Mega List of Sensory Table Ideas

Today was my last day student teaching in preschool. I loved preschool so much that I wanted to create a list of sensory table ideas for preschool educators everywhere!

Not Just Cute, a blog about holistic child development, has a really compelling write up about sensory table benefits here. Check it out!

 Do you have a sensory table in your classroom or home? I think they are  great for children of all ages and can certainly be implemented in a room even without having a fancy sensory table. Buy a long, low under-the-bed storage bin with a lid at a hardware store or WalMart and put it on a classroom table for a sensory station or open it during morning arrival/end of the day departure.

Working in a school that serves many families living under the poverty level, I needed to be conscious of doing any art activities that use food. There is a possibility that we have children in our room who do not have enough to eat at home; using food for frivolous things is cruel to children who are constantly hungry. Therefore, I have assembled the list so that all the non-food ideas are at the top and a few food related ideas are at the bottom. Personally, I will never use the food ideas in a classroom but I may use them in my home.

Many of the ideas are linked to another post discussing the idea and its classroom implementations. I have included in the links ideas for the matching thematic unit of study, items to include with the sensory materials, and where to find these materials without spending a fortune. (Please be patient while I finish all the links)

Pom Poms
Snow
Cotton balls
Batting
Oobleck
Fabric scraps
Feathers
Bird seed
Sand
Water
Milkweed
Beads
Buttons
Dirt
Grass
Wood chips
 Leaves
Twigs
Pine needles
Clay
Tinsel
Xmas balls
Sawdust
Egg Shucks
Cupcake wrappers
Snaps, Zippers, Shoe Laces
Toilet Paper on the roll
Spider webbing
Plastic silverware and wooden spoons, tongs
Small tiles
Bubble wrap
Colored, plastic coated wire
clothes pins
Rubber bands
Tape on rolls
Spools of thread
Rough cuts of wood and various sand papers
Screws, nuts and bolts, electrical caps
Phone book pages or newspaper
Mesh and string
Dental floss
Tin foil
Pipe Cleaners
Foam letters/ shapes
Hole-Punched paper circles
Shells
Bark
Wildflowers
Yarn
Scrabble tiles
Marbles
Paint swatches
Mr. Potato head parts
Coconut bark
Keyboard Keys
Sequins
Puzzle pieces
Various chains
Rubber bits
Packing peanuts
Shaving Cream
Gears
Gravel, pebbles, sand, clay
Sumac plants
Hay
Dice
Native nuts and pine cones
Fish tank gravel
Keys
Nautical rope, fishing line
cocktail umbrellas
Crepe paper
Bones
Rocks
Shredded paper
Easter grass

Unpopped popcorn
Rice
Pasta
Flour
Cornmeal
Kidney beans or mixed beans soup mix
Split peas
Sunflower Seeds
Whole peanuts
Gourds
Indian Corn
Pumpkin chunks or seeds
Coffee grounds or beans
Jello
Oatmeal