Spring Sensory Tub

Ever since I saw the sensory tubs over at No Time For Flash Cards, I have been in love. I think they are a fabulous idea, and I knew that Little E would love them. So I decided to start with this one, since it went along well with our theme of plants and flowers and gardens this month.

You can look over at No Time for Flash Cards for the materials, and I basically got what she had in hers.

I had large white lima beans (I forgot to get some green ones – bummer), white beans (great northern beans), orange lentils (which were actually “red lentils” at WinCo), and some mini farfali (Bowtie pasta). I added some split peas and regular lentils from my own stash of beans, and I found the little pots at the craft store. The little tiny ones were super cute, and I thought they would be easy to use for little hands.

Turns out they were perfect for scooping the mix up into the bigger pots, and Baby even joined in the fun (she loved this activity!)

  Little E loved scooping “all the stuff” into the big pot using the little pot. I tried to encourage sorting by saying, “I’m going to put just the small white beans into my pot.” and then proceeding to sort, but he didn’t really seem interested at first. 

Persistence pays off, though, and eventually he started sorting, too! “The big pot is for the big white beans.”

To add a little math, I put five small white beans into a small pot, and five large white beans into another small pot and asked “Which pot has more beans?” to which he (developmentally appropriately) responded, the pot with the big beans. I then suggested, “Why don’t we line them up together to make sure.” So we practiced one-to-one correspondence and number conservation with our number of the month (5!)

Later after Baby went down for a nap, E kept playing with the tub and would bring me a pot full of one type of something (bean, pasta, etc) and would ask,  “How many are in here?” to which I would respond by counting with him. The time he brought over the pasta, he had fifteen pieces, and he said, “Fifteen is this many.” and held up three fingers. Ha ha. So I held up both of my hands, fingers spread, and had him hold up one of his hands, and I told him “Fifteen is both of my hands and one of your hands!” “That’s a lot!” Little E replied.

Love this kid. Such a smarty smart.

 

On the left, he had finished sorting his lima beans so he put a bunch of other “stuff” on top – because that “finished” it off… on the right, he planted a “seed” and a “flower” grew. Little pot = “flower”.

This tub was a great idea!

Have you tried sensory tubs? Do you have posts on your blog of sensory posts that you could share? I would love to see more sensory tubs! These things are awesome!!