Gingerbread Sensory Table with Kinetic Sand
Smaller gingerbread molds can be held in one hand while the other hand is used to scoop the sand. If you are looking for theme ideas for the month of December, consider the gingerbread theme! We love kicking off the month with all things gingerbread, including this gingerbread sensory table that offers lots of fine motor exploration. The main ingredient is kinetic sand, and if you haven’t use this stuff yet, you are in for a treat. Here’s some previous kinetic sand sensory tables we’ve loved: Construction Sensory Bin Alphabet Sand Sensory Bin Kinetic sand flows through the fingers in slow motion, so it’s a great way to work on the sense of touch. It also holds its shape, and that’s the primary reason I chose it for this activity. Add gingerbread molds and cookie cutters and watch what happens! Our toddlers and preschoolers had so much fun with this so I am excited to share it with you, too. Gingerbread Color Sorting (Free Printable) Gingerbread Circle Time Props Gingerbread Printable Playdough Mat Golf Ball Painted Gingerbread Men Build a Gingerbread House Gingerbread Ice Painting Gingerbread Suncatcher Ornament As for the other accessories, you don’t need to use exactly what we used, but any type of pan or mold works well with kinetic sand because it will keep its gingerbread shape. In the photos you will notice small bendy gingerbread men. We also used these with our rice gingerbread sensory bin a few years ago. CLICK HERE to see a wide variety of sensory tables we have used in our classroom over the years! This age group LOVES to scoop and pour, and I’ve found that if I have these types of activities available, they are a bit less likely to dump and pour toys in various centers. If I notice a child is going around the room dumping things from baskets or shelves, I direct them to the sensory table and show them it’s okay to do that there. The children are invited to explore whatever centers they want, for as little or as long as they wish. Often, as with the sensory table, they will make multiple visits. Since we had been reading gingerbread man books and singing gingerbread songs, we were familiar with how the gingerbread man was a cookie in the oven that jumped out and ran away. Since the kinetic sand is moldable, the children loved pretending to make real cookies. I encouraged a small group to work together filling the big cake pan. They used the tongs to scoop the sand from the bin and into the pan. Once the pan is filled, they can use their hands to pat it down. Then, place the mold in the sensory table and carefully lift. This is the perfect example of hands-on play! Cookie cutters can also be pressed into the sand as well.
Gingerbread Man Books
The Gingerbread Man (Easy to Read Folktales) Gingerbread Baby (Jan Brett) How to Catch a Gingerbread Man (Adam Wallace) Ten Tiny Gingerbread Men (Tiger Tales)
More Gingerbread Fun!
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