Sensory Story Resources: Creating a Sensory Sunshade

Hello storytellers, our most popular page is our free multi-sensory stories page. Here we share over 20 free sensory stories all written by teachers in special schools. This post will provide an idea for a prop that can be adapted as a simple sensory resource for many sensory stories, it is an evolution of Flo Longhorn’s sensory umbrella idea.

With a few Resources you can be a Sensory Storyteller!

We are all natural storytellers. We communicate and tell stories every day without thinking about it through our interactions with others. Sensory storytelling is just elevating this in an intentional way. Believe in the story you are telling. Your commitment and enthusiasm are likely among the most important aspects of the story.

Express yourself through your energy and tone of voice. These natural resources inform the listener what is happening, set the atmosphere and tone of the story, and help create a sense of wonder. Elevate this further through visual aids and Makaton signs if they help the listener engage and understand the story. Enjoy telling the story and sharing that joy will enhance the experience for your listener. These props will help create an immersive environment and support engagement as well as provided stimuli to trigger recall.

Sensory Story Resources: Sensory Sunshade

I was trying to create a catchy name for this but couldn’t think of one. I was browsing amazon for ideas and this popped up. Basically it is just a sunshade for your car but using an umbrella mechanism. One side is black the other silver. This gives it quite a few options for use as a prop in sensory stories.

These shades are the size of a car windscreen and provide a decent sized area to work with. The one we made is for a space themed sensory story (sorry I haven’t finished it yet). We used Gwyneth McCormack’s advice from the Positive Looking training to put glitter stars on the black background. A torch is great for making these sparkle!

The silver side is great for projecting our disco torch onto. These are really tricky to find but these usb lights are cheap and do a great job as well. You could also cover it or use it as a canvas for other ideas.

Where to buy Sensory Resources

You can either get these from amazon* or Temu which is a new app. I have ordered from these a few times for affordable sensory resources. The quality is good for the price especially if you need a lot of resources. The image below is what you are looking for. We hope you find this idea for a cheap and simple sensory resource useful!

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