In October, I like to focus on teaching my students about nocturnal animals. They are creepy, crawly and perfect for Halloween! One of my favorite ways to tie in our theme during center time is with sensory tables. Not only are we hitting our science standards, but my students are also getting fine motor work along with syllable, number sense and one-to-one correspondence. My students loved these sensory tubs and since they are easy to assemble and clean up you're sure to enjoy them too.
In my PreK class I like to teach thematically. I can tie in science and social studies standards into my math and literacy curriculum. During fall I teach around a couple different themes including apples, pumpkins, and nocturnal animals. Right before Halloween I choose to teach nocturnal animals, so that I can focus on the fun aspects of Halloween (spiders and bats) and have to worry less about the scary parts. By teaching thematically I also get to change out my sensory tubs which my students love!
The first thing that I did was create my colored rice. I have always used vinegar and food coloring but I hated the smell. As a result, I wouldn't change it that often. However, I found a new way to dye rice and pasta for my sensory table and it is the best! I put about 3 lbs. of long grain rice in a gallon-sized baggie then added 2 oz. of Black Washable Liquid Watercolor Paint to the bag and shook it like crazy. I then added another 2 oz. of paint to really coat the rice. Once I felt it was covered enough, I laid down some wax paper on a table, and spread it out to dry. I repeated the process with the bowtie pasta. It needed a little more of the Black Washable Liquid Watercolor Paint to fully coat the pasta and get into the little cracks. I also used the Orange Washable Liquid Watercolor Paint to make orange rice. I was surprised at how vibrant the rice was! When I used the food coloring it was always dull. I have ordered all the colors so I can constantly change out the rice for all my other themes!
The first nocturnal animal we talk about is the spider. This is a hard one for me, because I HATE spiders, and half my kids usually do. But once we talk about them, there is way less shrieking when we see one on the playground or in a book! In our sensory tub, we add fake spiders so students can interact with them. I used the Vintage Halloween Plastic Tablecloth to add a touch of fun to the sensory table area. I add half the black rice, Giant Chenille Stems and Spider Rings. I use the Giant Chenille Stems to mimic spider webs. I took an address label and wrote numbers 1-10 on each one then wrapped it around the bottom of the Giant Chenille Stems. The object of the sensory bin is for my students to identify the number on the stem, then thread the corresponding number of spiders on the stem.
The second nocturnal animal group we study are owls. When I switched themes, I also swapped out my sensory table. I saved the black rice for my next tub, so I put 2 lbs. of orange rice and 2 lbs. of plain undyed rice. Next, I added some tri-colored pasta to give it another dimension. I like to add some external elements to our sensory tables, so I stuck in some elements from the Giant Classroom Tree with Seasonal Cut Outs. I chose to add the fall leaves and pumpkins as well as some Owl Bulletin Board Cutouts to the branches.
For this sensory bin, I used the Owl Bulletin Board Cutouts and wrote a number 0-10 on the owl's belly. My kiddos would grab an owl, and identify the number then then stack the Owl Erasers on or around the owl.
The final Nocturnal tub is bat themed. You can download the response sheet that correspond with the tub here. I used the Black Washable Liquid Watercolor Paint to dye 2 lbs. of rice. For more texture I put a box of bowtie pasta in a baggie, and added some more Black Washable Liquid Watercolor Paint. Then I added Glow-In-The-Dark Moons & Suns to the bin so it would look like a night sky with bats flying around. To add a little more pizzazz I hung some Hanging Bats Halloween Decor on the wall behind my bins!
Once the sensory bin was ready, I let my kids explore the center. I printed the response sheet and the cards, and added Bat Wing Clappers. After my students draw a card, they will say the word and find out how many syllables are in the word. We use the Bat Wing Clappers as a way to add excitement! When saying a word like hedgehog, you would slap the clapper against your hand twice, /hedge/ /hog/. Then they will write the number two down in the correct box.
These sensory tubs are such a fun activity for my kids and make learning fun and interactive!
