Language & Vocabulary Guide:
- Words to model: wash, clean, dirty, dry, wet, rinse, scrub, soap, towel
- Interactions: Ask simple questions (“Is the car clean or dirty?”). Encourage descriptive language (“You’re scrubbing the doll’s feet!”).
3–4 Years Water Sensory Activity: Sink or Float Experiment
Materials:
- Variety of objects (e.g., rocks, feathers, blocks, balls, spoons)
- Clear containers of water
Instructions:
- Let children predict and test which items sink or float in the water.
Benefits:
- Develops scientific curiosity, critical thinking, and observation skills.
Language & Vocabulary Guide:
- Words to model: sink, float, heavy, light, predict, test, experiment, why, because
- Interactions: Prompt with questions (“Will this sink or float?”). Encourage children to explain reasoning (“It floats because it’s light.”)
Bubble Sensory Play
Bubble play can be another wonderful sensory activity to incorporate into your daycare. Investing in a bubble machine can be worth its weight in gold! Like water play, bubble play materials can be simple, while providing enormous benefits for kids. This type of sensory play can strengthen visual tracking and hand-eye coordination, encourage calm and focused attention, increase gross motor skills through chasing and catching bubbles, and also support language development. Let’s look at some fun ways to add bubble sensory play to your child care operation!
12–18 Months Bubble Sensory Activity: Catch the Bubbles
Materials:
- Non-toxic bubble solution
- Bubble wands
- Bubble machine (if it’s in your budget)
Instructions:
- Blow bubbles gently, encouraging toddlers to reach, chase, and pop them.
Benefits:
- Supports visual tracking, coordination, and spatial awareness.
Language & Vocabulary Guide:
- Words to model: bubbles, pop, up, down, catch, all gone
- Interactions: Narrate actions clearly (“Look, bubbles are floating down!”)
2–3 Years Bubble Sensory Activity: Bubble Stomp
Materials:
- Bubble solution, bubble wands
Instructions:
- Blow bubbles low to the ground and encourage children to stomp or jump to pop them.
Benefits:
- Enhances gross motor skills, coordination, and balance.
Language & Vocabulary Guide:
- Words to model: jump, stomp, step, pop, big, small, high, low○
- Interactions: Provide clear directions (“Stomp on the bubbles!”). Reinforce vocabulary with playful repetitions.
3–4 Years Bubble Sensory Activity: Bubble Painting
Materials:
- Bubble solution mixed with washable paint
- Paper, bubble wands, trays
Instructions:
- Blow colorful bubbles onto paper to create art.
Benefits:
- Stimulates creativity, fine motor skills, and visual tracking.
Language & Vocabulary Guide:
- Words to model: color, paint, blow, art, mix, blue, red, yellow, pattern
- Interactions: Discuss color mixing and patterns (“What colors do you see?”).
Non-Toxic Bubble Solution for Daycare
To create a non-toxic bubble solution for daycare, you can follow these DIY recipes:
- Basic Bubble Recipe: Combine 1 cup distilled water, 2 tablespoons liquid dish soap, and 1 tablespoon glycerin. Mix well and let it sit for at least 30 minutes before using.
- Corn Syrup Bubble Recipe: Mix 1 cup warm water, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons liquid dish soap. Stir until smooth and let it sit for at least 1 hour before use
- Eco-Friendly Bubble Recipe: Combine 3 cups of water, 1/3 cup corn syrup, and 1 cup dish soap. Mix well and store in a glass jar.
We hope you’ve enjoyed these fun and simple water and bubble sensory activities for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. We’d love to hear about any ideas you have to incorporate sensory activities into your daycare.
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