Sensory Play with Dinosaurs
We have a lot of toobs of plastic animals, and N likes them all, but he really loves his dinosaurs!
All of the toobs are great for sensory or imaginary play. If you don’t have them yet, get some! {But of course this activity works with any old dinosaurs 😉 }
This Sensory Play with Dinosaurs I set up for N recently had a lot of different textures going on – and he added even more to make the activity his own 🙂 As you can tell from the pinnable title image, things got a little wild 😉
(N was 2 years old.)
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Materials for Sensory Play with Dinosaurs
- Dinosaur toob {or other plastic dinosaurs}.
- Muffin tin.
- Different sensory materials. I used moist coffee grounds, corn kernels, and cotton balls.
I put each of the three different sensory materials in two of the cavities in the muffin tin and placed a dinosaur in each.
N started pulling out dinosaurs right away and focused on handling the materials first.
We’d used corn kernels and cotton balls before, but the coffee grounds were new.
After he’d explored the materials for a while, he spent some time switching the dinosaurs from one cavity to the other and back again.
At one point, he took the muffin tin off the tray, put it down, and took the tray over to our rainwater cistern.Â
Once the area was wet, he decided to pick up the muffin tin again – and dump it out!
I watched in amusement as he started playing with the materials I’d so carefully placed in the muffin tin that were now in a jumble on the ground.
He literally explored with his hands and feet 🙂
Fun? Check! Lots of sensory exploration? Check! Mess made? Check! Sounds like a great activity to me 🙂
Despite the water and the coffee grounds, it really wasn’t hard to clean up, but I did have to throw the coffee grounds, corn kernels, and cotton balls away. It was totally worth it 🙂
Do you have toddlers who love matching? I have a book of matching games for them!
In my book Match This! Matching Games for Toddlers, I share 30 different matching games that are perfect for toddlers with a limited number of matches (you can mix and match different sets for a greater challenge) and large cards that are easy to pick up and hold. I’ve included instructions for playing memory and matching games at all skill levels and how to extend the activity with other learning objectives for older kids.
Looking for more fun, simple sensory activities? Check out these!
Sibling Play with a Green Sensory Soup
Toddler Play with Foamy Blocks
33 Ideas for Sensory Play with Farm Animals by Best Toys 4 Toddlers
Soapy Sensory Jars by Hands On As We Grow
3 Sensory Activities Toddlers Will Love by Teaching Mama
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