4 Easy Spring Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers
4 Easy Spring Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers
by Susie Beghin
Spring is a magical time for young children. The world is waking up, flowers are blooming, and new life is sprouting everywhere. It’s the perfect season to engage kids in sensory play — helping them explore the world through touch, smell, sight, sound, and even taste! Sensory play encourages discovery and inquiry, building essential skills like fine motor development, problem-solving, and language growth.
In this blog, I’ll share some fun and easy spring sensory play ideas, including creative gardening activities to get your little ones excited about the season.
🌱 1. Planting and Gardening Sensory Bins
Gardening is one of the best hands-on sensory experiences for kids. The feel of soil between their fingers, the smell of fresh herbs, and the sight of tiny green shoots create a rich sensory experience.
What You’ll Need:
- A shallow bin or tray (or sensory bin)
- Potting soil
- Small plastic pots
- Small gardening tools (like a spade or trowel)
- Seeds (like beans, sunflowers, or herbs)
- Small flowers
- Watering Can
How to Do It:
- Fill the bin with soil and let your child dig and explore.
- Encourage them to plant seeds and cover them with soil.
- Let them use a spray bottle to water the seeds.
- Observe how the seeds begin to sprout over the next few days.
Learning Boost: Talk about what plants need to grow (sunlight, water, soil) and introduce simple science terms like “germination.”
🌸 2. Flower Petal Sensory Soup
This colorful activity combines touch, sight, and smell for a multi-sensory experience.
What You’ll Need:
- A shallow bin, bowl or tray (or sensory bin)
- Water
- Flower petals (real or fake)
- Spoons, ladles, and small cups
How to Do It:
- Fill the bowl with water and add the flower petals.
- Let your child stir, scoop, and pour the “soup.”
- Encourage them to describe how the petals feel and smell.
Learning Boost: Introduce color names and texture words like “soft,” “smooth,” and “fragrant.”
🌼 3. Mud Kitchen
Let your child engage in messy play by creating a “mud kitchen” outdoors.
What You’ll Need:
- Dirt
- Water
- Old pots, pans, and kitchen utensils
- Leaves, grass, and flowers
How to Do It:
- Set up an outdoor play area with mud and kitchen tools.
- Encourage your child to mix mud “recipes” using leaves and flowers.
- Let them squish, mold, and pour the mud to create different textures.
Learning Boost: Discuss the difference between wet and dry mud and how adding water changes the texture.
🦋 4. Birds Exploration
Spring is a busy time for birds as they make their nests! Encourage kids to observe and explore these creatures and then create a bird sensory exploration indoors.
What You’ll Need:
- Shredded paper (green and brown)
- Bird’s nest and or bird house (you can make the nest or house as a craft activity with pieces of twigs or buy it from the dollar store)
- Toy birds
- Small toy eggs (plastic)
- Feathers
- Wood pieces (twigs and small wood cutouts)
- Brown yarn cut in small pieces (worms)
- Tweezers
How to Do It:
- Arrange a combination of green and brown paper on the bottom of the bin. Place the house and nest in the bin.
- Scatter the yarn worms around the paper and hide some underneath the “grass”.
- Place the eggs in the nest as well as the birds.
- Encourage your child “feed” the birds by using the tweezers to pickup the worms and feed them to the birds.
- Encourage open-ended play with your bird habitat.
Learning Boost: Discuss how birds make nests and take care of their young.
🌷 Why Sensory Play Matters
Spring sensory play helps children develop:
✅ Fine motor skills (through digging, pouring, and stirring)
✅ Language skills (by describing textures and smells)
✅ Cognitive growth (by observing plant growth and understanding natural cycles)
✅ Emotional regulation (sensory play is calming and helps reduce stress)
Spring is the perfect time to encourage discovery and exploration through sensory play. These simple but meaningful activities will spark your child’s natural curiosity and help them connect with the world around them.
For more ideas like this, visit YouTube !
Spring Adventures for Kids: Exploring Nature
Spring Adventures for Kids: Exploring Nature
by Susie Beghin, RECE, Founder of Alpha’s Discovery Kids
As spring blooms and nature comes to life, it’s the perfect time to engage children in outdoor activities that foster their curiosity and creativity. At Alpha’s Discovery Kids, we’re passionate about providing children with enriching experiences that ignite their love for learning and exploration. From nature walks to mud kitchens, there are endless opportunities for kids to connect with the natural world and unleash their imagination.
Nature walks are a favourite among children and educators alike and are an excellent way to connect children with the natural world while encouraging physical activity and curiosity. During these walks, children have the chance to explore various environments, from wooded trails to open fields, collecting treasures along the way.
Encouraging children to collect items such as pine cones, stones, leaves, and twigs not only sparks their curiosity but also provides materials for creative projects. These collected treasures can be used in art projects, where children can create nature-inspired collages, paintings, or sculptures, fostering their artistic expression and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. Picking up sticks, in particular, seems to captivate children’s attention as they experiment with different sizes and shapes, imagining them as wands, swords, or tools for building.
Parents can also join in on the fun by taking their children on nature walks in local parks or trails. Equipped with a bag to gather their findings, children delight in the opportunity to explore the great outdoors and discover the beauty of nature firsthand. Nature walks also offer opportunities for hands-on learning experiences. Children can observe different plant and animal species, learning about their habitats, behaviours, and life cycles. Parents can also engage children in discussions about the importance of conservation and caring for the environment, instilling in them a sense of responsibility towards the planet.
Another highlight of outdoor play is the mud kitchen, a beloved feature that encourages imaginative play, sensory exploration and hands-on learning. With simple setups consisting of tables or flat surfaces, pots, pans, and utensils, mud kitchens provide children with endless opportunities to cook, bake, and create. As children mix, pour, and stir ingredients in their mud kitchens to concoct “delicious” meals and potions, children engage in open-ended play that fosters language development, motor skills, and social interaction.
Mud kitchens have benefits beyond imaginative play. As children engage in sensory activities, they explore different textures, smells, and consistencies, enhancing their sensory processing skills. Mixing and stirring promotes hand-eye coordination and strengthens hand muscles, laying the foundation for writing and other fine motor tasks. The sensory experience of squishing mud between their fingers and the freedom to experiment with different textures and consistencies stimulates their senses and ignites their creativity. And, the outdoor setting provides children with the opportunity to engage in physical activity, promoting gross motor skills and overall well-being.
Additionally, mud kitchens offer rich learning experiences that integrate various academic disciplines including our 4 Pillars of Learning. Children naturally engage in scientific inquiry as they observe changes in materials and explore cause-and-effect relationships. Children can integrate elements of mathematics by counting, sorting, and categorizing natural materials or measuring quantities for their concoctions. They also exercise their creativity and artistic skills as they experiment with different combinations and designs, transforming mud and natural materials into works of art.
Whether exploring the wonders of nature on a walk or whipping up culinary delights in the mud kitchen, springtime offers abundant opportunities for children to learn, grow, and connect with the world around them. By embracing outdoor play and nature-based activities, we cultivate a sense of wonder and curiosity that will inspire children to explore and discover throughout their lives.
For more information, visit our YouTube channel for inspiration and ideas.