Sensory Play With Food!

At The Brook, we are all about providing children with opportunities to engage in play they really love. We are also big advocates for sustainable living which is why we’ve taken a few simple concepts and turned them into interesting and resourceful sensory play activities to teach children about playing with food.

Food + colours + mess = fun!

Sounds like mums’ worst nightmare, but it also offers them the opportunity to understand how to differentiate between when it’s acceptable (when provided with the right environment) and when it’s not (when we are trying to enjoy a nice family dinner out of the house, for once…)

Rainbow Spaghetti

An easy simpler-than-it-looks sensory play activity that involves cheap, cooked pasta and food colouring. The best part is, you can heat it up and add Bolognese for dinner later on!

All you do is cook the pasta, separate and dye in lots, allow to dry out until dye sticks and let your children go crazy.

Introduce tongs for a fine motor activity or try burying delicious treasure (peas and corn) for them to discover!

Wobbly Jelly

Who doesn’t love wobbling jelly? Just make it up and let your children squish, squeeze and eat until they have had enough.

Jelly is a low-calorie sensory play activity for the family to get messy and enjoy. It’s also a great way to cool down during the Summer.

If you are conscious about sugar, try the sugar-free variety to avoid those crashes from over-enjoying the experience later on…

Cereal Sorting

It’s up to you what kind of cereal you use, bran with flakes and fruit in it works just as well. Give your child a used egg carton (so sustainable!) and let them sort the cereal until they are satisfied with the result.

It’s a great way to spend those slow school holiday mornings as they also get in some healthy snacks while playing too.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can dye the cereal pieces and make it a colour activity to engage younger siblings too. If you think your child might engage better in fine motor sensory play, why not try threading with string and cereal?

4-Wheel Driving

There are endless opportunities to play with trucks and children never get tired of ‘brroooming’ around the house.

Grab some rolled oats or crushed cornflakes and create your own 4WD track for them to bump up and down on.

Dry cereal is easy to sweep up, but it can also be composted back into the garden when you’re finished.

Edible Artwork

This sensory play activity is just a fun one for those who are quite creative, have time to spare and feel like their children could gain from arty experiences by exploring their imaginations through food.

And of course, eating it!

The options are endless here, just remember to be process-focused, and don’t worry if your outcome isn’t Insta-worthy. It is guaranteed that your children will gain much more out of the sensory play experience then meets the eye (and stomach!)

And don’t forget to have fun!