Sensory Tub With A Twist: DIY Matching Game

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This sensory tub from Lisa with a twist is a perfect activity to create a fun do-it-yourself sensory matching game for your child. 

Use your child’s current interests or keep their needs in mind and add some fun to their learning.

My kindergartner is really into numbers and number recognition lately. I focused on numbers one through seven for this specific activity.

If numbers are not appropriate for your child, you could create matching colors, shapes, letters, or even pictures.

Create Your DIY Sensory Letter Matching Tub

• Rice (you can leave your rice as is or dye it for extra fun!)
• A variety of bowls and bins or one large tub
• White plastic spoons
• A black marker
• A variety of small cups or scoops to have ready to add to sensory play

To set up this activity, I quickly dyed some rice with food coloring.

I arranged the rice in a variety of large bowls. You could use one large bin as well.

I used plastic spoons that I had on hand and a black sharpie marker to write the numbers on in matching pairs.

After I numbered the spoons, I arranged them in the rice. I made sure they were evenly mixed and spread out.

I challenged my kindergartner to find the matching pairs of numbers on spoons.

He loved this challenge!

He has played simple memory games before but loved the different set up for this activity. The added sensory aspect of the rice gave it a special twist.

As he went through the process of finding the numbers, he called each number out loud as he pulled it from the rice.

This activity is great for focus, concentration, number recognition, and memory retention.

Change Up the Game to Practice More Skills

Once he had found all seven pairs, he decided to line them up in the correct number order on the table.

Practice numbers with this fun game!

Next,he used each spoon to put that number of scoops of rice into bowls. He used the seven spoon to scoop seven times.

I made sure to put out some small cups and scoops for him to add to his sensory play.

He started to use the number on the spoons to scoop the correct amount into the bowls. For example, he used the number seven spoon to put seven scoops into the bowl.

His big brother joined in on the fun. Together they started to combine numbers to make a bowl of soup.

It’s a great way to practice early addition skills! I love observing how my children’s play evolves through open-ended activities!

They spent 45 minutes scooping and pouring, rearranging spoons, and creating imaginary scenarios with the rice and spoons.

Even my seven-year-old loved this activity. I thought that he might be too old for it, but he proved me wrong!

This was a definite activity win in my books!

How do you incorporate sensory play into your child’s learning?

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