Sensory

Oobleck is a great sensory play opportunity for kids. This lemonade oobleck brings the feel of summer into play even if it’s the middle of winter. It combines sensory and science to create a very cool sensory play material. I was inspired by our lemonade sensory soup.

This scented sensory play recipe is so simple. Only 3 ingredients are needed. Kids can easily make this oobleck slime themselves. Younger ones that need mom or dad’s help can help to measure and pour by stirring.

Lemonade Oobleck Recipe:

Materials needed:

• 1 cup of cornstarch
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 Tbsp. of powdered lemonade mix
• bowl
• craft/popsicle stick

Directions:

1. Pour the water into the bowl.
2. Add the powdered lemonade mix and stir with the popsicle stick until well mixed.
3. Add the cornstarch and mix.

Sensory and Learning Opportunities:

Math – Kids can measure the ingredients. Doubling the recipe or halving the recipe provides a more advanced math learning opportunity.

Science – This hands-on science project is a great example of suspension, as the grains of cornstarch are suspended in the water, but over time will settle to the bottom if allowed to rest for an extended amount of time.

Is it a liquid? Is it a solid? That depends on how you touch it. When pressure is applied, the cornstarch bonds together to form a solid. Yet, when a soft touch is applied, it remains in its liquid state.

To expand on the science lesson, research non-Newtonian fluids and why oobleck can be both a liquid and a solid. Read more about the science behind this substance. Sensory – Lemonade oobleck provides visual, tactile, proprioception, and olfactory sensory input. Children can see (visual) the colour and explore shape as it changes from liquid to solid. They can touch (tactile) and feel the texture of the state of matter change.

Their proprioception will be engaged while they apply pressure to the oobleck to form it into a solid. And they will smell (olfactory) the scent of lemon.

Vocabulary and communication – Kids can communicate their observations of this sensory science activity. They can ask questions and expand their vocabulary as they learn.

Looking for more great sensory play recipes? Join thousands of others who are loving the five day email series, Sensory Activities and Solutions and you’ll get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out some of our other scented sensory play recipes:

Calming Lavender Scented Bubbles

Peppermint Scented Slime

Lavender Scented Playdough

Homemade playdough is always so much better than store bought. Over the years, we have come up with some go-to playdough recipes that are sure to work. While there is nothing wrong with a guaranteed recipe, I wanted to try something different. This playdough made with hair gel certainly fits that description!

Playdough Made with Hair Gel:

• 1/2 cup of clear hair gel*
• 1/4 cup of water
• neon food colouring
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of flour

*Note: This doesn’t need to be good quality hair gel. The containers from the Dollar Store work just as well as the expensive kind.

1. Place 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup of the clear hair gel in a medium sized bowl.
2. Add 5 drops of neon food colouring to the liquid mixture.
3. Stir until this is well combined.
4. Add 1 cup of flour to the liquid.
5. Begin stirring until the contents begin to clump.
6. At this point, you can decide if you need to add additional flour. If the mixture feels sticky, add an additional 1/4 cup of flour, and continue to stir.
7. When the flour has been incorporated, test it for stickiness.
8. Add additional flour if needed.
9. When the playdough is no longer sticky, it is ready to play with!
10. Store in an airtight container when not in use. 

Sensory play ideas with playdough:

• Shape it onto a playdough mat.
• Play Stuck in the Mud with toy cars.
• Roll it, squish it, press it, shape it.
• Use stamps or cookie cutters with the playdough.
• Put out a variety of small objects like beads, sequins, and buttons for kids to press into the play dough. This is a great way to work on fine motor skills.
• Another good fine motor activity is to cut rolls of playdough with scissors.
• Make pretend food.

Some of our other homemade playdough recipes:

Calming Lavender Scented Playdough Peppermint Essential Oil Playdough 

Glittery Snow Playdough 

Homemade stress balls are so easy to make. They are so much less expensive than the store bought ones and I actually like the feel of them better as well. We have been making DIY stress balls for years, but this time, I wanted to try something a little bit different, so we made mermaid stress balls.
I really love the way they turned out. They look super fun, but they also offer a very different tactile experience because of the textures in them. Children will enjoy exploring through their sense of touch.

Stress balls are sometimes called squeeze balls or sensory balls. Kids can get visual and tactile sensory input from these. Homemade stress balls are also a great calming tool for kids (and adults). They are perfect for including in your child’s calm down kit.
These are also small enough to be kept in a backpack, desk or a child’s room. This enables kids to have a calm down tool with them wherever they go. They also make a great fidget and are quiet to play with, so most teachers don’t mind students using them in the classroom.

Squeezing stress balls can ease tension and when combined with calm down breathing techniques, are an effective method of reducing overall stress or calming down in the moment.

*Please note that there are small parts in these stress balls and the small parts and the balloon are choking hazards so as with all sensory play activities, adult supervision should be used at all times.

How to make mermaid stress balls:

Materials needed:

• blue, green, and clear water beads
• faux pearls
• holographic white glitter
• clear balloons
• small funnel or an empty water bottle

Water BeadsFaux PearlsHolographic GlitterClear Balloons

Directions:

1. Soak the water beads according to the directions on the package so that they are full sized.
2. Stretch the end of the balloon over the end of a small funnel or the tip of an empty water bottle.
3. Add the glitter, faux pearls and water beads to the balloon. You want to fill it until it is the size you want.
4. Tie off the end of the balloon. Cut the excess away.
5. Your mermaid stress ball is now ready to squeeze, squish or hold.

Get 175 sensory activity ideas in convenient printable lists which are ideal for using in the home, classroom or in a therapeutic setting.

You may also want to read:

What to Include in a Calm Down Kit

Mermaid Sensory Bag

Homemade Stress Balls