Sensory Trays Keep the Meltdowns Away

In our neck of the woods, rain is in the forecast for the next several days. With three little kids at home, I always try to have some quick and engaging activities in my back pocket.

Today, after we had already played with playdoh, read books, played upstairs, downstairs and all around - the children started melting down around me. I had to do something fast.

I grabbed some popcorn kernels, uncooked pasta, buttons, cars and foam shapes. (You could use rice or oatmeal or anything like that from your pantry.) I dumped them into two of my round cake pans, and we had instant sensory trays.

Miles and Alice loved them.

They drove their cars through the popcorn. They scooped and dumped with cups. They picked out all of the buttons and sorted them on the table. They separated the foam shapes. They put everything back together and started all over again.

And when naptime came, I swept everything back into the cake pans and covered them with saran wrap (to keep everything from falling out). They'll be a great thing to pull out the rest of this week when the rain keeps us inside.

What are your favorite rainy day activities?

Anna Luther, mom of three

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