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3 Simple Pocket Animal Playset Sensory Boxes
- Learning Resources Posted On Oct 25, 2021 | 5 - 7 Years SEL
We are absolutely loving these new Learning Resources® Pocket Animal Playsets! One of the best things about this product is that you get three different sets of small play animals which means the play opportunities are endless! In this blog, we share three very simple sensory boxes, one for each of the pocket sets- a blue rice ocean box, a peas and beans farm box, and a green rice dinosaur box.
What you need:
- Learning Resources Pocket Animal Playsets
- Small containers (these are from the Dollar Tree)
- Small plastic pots (also from Dollar Tree)
- Sensory bases (we used dyed rice, and a combination of peas and beans)
- Selection of fine motor tools such as the Squeezy Tweezers™, Handy Scoopers™, and Primary Science® Jumbo Tweezers™
- Adding a Jumbo Magnifying Glass is lots of fun too!
The Set-Up
Using small containers for these sensory bins is perfect because they are quick to set up and can be easily stored for use throughout the week. Simply pour in the sensory base, add the dinos, farm animals, or ocean creatures, add a pot and finish off with a fine motor tool or two.
Blue Rice Ocean Box
My 4-year-old liked the Oceanworld box best. She spent ages pretending that one of the whales was not being nice to the other sea creatures. She would make the whale circle the group in the blue rice, and then the other creatures would capture the whale under the pot! It was amazing to listen to all of her descriptive language evolving as she played. There was even some social-emotional learning happening too.
We spoke about the names of the different sea creatures, and I asked her to describe the colors, patterns, and shapes she could see. The animals have a very realistic appearance which makes them ideal for animal enthusiasts!
Including the tweezers in the bin worked well because she liked to use those to move the stingray around so that she didn’t get an ‘ouchie sting’ from the ray! Using the tweezers was a challenge for her, and she even tested her skills by trying to move some of the rice one piece at a time over to the plastic pot. Great for working on those fine motor skills!
Peas & Beans Farm Box
Next up, we have the farm-themed box. We used a combination of beans and split peas as the sensory base, which provided a nice texture and color range. My four-year-old enjoyed pretending that the pig was too stinky to stay in the box with the other animals, so she had to stay away until she was cleaned. My preschooler would pretend to roll her in some mud and then give her a shower before happily returning her to the rest of the farm animals.
As she played, my daughter described the animals, named them, and made their corresponding sounds. The Tri-Grip Tongs was great for her to pick up the smelly pig without getting her hands covered in the ‘yucky muddy smell.” It is such a fun and unique fine motor tool; my daughter always likes to use it, and the animals are the perfect size to be manipulated without frustration.
Green Rice Dino Box
The magnifying glass was the real hero of this box. The detail on the tiny dinosaurs is really impressive, and my daughter couldn’t wait to investigate the differences between each one. She would observe the color and shape of the dinosaur and what features they had to help protect them from the other dinosaurs. This was such an unexpected link to comparative language, and I loved hearing how descriptive she was!
The green rice was a fun sensory base. My preschooler enjoyed burying the dinosaurs and then using the magnifying glass to play a game of prehistoric hide and seek! We then sorted the dinos into groups according to their color and shape once they had been found. Her little hands were working hard to manipulate the dinos with precision, which was a great opportunity for her to develop her fine motor skills.
If your child loves playing with animals, these new mini figurines are perfect for all sorts of pretend play and sensory bin adventures!
Writer’s Bio
Lucy Baker is a Mom of two (4 & 8 years old) passionate about creative play and hands-on learning. She firmly believes in providing children with the opportunity to learn through play and being part of their play journey as a parent. See more of her creative play ideas and process art projects on Instagram @findthelittlemind, and over on her blog, Find the Little Mind.
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