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Flowers and Fairies Sensory Tub

August 19, 2011 by Anna Ranson

Pin ItI have a slightly fairy-obsessed nearly 3 year old in the house at the moment, and all she can talk about is her flower fairy party which is coming up soon! So I put together a very simple and easy flowers and fairies sensory tub to satisfy her pink-cravings in the mean time!

I dyed a two small bags of cheap rice using pink food colouring, by laying it out on two baking sheets and mixing the colour in with a fork. We then left it for one day to dry thoroughly.

Into a shallow, wide storage box, (thankfully bright pink in colour!) I tipped all of the pink rice and mixed in a few cups of plain white rice too.

Then we added a small bag of red and pink mixed sequins and a few handfuls of fabric flower petals.

We had a few toy fairies who were added to their new home, as well as some trees, scoops, spoons and cups. And off they set!

Pop decided it was much better just to get straight in it and then spent ages pouring rice through her fingers and transferring to another container then back in again. Cakie made up little stories about her fairies eating and sleeping in “fairy land” and loved searching through the rice for “treasures” in the sequins. This box has got a lid so when they were finished playing we pushed it under the table for another day.

Learning Links:

  • sensory: exploring a range of textures and materials with hands (and feet!)ย 
  • fine motor: scooping, pouring, pincer grip to pick up individual pieces of rice, mixingย 
  • creative: make up stories and role play scenarios using toys and imagination
  • literacy: develop language, vocabulary and storytelling skills
  • maths: count out scoops/petals/rice/sequins, explore capacity through filling and emptying
  • phse: work collaboratively and share resources
Cakie: 35 months
Pop: 17 months

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Filed Under: Messy Play, Sensory, Sensory Tubs, Small World Tagged With: Sensory Play, Small World Play

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Comments

  1. Mercedes says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:12 pm

    So pretty. Makes me want to dive in it myself. ; )

  2. Terri says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:33 pm

    Oh my… my girls would be in heaven! Thanks for the great idea!

  3. Jackie @ Happy Hooligans says

    August 19, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    Ohhhh, This is delicious! I so want to play!!

  4. karlamcurry says

    August 19, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    I love it! I’ve started making sensory bins for my kiddos, and this one is so pretty.

  5. jenny @ let the children play says

    August 19, 2011 at 10:45 pm

    The pink is blinding!

  6. Mama Pea Pod says

    August 20, 2011 at 1:37 pm

    My two would LOVE this! Anything pink and fairyish is a hit here, too. And I just noticed how much hair little Pop has these days! My Sweet Pea barely has a third of Pop’s. We’re also planning a fairy party for Princess Pea’s next birthday.

  7. Nurture the Little People says

    August 20, 2011 at 2:13 pm

    Fantastic idea! My boys love bugs and dinosaurs at the moment. i would love to try this in green for them!

    Nicola

  8. Gill says

    August 20, 2011 at 5:07 pm

    Hi Anna,

    I’ve just been reading some of your older posts. My daughter is also about to turn three & is birthday obsessed so I was grinning at your birthday role play post.

    We have been reading Katie Morag’s Birthdays – I think you’ll enjoy it. The Katie Morag books (Mairi Hedderwick) are fantastic. They are maybe aimed at slightly older children but I think there is so much to enjoy in them for all ages. The pictures are beautifully detailed which makes for great discussions. Katie Morag & The Two Grandmothers is a good one to get started with.

    I really enjoy your blog. Thanks for all the great ideas, my children & I have been having a lot of fun.

  9. Sarah says

    August 20, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    This is so freaking adorable. This is when it just kills me that I don’t have any girls!

  10. Roses - Mama Magic says

    August 21, 2011 at 1:21 am

    This is simply beautiful. I’ve been putting an idea together on a similar concept, but this beats ’em all! Can I come play…it looks ‘Truly Scrumptious’ :)!

  11. Roses - Mama Magic says

    August 21, 2011 at 1:22 am

    Sarah, I feel your pain…I am not going to limit the activities just because I have a boy. After looking at this, can I ?

  12. Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

    August 21, 2011 at 9:51 pm

    You mamas of boys MUST do it! Like you say Nicola, just change the colour and pop in bugs/ diggers/ pond creatures- whatever! But of course it won’t be as deliciously pretty! PLenty of fun though ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

    August 21, 2011 at 9:52 pm

    Gill, thank you for that book recommendation! You know how much I love picture books. I absolutely LOVE Katy Morag and we used to use the books a lot while teaching. But I don’t know the birthday one, so that is going into the Amazon basket, thank you!

  14. Christie-Childhood 101 says

    August 23, 2011 at 3:14 pm

    We are big fairy fans here too! What a gorgeous sensory tub ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. Inspired Mama says

    August 23, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    Thanks for posting such wonderful ideas on your blog.

    Quick question: what do you do with the sensory bin contents when they are done with it or you are going to make another? I’m racking my brain trying to think of a use for the rice with sequence… maybe a craft with a glue design and then shake the paper in the bin to pick up some pieces and make a design? There would still be a lot left over.

    Thanks!

  16. Anna @ The Imagination Tree says

    August 23, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    Hi Inspired Mama! Thanks for the lovely comment! Rice is GREAT for making percussion instruments with. I am actualy going to post about a shaker we made with rice this week. It’s also great in a homemade rainstick (search for my tutorial in the search box!) and you need to use a lot.
    I keep a large plastic tub of left over sensory play materials to reuse in the future so that it’s not so wasteful. In the tub at the moment are lentils, dried beans, dry pasta and a ziploc of rice! If you look at some of my Discovery Box and Small World Play ideas there are lots of ways that I’ve used these things in the past.
    I also like your glue and rice art idea- pretty!
    Hope that helps ๐Ÿ™‚

  17. TheBoyandMe says

    August 25, 2011 at 10:55 pm

    This is a fabulous post, I’ve had a go at it! My post is up on the weekend and I will link it back here.

  18. Jacqueline says

    August 29, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    I absolutely love this idea and am going to do it with my 4-year old daughter. She will love it!

  19. Ronz says

    June 11, 2012 at 6:12 am

    I love this always something new and full of fun for the kids and myself to tryout.

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About The Imagination Tree Hello and welcome! I'm Anna, Mama of 4, early years teacher and play enthusiast from the UK! Click here to read more about me.

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