150 Sensory Learning Ideas

Free, Simple Sensory Home Learning Activities

There are many options for home learning packs and ideas for children who can access worksheets and online teaching resources. Sensory learners need sensory learning ideas. Preferably simple and free ones. This list of 150 (ish) ideas should give you some ideas to try at home, EYFS settings and classrooms. You may also like our post on Scavenger hunts for children at home.

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Proprioceptive Sensory Learning Activities

Balance walk along masking tape on floor:

• Straight
• Zig Zigs

Tight hugs administered by a trusted adult.

Sensory Circuit Activities:

• Wall pushes
• Burpees
• Push ups
• Hand Squeezes
• Superhero poses
• Animal Walk – Based on our sensory trail
• Bear stretch
• Owl Swoop

Follow the light/Follow the sound – The child’s whole head/body follows the movement of a torch

Vestibular Sensory Learning Activities

Imitate head positions

Sway in time with chill out music

Back and forth rowing

Spinning (10 seconds in each direction)

Skipping

Activate

Jumping Jacks

Arm Spins

Musical statues

Hopscotch

Scooter rides

Cone spinner

Trampette

Auditory Sensory Learning Activities

Guess the sounds:

• Animals – Great animal sound video here.
• Vehicles – Great vehicle sound video here.
• Instruments – Pretty tricky instrument video here

(you can link this to a “What’s in the bag” game)

Make a rain tube

Bottle blowing

Guess the song intro – Use favourite cartoon theme tunes. A CBeebies video playlist here.

Follow a drum beat – use biscuit tin or saucepan with wooden spoon

Follow a clap pattern

Discrimination Sound Game make a sound and see if the child can work out if it is:

• Near or Far
• Soft or Loud
• High or Low

Visual Sensory Learning Activities

Drop & watch bouncy balls

Colour mixing

Washing up liquid and food colouring experiment

Torch/Light Activities:

• Shadow Puppet Play
• Make numbers with your fingers
• Guess animals from silhouette
• Tray and guess shapes from silhouette
• Guess book characters from silhouette (Gruffalo etc)
• Put into tupperware and retrieve/Watch
• Create a light table.

Find items of interest in a picture/Find self in pictures

Sensory bottles

Sort boxes shape/size

Pile and knock down boxes/tower building

Pull colourful fabric slowly from a bag

Oral Sensory Learning Activities

Blowing:

• Bubbles
• Boats with straws
• Cotton Balls
• Maltesers
• Paint
• Feathers
• Ball Maze
• Whistles
• Sequins
• Glitter
• Confetti

Food Fun:

• Crunchy/Chewy Items – Alternate
• Smooth, rough foods (smooth and crunchy peanut butter)
• Milkshakes
• Frozen Fruits
• Drink through a straw
• Cut vegetables into strips
• Smoothies – blend and taste
• Ask questions like, “Which food here tastes salty? Which ones are sweet?
• Colour cubes (cut food into cubes and sort by colour i.e cucumbers, apples.)
• Mashing foods, ripe pears, potatoes, grapes

Tactile Sensory Learning Activities

This can include essential hygiene routines such as hand washing etc.

Sensory Ball Games:

• Squeeze
• Throw/roll into bucket
• Different textured balls – Wrap in paper, cling film, tin foil
• Roll from head to toe and back
• Bounce
• Roll in playdough to make patterns
• Splat into paint and roll/throw onto paper

Touch and Texture Sensory Learning Ideas

Put objects in a box and feel/guess

Sandpaper shape cut outs

Tearing paper (either to glue onto something, or just to tear up)

Crumpling newspaper

Sponges- Get out bowls and a sponge to transfer water from one bowl to the other.

Play-dough

Bubble wrap popping

Tin foil sculpting or squishing

Salt painting

Shaving foam art

Sand art – glue and sand and glitter

Fizzy water play (bath bombs)

Water play – using bottles, sprays and tubes.

Stress balls

Goop/slime manipulation

Earth, sand and water trays – Classic “We’re going on a bear hunt” sensory activity

Hay play – hide items in hay or straw (allergies allowing)

Fine Motor Sensory Learning Activities

AAC games – Especially Shark Bite!

Use rubber gloves to make dots

Cotton buds to make dots

Use stick to trace letters/mark making

Cutting with scissors paper, straws

Ten Tweezer games

• Move items into different pots
• Pick items out of slime
• Pick items out of water
• Put items into a pattern
• Feed the dog
• Feed toy spiders to a frog
• Put beads into a bottle
• Bean number matching game
• Coloured pom-pom drop

Ice Excavations (freeze objects in ice)

Retrieve items from shaving foam

Hole punch coloured paper then use to blow/for art

Trace numbers in sand

Use a pipette to drop liquid watercolours/food colouring onto toilet paper

Clothespin Number Match

Use clothes pegs and sort by colour to a “line” of wool

Core Strength Activities

Circuit Training

• Sit ups
• squats
• crunches
• Bicycle kicks
• Plank
• Stand on one leg
• Hop, skip, jump

Cosmic yoga

Body Awareness Sensory Activities

Sensory Ball throw/roll

Which hand is hiding the object?

Obstacle Course

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Self-Regulation Sensory Ideas For Anxious Children

Breathing activities for anxiety. Find other self-regulation home learning ideas here.

• Blow out the candle
• Blow the windmill
• Smelling a flower
• Open a window
• What can you smell game
• Blow up a balloon

Make faces in the mirror

• Monkey
• Monster
• Martian
• Tense all face muscles
• Relax all face muscles

Count backwards

Count to 5 with a deep breath

Put beans/dried peas/rice in a balloon

Fiddle toys

Follow simple lego instructions

Make a Calm Down Jar

Create a Daisy chain or flower Bouquet

Blow up balloons

Guess the smell:

• Spices (mix with water to avoid sneezing)
• Fruit
• Vegetables

Scavenger Hunts

A sensory garden is great for embedding sensory learning ideas. The suggestions below should be find able in any garden.

Garden:

• Snails
• Grass
• Leaves
• Long Stick
• Short Stick
• Thick Stick
• Thin Stick
• Shiny Stone
• A flower

Kitchen:

• Big Spoon
• Little spoon
• Fork
• A frying pan
• A saucepan

We would love to hear your suggestions for simple free sensory learning ideas and activities that you have used. If you have a site that has a demo or resources linked to these ideas let me know and I will add a link to it.

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