Sensory base recipes for kids

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn” — Benjamin Franklin

Children and even adults learn best and retain the most information when they engage their senses.From birth through to early childhood, children use their senses to explore and try to make sense of the world around them. They do this by touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving and hearing.

OUR SENSES

Taste – the stimulation that comes when our taste receptors react to chemicals in our mouth.

Touch – the stimulation that comes from touch receptors in our skin that react to pressure, heat/cold, or vibration.

Smell – the stimulation of chemical receptors in the upper airways (nose).

Sight – the stimulation of light receptors in our eyes, which our brains then interpret into visual images.

Hearing – the reception of sound, via mechanics in our inner ear.

Body awareness (proprioception) – the feedback our brains receive from stretch receptors in our muscles and pressure receptors in joints which enable us to gain a sense where our bodies are in space.

Balance – the stimulation of the vestibular system of the inner ear to tell us our body position in relation to gravity.

SENSORY PLAY
Sensory play includes any activity that stimulates your young child’s senses: touch, smell, taste, movement, balance, sight and hearing.Sensory activities facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they play, create, investigate and explore.

“Play is the work of childhood.” —Jean Piaget

According to Piaget's theory of development, children from the age of zero to eight are in two different stages of development:

1)Sensori-motor stage(0-2 years):

Child uses the senses to explore this brand new world. How things feel, taste, sound, look like, and how your baby moves in order to explore these things aids in their cognitive learning. They quickly learn how much strength they need to pick up a block or if something feels soft or hard.

2) Pre-operational stage(2-8 years):

They build on the sensory experiences they had as a baby and toddler to produce symbols and language and other academic skills.

BENEFITS OF SENSORY PLAY

Providing opportunities for children to actively use their senses as they explore their world through ‘sensory play’ is crucial to brain development – it helps to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways.

Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving skills, and social interaction.

This helps children learn sensory attributes (hot, cold, sticky, dry).

Sensory play is great for calming an anxious or frustrated child.

It aids in developing and enhancing memory.

SENSORY BASE RECIPES FOR KIDS

As a mother of four kids,my motherhood journey is largely a matter of trial and error.Everyday we learn a new lesson.Now when my youngest has turned one,I am in hunt of new taste safe plays to keep him busy and stimulate hid senses at the same time.

Tips to set up sensory bins:

Set up sensory bin play after a snack or lunch or nap when your 1 year old is full and content.
Use taste safe fillers for 1 year olds (this is not to let them eat the filler, but to make it safe if some happens to get into their mouth).
Be mindful about the choking size items.
Theme based bins are more inviting.
Keep in mind about the child's passion, skills to work on and sensory challenges.

Finding baby sensory bins that are appropriate for a 12 month old can be challenging and for younger babies can be even more challenging.To make life easier for the moms here,sharing a few easy,cost effective and taste safe recipes.

PLAY DOUGH:

Playdough is one of those toys that is great for all developmental stages,it really is a great indoor activity.

This simple playdough recipe is super easy,quick and involves ingredients that you most likely have at home all the time and stays good for a long time.

Ingredients:

    1 cup of flour
    1/4 cup of salt
    3/4 cup of water
    3 tablespoons of lemon juice
    1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
    Food coloring
    Any seasonings or scents(optional)

Preparation:

Add the water, oil and lemon juice to a medium non-stick pot and heat on medium heat on the stove
Add food coloring, liquid scents to the water .
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and any dry seasonings.
After the water is hot, but not boiling, slowly add the dry ingredients to the pot and mix to combine.
Continuously stir until the ingredients combine, dry out and begin to form a ball. If there are parts that seem a bit sticky, just flatten the dough out and put the sticky side down on the bottom of the pot . Flip back and forth until it dries out.Don’t cook it too long.
Transfer on a sheet of wax paper to cools down a bit.Knead the dough for a minute or two to bring it all together.

This play dough is so soft and amazing in the hands.Store in a zip-lock bag or airtight container. It shouldn’t dry out, but if you notice it getting a bit dry you can add a few drops of water and knead that into the dough.

To prolong the shelf life of the dough,here is another recipe using cream of tartar.

Ingredients:

    1 cup flour
    2 cup water
    1-2 tsp. cream of tartar ( preserves the play dough)
    1/3 cup salt (prevents from sticking)
    1 tbs. vegetable or coconut oil
    Food Coloring

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, add 1 cup of water, oil, and food dye. Bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Next, add in 2 cups of flour, 1-2 teaspoons of cream of tartar, and 1/3 cup of salt and stir.
If your color is uneven simply knead the playdough after it has cooled down a bit.

Even lazy to cook,this no cook play dough recipe is for you.

Ingredients:

    2 cups plain flour.
    1 cup salt.
    1 tbsp oil.
    1 cup cold water.
    2 drops liquid food colouring

Preparation:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and form a well in the center.
Add the cooking oil and food coloring to the dry ingredients.
Add water and stir.Knead your play dough until you reach your desired consistency.

PLAYDOUGH WITH NON-FLOUR BASES:

Peanut butter playdough (powerfulmothering )

Marsh mallow playdough(busylittlekiddies)

Nutella playdopugh(madeinapinch)

Peanut butter playdough :

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons honey

Mix the honey and peanut butter together in a bowl then add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and mix add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix.If your mix comes out too dry add a little bit of olive oil to make it more rollable.

Marsh mallow playdough:

Marshmallows – white, pink, or a combination of both .
Powdered sugar
Vegetable oil
Water
Drops of food coloring – optional.

Preparation:

In a large microwave-safe bowl, add water to the marshmallows. If you want to change the color of the marshmallow play dough, add a few drops of food coloring now.
Microwave for 30 seconds or until the marshmallows expand and almost double in size.
Remove carefully from the microwave – the bowl is hot.
Add oil and powdered sugar and start stirring until it forms a soft paste. Now, add more powdered sugar up to 1/2 cup or until it forms a dough that kids can play with.If sticky, add more powdered sugar.
If too dry, add a teaspoon of lukewarm water until the texture is perfect and easy to knead and roll on parchment paper.

Nutella playdough:

Use 1/2 cup of Nutella and 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar. Stir the ingredients together in a bowl, as soon as a dough formed, finish the mixing with my hands.

Oatmeal dough(thelifeofjenniferdawn)

Almond dough(craftulate)

Vanilla dough(smartschoolhouse)

Oatmeal dough:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/4 cup water
1/4 flour

Preparation:

Stir all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until everything is completely mixed together.
Hand it over to your little one to play with.
Sprinkle in a few cookie cutters to extend the fun.

Almond dough:

1 cup smooth almond butter
1½ cups almond meal (almond flour)
4-6 tbs runny honey – start with 4tbs (¼ cup)

Mix everything together, tip it out of the bowl and knead it for a while. After kneading the dough for a minute or two it will stick together really well and have a nice soft consistency and deep earthy colour.

Vanilla dough:

1 cup of pre-made frosting (vanilla or white)
2 3/4 cups of powdered sugar

Preparation:

Place the powdered sugar in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.
Slowly add 2 cups the powder sugar to the bowl and mix on low speed.
Continually scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all of the ingredients are mixing.
Before adding the last 3/4 cup of powdered sugar to the bowl, touch the dough to test the “stickiness” of it.
Add the remaining powdered sugar until the dough feels soft as opposed to sticky.

COLOURED RICE:

If I had to name one sensory base with single preparation, which can be used multiple times,my answer would be Rainbow Rice.

It is basically going to be messy fun,but a play mat can solve the issue of clean up.

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice
1 Tbsp of vinegar
A few drops of food coloring.

Zip lock Bags – one for each color

Preparation:

1. Place the rice, vinegar and food coloring into a ziplock bag.
2. Shake the bag until all of the rice is covered in color.If the rice isn’t the color you want, add more food coloring.
3. Pour the rice out onto a plate and leave it to dry.
You can put it outside in the sun or leave it on the kitchen counter overnight .

Along with the rice make sure you have a whole heap of spoons, bowls, jugs, and funnels for pouring and scooping the rice.

SNOW DOUGH:

What can be better than snow dough to mold with, you can make snowballs, scoop it and dig around in it.Snow dough is simply dough that resembles snow.

Ingredients:

Recipe1:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup corn starch
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Preparation:

Add the flour and corn starch to the bowl.
Drizzle in the oil and stir/whisk it to get an even mix.

Recipe2:(crumbled snow dough)

2cups of cornstarch

1/4 cup of olive oil

Mix in a plastic zip bag and pour it out into the sensory bin. Then gave it one more mix up with your hands just to make sure that it is evenly mixed.

Store in a zip lock bag for reuse.

OOBLECK:

If you ask me about the most satisfying sensory base,oobleck will be in the top of the list. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid. It has properties of both: liquids and solids. You can slowly dip your hand into it like a liquid, but if you squeeze the oobleck or punch it, it will feel solid. The name oobleck comes from the Dr. Seuss book, “Bartholomew and the Oobleck.” ⁠

Ingredients:

1 cup cornstarch
2 Tbs cocoa powder (” or food coloring for bright oobleck!)
3/4 cup water

Preparation:

1. Place 1 cup of cornstarch in a bowl. If you'd like to have colored oobleck add food coloring(use cocoa powder to make muddy oobleck )to the water.⁠
2. Add3/4 cup of water to the cornstarch. ⁠
3. Mix the water and cornstarch together. You can either use your hands or a spoon. ⁠
4. Add more cornstarch if the consistency is too watery, or add water if the consistency is too stiff.

It lasts about a few days if stored in a sealed container.

SLIME:

Taste safe slime comes with a variety of recipes and Muddlypuddly is an expert in creating these slimes.

Tapioca pearls/sago flour slime

Milk slime

Pysllium husk/Ispaghula slime

Tapioca pearls/sago flour slime:

Ingredients:

Tapioca flour

Coloured water

Microwave-safe bowl

Preparation:

Mix equal parts tapioca flour and coloured water in a microwave-safe bowl.
Keep cooking for 30 seconds at a time,stirring and giving it a quick rinse under the tap when it all binds together.
Put it back in the microwave until the whole thing turns translucent(it's not ready if cloudy).
Rinse in cold water and knead with wet hands.

This is so stretchy clear and unflecked .As this is stickier,keep a bowl nearby to wet hands or slime.

Pysllium husk slime:

Ingredients:
Pysllium husk
Water
Food Colouring (optional)
Fairly large microwave-safe bowls

Preparation:

Mix 3 tsp pysllium husk and 1 cup of water together. Add food colouring if desired.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stopping to check every 2-2.5 minutes. If the mixture begins to bubble, give it a good mix before continuing to microwave.
After five minutes, remove bowl from microwave and let sit until cool.

Keep in an air-tight container in fridge for a week.You can make this in a runnier consistency by adding a bit more water.

Milk slime:
It is prepared same as psyllium husk slime except that milk replaces 1/2 cup water.It is stickier,keep a bowl nearby to wet hands or slime.

Ingredients:

3 tsp pysllium husk
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water

KINETIC SAND:

Kinetic sand is play sand that is soft and crumbly, but also holds its shape when squeezed or pressed.

Semolina based kinetic sand(mychirpylife)

Corn flour based kinetic sand(mothercould)

Semolina based kinetic sand:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon of semolina
1 cup of plain flour
2 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp of food colouring
Essential oil(optional)

Preparation:

Mix the liquids in a container and then pour into the flour mixture.
Add a little flour if you find the sand too sticky, or a little oil if you find that the sand doesn’t hold well together when you make it into a ball.
Keep this edible sand away from moisture,it will turn sticky and mushy if mixed with water.To store, keep in a Ziploc bag and store in the refrigerator.Cleaning up is a little bit tricky because the sand is slightly oily.

Corn flour based kinetic sand:

Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn starch
1 tbsp cream of tartar
2-4 tbsp of water
Food coloring

Preparation:

Pour the baking soda, sugar, corn starch and cream of tartar into a bowl. Mix well.
Add a few drops of food coloring to 1/4 cup water.
Add 2 tbsp of water to the mixture and mix using a whisk.

If the sand doesn’t clump together, add another tablespoon of water and mix well using the whisk. It should feel like a fluffy texture.Place in a zip close bag or air tight container with no air inside.

AQUAFABA:

Aquafaba/chick pea foam is a great egg substitute in baking .It is so satisfying to turn the liquid into an amazingly fluffy and taste safe .

Recipe by artfulparent

Ingredients:
    2 cans of chickpeas
    cream of tartar
    food coloring(optional)

Preparation:

Drain chickpea liquid into a large bowl.
Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar into the bowl.
Whip ingredients with mixer on high until soft peaks form (about 4 minutes).
Add food coloring to color chickpea foam. Briefly whip the color in to incorporate.

CLOUD DOUGH:

Recipe by lemonlimeadventures

You just need:Organic Baby Rice Cereal
Coconut Oil

Preparation:

Pour 1 Cup Rice Cereal into a container.
Add 3 Tablespoons of Melted Coconut Oil to the rice cereal.
Mix and let the mixture cool.

TASTE SAFE MUD:

Recipe by alittlepinchofperfect

Ingredients:
1 can of chocolate frosting
1 cup Corn flour

Preparation:

Stir frosting and add flour a little at a time.
Knead until it forms a dough.
If it is sticky add a little flour until it no longer sticks to your hand. If it is stiff, add a couple drops of water until it reaches the right consistency.

EDIBLE WATER BEADS:

Recipe by littlepinchofperfect

Ingredients:

Tapioca Pearls
Water
Food coloring (optional)

Preparation:

Boil a pan of water.You need enough water that all the tapioca pearls are submerged. As the tapioca pearls boil, the water gets thicker.

2. Add tapioca pearls and boil until pearls appear soft and a clear gel coating appears. Stir occasionally to make sure they don’t stick together.
3. Rinse the pearls in cold water and you can start playing with them.
4.If you are adding color to the pearls divide the pearls up into separate bowls, stir in the food coloring, and let them sit for 3 hours. Rinse the extra food coloring off in water and now they are ready to play.

Put water beads in a container with a little water and stored them in the fridge,will stay good in the fridge for a week.

EDIBLE GLITTER

Sugar based

corn flour based

Sugar based recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup (220g) granulated sugar
5-15 drops liquid food colouring

Preparation:

1. Place the sugar in a small bowl and add 5-15 drops of food colouring depending on how bright you want the result to be.
2. Stir well with a fork until all the sugar is coloured.
3. Allow the coloured sugar to dry in sun, then seal in an air tight container.

Cornflour based recipe:

Ingredients:

4 cup water
4 tbsp corn flour

Food colouring

OHP/tranparent plastic sheets

Preparation:

1. Add 4 cup water to a pain and mix 4 table spoon corn flour to it.

2.Cook the mix on medium flame and stir continuously till it turns thick and translucent,

3. Transfer the mix in equal portions to bowls and add desired food colouring to it and combine.

4.Spread the mix in medium thickness on transparent plastic sheets and dry it under sun till it turns hard.It may take 24 hours to dry.

5.Separate the hard sheet formed from the transparent plastic sheet.

6.Grind the hard sheets formed in a grinder to fine powder.

Here's a comprehensive list of edible sensory base or fillers

Apple sauce	Jelly beans
Baby cereal	Jelly
Barley	Kool-Aide
Black beans	Lentils
Boba beads	Marsh mallow
Corn meal	Millet
Corn starch	Melted chocolate
Candy	Oats
Couscous	Potato flakes
Cereal	Pudding
Chocolate chips	Pinto beans
Cocoa powder	Powdered milk
Chia seeds	Powdered graham cracker
Cranberries	Popcorn
Chickpeas	Pumpkin seeds
Coconut	Puffed wheat
Coffee beans	Quinoa
Coconut oil	Real vegetables
Dried pasta	Real fruits
Dried corn	Rice
Dried peas	Rice noodles
Flour	Sprinkles
Frosting	Spaghetti
Freeze dried ice cream	Salt
Ground coffee	Sunflower seeds
Granola	Sesame seeds
Gummy bears	Sago seeds
Herbs	Wheat
Ice cubes	Water
Jell-O	Yogurt