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Ocean Sensory Tray

Sensory Play is so important for younger children. It enhances all their senses and provides incredible independent play time. Other benefits include greater creativity, improved fine motor skills, and it really helps with your child's self-esteem and confidence.

Your child will love playing with the 3 Sensory Tray ideas below. These ideas can be adapted for other themes- for example, green food colouring could be used as the grass to recreate the Three Billy Goats Gruff story.

1. Spaghetti Ocean Role Play

This ocean spaghetti sensory tray will develop your child’s fine motor skills, their hand-eye coordination, creativity and imagination.

Children will really love the feel of the spaghetti in their hands.

To set up the ocean scene you will need a large tray, spaghetti, blue food colouring, marine animals and shells.

Use cooked spaghetti to represent the waves of the ocean. While cooking the pasta add the blue food colouring as this should prevent the colouring staining your child’s hands. Once the pasta is cooked according to the instructions, rinse it with cold water and dry it with a paper towel.

2. Shaving Foam Ocean.

Frozen Shaving Cream Sensory Bin Play Kids

3) Marine Creatures Gelatin Sensory Tray

Introduce your child to a variety of ocean animals by adding small plastic marine creatures to a Sensory Tray that you have filled with a gelatin 'ocean.'

This is a great activity for outside as it's a little messy but that's what children love.

Your child will soon be using their imagination to create all sorts of marine adventures!