This was our first sensory activity with water beads and marbles – make sure to check out the really fun Painting with Water Beads and Marbles activity we did a few weeks later!
We had just bought a bag full of marbles with different looks, textures and sizes, and I gave them to E along with a bowl full of water beads and a tray, and let her explore them however she wanted.
(E was 2 years and 4 months old.)
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Materials for Sensory Play with Water Beads and Marbles:
- Water beads.
- Marbles.
- Tray, box, sensory bin or similar to contain the other materials.
- Smaller containers.
- Kitchen utensils like tongs, ladle, etc. (optional).
She stuck her hands into the bowls of marbles and water beads and felt the difference.
She decided to dump the marbles next,
followed by the water beads.
She spent a long time picking up marbles and water beads with all the tools at her disposal: hands,
tongs,
and ladle.
The tongs remained her favorite, though. She spent quite a lot of time using them to pick up marbles, then squeezing the tongs over one of the plastic bowls until the marbles “shot out” into the bowl, making a satisfying “plunk”.
Once all the marbles were back in a bowl, she sorted the water beads into another bowl.
She wasn’t done with the marbles yet, though, and dumped them back on the tray to start over.
This time, she sorted them into the net they’d come in
before dumping them out yet again 🙂
When setting up this activity, I’d thought she’d be more interested in the water beads, but she actually spent a LOT of time exploring those marbles!
Does your child enjoy playing with marbles? How have you used water beads and marbles? Leave a comment below!
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We love sensory play! This activity looks like lots of fun! Thanks for linking up at “A Little Bird Told Me” Wednesday link party. You have been featured on Mama’s Happy Hive blog! Please come again!
So glad you like it, Vanessa! And thank you for the feature 🙂
This is such a great idea. I love it. Nice to use in a classroom during free play.
Thank you for the kind words, Lilith!