Manage Sensory Play Clean Up…with your toddlers.
Sensory play can be the most amazing and engaging way to encourage development with our toddlers! However, it can be a little challenging when we try to get them to help clean up after all the fun that was had. Here are some ways that helped me get through those hard to manage early learning clean up steps in sensory play with my 1- and 3-year-old. It has helped us enjoy CLEANING UP activities together on a daily basis!
- LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
because I just lift the corners and bring the filler to one side of the mat and pour it back into the designated tray or sensory table.
- CLEAN UP TOOLS
I have a designated tool kit for my kids set aside specifically for helping with sensory play clean up. We have a lovely set of two scoopers, tongs, and a BRUSH! Good Ol’ ART BRUSH!
You see… when your toddler is finished with play, there WILL be filler all over the sensory table /area. That’s where the tools come to play! The BRUSH gets all the filler out of all the nooks and crannies. The Scoopers allow your kids to practice scooping and pouring filler back into the bin and the tongs help with picking up larger filler. Did you know that it actually helps with overall hand strengthening? WOOHOO! It’s a FUN way to get your toddler to CLEAN UP! Something about those brush strokes to sweep filler into the bin and big scooper to count how much filler they scooped up is a very rewarding feeling for your toddler.
- HAVE A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
Your toddler will notice that everything has a “home”. Everything has a place where it belongs. We have designated cabinets for just sensory filler. They are in see through containers which help my kids distinguish between fillers which help them to choose which filler they want to play with. After play, they know where the filler belongs.
JUST REMEMBER, MAKE IT FUN!
Have fun playing!
Eshy
IG:@teachingbythemountains
