This ‘Sensory Play To Help Prevent Summer Slide’ post is sponsored. As always, all opinions are my own. **This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It does not cost you anything to shop through my affiliate links.
Summer is now in full swing. Are you worried about the kids falling behind with what is commonly called ‘the summer slide’? If so, consider adding sensory play to your days!
Did you know that sensory play is important for a child’s development? This type of play is so beneficial because it stimulates kids’ senses and provides a safe and enjoyable environment for learning, exploring, and expressing themselves. Sensory play can help children develop their cognitive, motor, social, and emotional skills, while also helping them feel safe and secure.
Common Sensory Play Benefits:
- Brain Development: helps build nerve connections in the brain
- Social Skills: helps children learn how to communicate with peers
- Emotional Regulation: helps kids regulate their internal discomfort such as boredom
- Understanding Environment: helps children understand how their actions affect what’s around them
- Learning Attributes: helps kids learn about attributes like hot, cold, slippery, and dry
Sensory Play To Help Prevent Summer Slide
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite products that offer educational, fun, and hands-on learning and play.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sensory Bin
Immerse yourself in sensory, tactile, and FUN play with The Very Hungry Caterpillar sensory toys for toddlers 3-4+. This bin is filled with 2.5 pounds of sensory sand, a Hungry Caterpillar Toy, foam accessories, shovel, sand stamp, colorful clings, and more! It’s a self-contained sensory bin that brings Eric Carle’s story to life through hands-on play.
We love this fun bin! The size is manageable, especially for those who don’t have the space for a large sensory table. It’s truly just the size of a larger shoe box! This makes it so easy to store, move, use, and take care of.
I love pairing this bin with a reading of the popular book. We practice colors, shapes, names of things, and more. This bin is also designed to help sharpen a variety of skills including: kindergarten readiness skills, fine motor skills, emotional development, and language development through the use of descriptive words.
- Buy It: Amazon.com
StickiKubes
New to StickiKubes? They are a creative, sticky fun manipulative toy for kids! These mini stacking cubes stick to any surface (except fabric), which allows kids to create custom designs in 2D and 3D.
Kids love them but parents do too. They are made from a safe polymer, they’re easy to clean, and come in 4 vibrant colors. With 125 cubes and a convenient storage tub, the fun never ends!
Because of their small size, they are also great for travel. So if you have any road trips or even flights; these are sure to keep the kids occupied for hours. I know I’m planning on stashing them in the kids’ backpacks for our upcoming Disney trip!
- Buy It: Amazon.com
Canal Toys So Slime Twist And Mix Slime
Get ready to mix and create your own slime creations using this mixer, pre-made slime, colorant, and decorations. Kids just can’t get enough of the squishing, stretching, and twisting of the slime for awesome effects and sensations. The best part is you can reuse the mixer to create more styles to play and share.
This kit has everything you need to get started including: mixer, recipe card, 6 slime bags, 6 dye powers, 6 decoration bags, and a sticker sheet.
My kids are obsessed with slime and I love how simple this kit makes creating some. It takes away all the work of buying a ton of ingredients, instead this kit has everything in one box.
- Buy It: Amazon.com
ScentCo Air Dough
Upgrade your child’s arts and crafts with these scented tools from Scentco! These next three products are all from Scentco and are big-time family favorites. This Air Dough is always a great crafty choice. It’s super lightweight, unscented, non-toxic, and gluten-free. It is one of our favorite modeling compounds that stimulates creativity and play in kids of all ages and even adults.
This big plastic bucket features everything the kids need to get their creativity juices flowing including: 60 bags of Air Dough in 14 different colors including GLOW in the dark, 3 different types of tools, 10 googly eyes, and tutorial book. Plus, there’s videos available on Scentco website.
I couldn’t find a picture but our oldest daughter used this clay in the past and made a bunch of Disney characters. They turned out amazing as this clay is so easy to work with and manipulate!
- Buy It: Amazon.com
Water Magic – Scented Reusable Water Reveal Activity Books
Sometimes I need a little mess-free car ride activity for the toddlers. When that happens, I turn to Water Magic. These reusable activity pages turn brightly colored when painted wet with water and magically erase when dry!
These books come in a variety of themes and styles so there’s always a great option for every child. From princesses and animals to holidays to space and construction; my kids adore these books.
- Buy It: Amazon.com
Smarkers – Washable Scented Markers
If you have any little artists in your home, these markers are so fun! The all new Smarkers come with scent-sationally fragranced ink and a variety of vivid and bold colors.
These Smarkers are all non-toxic and suitable for kids ages 3 and up. They feature a small sized barrel and standard point felt tips for optimal coloring so even older kids adore using them. Scents include: Passion Fruit, Apple, Coconut, Blue Raspberry, Cherry, Kiwi Fruit, Mango, Grape, Watermelon, Pineapple, Strawberry, Orange, Blueberry, and Blackberry.
- Buy It: Amazon.com
Related Posts
If you’re considering homeschooling for the upcoming school year, check out our entourage of educational and helpful homeschool posts. We also have a variety of screen-free summer activities for you to enjoy. And finally, check out these free printable scavenger hunts for kids and this one for toddlers.
Sally
Sunday 7th of July 2024
What a fun assortment! I will definitely need to grab a couple of these.