Looking for simple sensory play activities for preschoolers, toddlers or babies? Sensory play gives children opportunities to explore different textures, colours, sounds, movements and materials while learning through hands-on experiences.
You don’t need expensive toys or complicated setups to create meaningful sensory activities. Everyday items such as water, playdough, natural materials, containers and washable paints can provide hours of exploration.
The best activities are often open-ended, allowing children to touch, investigate, experiment, make choices and discover what happens next.
In this guide, you’ll find 20 easy sensory play activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, plus age-specific ideas, educator tips and important safety considerations.
What Is Sensory Play?
Sensory play is any type of play that encourages children to explore and engage with their senses.
This can include:
- Touching different textures
- Watching colours and movement
- Listening to different sounds
- Exploring smells
- Feeling changes in temperature
- Moving their bodies through different environments
- Manipulating and experimenting with materials
Sensory play can be as simple as a baby feeling a soft piece of fabric or as involved as a preschooler investigating which objects sink or float.
These experiences can support children’s fine motor skills, coordination, communication, creativity, problem-solving and early learning.
For a deeper look at the developmental benefits, read our guide to the benefits of sensory play.
Quick Guide: Sensory Play by Age
Different ages benefit from different types of sensory exploration.
| Age | Sensory play ideas |
|---|---|
| Babies | Texture exploration, supervised water play, sound exploration, sensory scarves and nature watching |
| Toddlers | Scooping and pouring, playdough, colour mixing, texture hunts and nature trays |
| Preschoolers | Sensory bins, colour sorting, ice rescue, letter and number hunts, patterns and simple science experiments |
Activities should always be adapted to the individual child’s age, developmental stage and abilities.
Sensory Play Activities for Babies
Babies learn about their surroundings through their senses. Simple sensory experiences can encourage them to look, listen, reach, grasp, touch and respond.
At this age, activities should be simple and closely supervised, with particular attention to choking and other safety risks.
1. Texture Basket
Suitable for: Babies
You’ll need: A basket and several large, safe objects with different textures.
Place a few age-appropriate objects in a basket, such as soft fabric, a large textured ball, a smooth wooden item or a baby-safe silicone toy.
Allow your baby to explore each item while you describe what they are experiencing.
Try words such as:
- Soft
- Smooth
- Bumpy
- Rough
- Cold
- Warm
What children can explore: Touch, grasping, hand-eye coordination and early language.
Educator tip: Follow your baby’s interest rather than rushing from one object to another. Give them time to look, reach for and explore each item.
2. Supervised Water Play
Suitable for: Babies
A small amount of water can provide a simple sensory experience during supervised bath or water play.
Allow your baby to gently splash or move their hands through the water while you talk about what they can see and feel.
What children can explore: Touch, movement, visual awareness and cause-and-effect learning.
Safety: Never leave a baby unattended around water, even for a moment.
3. Sound Exploration
Suitable for: Babies
Introduce your baby to different sounds using safe, baby-appropriate objects.
You might gently tap an object against another surface or shake a suitable sound-making toy.
Pause between sounds and watch how your baby responds.
What children can explore: Listening, attention, auditory awareness and cause and effect.
4. Sensory Scarf Play
Suitable for: Babies
Use a lightweight, baby-safe fabric or sensory scarf to create a simple visual and tactile experience.
Move the fabric slowly from side to side and allow your baby to watch it. If appropriate, let them touch and hold it while you describe its texture.
What children can explore: Visual tracking, touch, attention and movement.
5. Nature Watching
Suitable for: Babies
Take your baby outside and explore the sights and sounds around you.
Watch leaves moving in the breeze, listen to birds, look at flowers or observe clouds in the sky.
Talk to your baby about what you can see and hear.
What children can explore: Observation, attention, early communication and curiosity.
Sensory Play Activities for Toddlers
Toddlers naturally want to touch, pour, squeeze, move and experiment. Sensory activities can provide opportunities to explore these interests in a safe and purposeful way.
6. Scoop and Pour Water Play
Suitable for: Toddlers
You’ll need: A shallow container of water, cups and large scoops.
Let your toddler scoop water and pour it between containers.
Encourage them to experiment with different amounts and ways of pouring.
Ask:
- “Which cup has more?”
- “What happens if you pour it slowly?”
- “Can you fill the container?”
- “What happens when you tip it?”
What children can explore: Fine motor skills, coordination, early mathematical concepts and problem-solving.
7. Playdough Exploration
Suitable for: Toddlers
Give your toddler an age-appropriate amount of playdough and let them squeeze, roll, flatten and shape it.
You can introduce simple tools such as large cutters or child-safe rolling tools.
What children can explore: Hand strength, fine motor development, creativity and coordination.
Educator tip: Don’t worry about creating a particular shape. Open-ended playdough exploration gives children freedom to experiment and create their own ideas.
8. Texture Hunt
Suitable for: Toddlers
Find several large, safe objects with different textures.
Encourage your toddler to touch them and describe how each one feels.
You can introduce words such as:
- Soft
- Hard
- Smooth
- Bumpy
- Rough
- Squishy
What children can explore: Sensory awareness, vocabulary, communication and classification.
9. Colour Mixing
Suitable for: Toddlers
Use washable, child-safe paint to introduce simple colour mixing.
Give your toddler two colours and allow them to experiment with combining them.
For a less messy option, put small amounts of paint into a properly sealed sensory bag and allow your child to press and mix the colours from outside.
What children can explore: Colour recognition, cause and effect, creativity and hand control.
10. Nature Sensory Tray
Suitable for: Toddlers
Collect larger, age-appropriate natural materials such as leaves, flowers, sticks and large smooth stones.
Place them in a tray and allow your toddler to investigate the different colours, shapes and textures.
Talk about what they notice and encourage them to sort items in different ways.
What children can explore: Observation, vocabulary, classification and connection with the natural environment.
Sensory Play Activities for Preschoolers
Preschoolers can engage in more purposeful sensory experiences that combine exploration with early literacy, numeracy, science and creative learning.
These sensory play activities for preschoolers can be adapted according to children’s interests and abilities.
11. Sensory Bin
Suitable for: Preschoolers
You’ll need: A large container, an age-appropriate sensory base, large objects, cups and scoops.
Create a simple sensory bin using a suitable base and add objects related to a theme your child enjoys.
Possible themes include:
- Dinosaurs
- Animals
- Construction
- Colours
- Nature
- Numbers
- Letters
Invite children to scoop, pour, sort, discover and create their own play scenarios.
What children can explore: Fine motor skills, imaginative play, sorting, vocabulary and problem-solving.
Educator tip: Follow the child’s interests rather than directing exactly how the sensory bin should be used. Open-ended materials can encourage children to develop their own ideas.
12. Colour Sorting
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Provide appropriately prepared coloured materials and several containers.
Ask your child to sort the materials according to colour.
You can make the activity more challenging by asking them to create patterns or count how many items are in each group.
What children can explore: Colour recognition, sorting, counting, patterns and fine motor control.
13. Ice Rescue
Suitable for: Preschoolers
You’ll need: Ice, warm water and suitable large objects.
Freeze appropriate objects inside a block of ice.
Give children warm water and safe tools to investigate how they can release the objects.
Ask:
- “What do you think will happen?”
- “How could we make the ice melt?”
- “What is happening to the ice?”
- “What do you think will happen next?”
What children can explore: Scientific thinking, observation, prediction and problem-solving.
14. Sensory Letter Hunt
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Create a sensory tray using an appropriate base and add large, safe letters.
Ask your child to find a particular letter or identify the first letter of their name.
Older preschoolers can try finding several letters and arranging them into simple words.
What children can explore: Early literacy, letter recognition, fine motor skills and concentration.
15. Sensory Number Hunt
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Create a sensory tray containing large numbers.
Ask children to find specific numbers, put them in order or count objects they discover.
For example:
- “Can you find number 3?”
- “How many objects did you find?”
- “Can you put 1, 2 and 3 in order?”
What children can explore: Number recognition, counting, sequencing and early mathematical thinking.
16. Nature Pattern Making
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Collect suitable natural materials such as leaves, flowers, sticks and large pebbles.
Create a simple pattern:
Leaf → Stone → Leaf → Stone
Then encourage your child to continue it or create their own pattern.
What children can explore: Pattern recognition, early mathematics, creativity and observation.
17. Scent Exploration
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Introduce children to familiar, child-safe scents such as fresh herbs or fruit.
Let them smell each item and describe what they notice.
Ask:
- “What does it smell like?”
- “Is the smell strong or mild?”
- “Which one do you like?”
- “Can you guess what it is?”
What children can explore: Sensory awareness, vocabulary, memory and communication.
18. Sound Matching Game
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Create pairs of suitable sound-making containers.
Children can shake each container and listen carefully to see which ones make similar sounds.
Turn it into a simple matching game by asking them to find the two containers that sound alike.
What children can explore: Listening, memory, concentration and auditory discrimination.
19. Sensory Painting
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Move beyond traditional paintbrushes and let children experiment with different painting tools.
You could use:
- Sponges
- Large rollers
- Textured objects
- Suitable natural materials
Encourage children to compare the marks and patterns they create.
Ask:
- “What happens when you press harder?”
- “What kind of pattern did that make?”
- “How could you make a different texture?”
What children can explore: Creativity, fine motor control, sensory awareness and self-expression.
20. Sink or Float Investigation
Suitable for: Preschoolers
Fill a container with water and provide several large, safe objects.
Before placing each object in the water, ask your child to predict whether it will sink or float.
Then test each object and compare the results.
What children can explore: Prediction, observation, classification, early science concepts and problem-solving.
How to Choose Sensory Activities for Different Ages
Sensory play can grow with your child.
For babies
Focus on simple experiences involving:
- Safe textures
- Sounds
- Colours
- Movement
- Reaching and grasping
- Responsive interaction with an adult
For toddlers
Introduce more opportunities to:
- Scoop and pour
- Squeeze and manipulate
- Sort objects
- Explore textures
- Mix colours
- Make simple choices
For preschoolers
Add more purposeful challenges involving:
- Letters and numbers
- Counting
- Patterns
- Predictions
- Sorting
- Problem-solving
- Simple science investigations
- Creative expression
The goal isn’t to turn every activity into a formal lesson. Let children explore and follow their curiosity.
How Parents Can Make Sensory Play More Engaging
You don’t need to create a complicated activity every time. Small changes can make sensory play more meaningful.
Follow Your Child’s Interests
If your child loves dinosaurs, create a dinosaur-themed sensory experience.
If they enjoy vehicles, create a simple construction-themed activity.
Following children’s interests can encourage them to stay engaged and develop their own ideas.
Ask Open-Ended Questions
Instead of telling children exactly what to do, encourage them to think and experiment.
Try asking:
- “What do you notice?”
- “What do you think will happen?”
- “How does it feel?”
- “What could we try next?”
- “Can you find another one?”
- “How could you make it different?”
Give Children Time to Explore
Sensory play doesn’t always need a specific outcome.
A child might use a sensory bin completely differently from how you expected. That’s okay.
Allowing children to experiment, make choices and try different approaches can make the experience more meaningful.
Keep Activities Age Appropriate
Always consider your child’s age, developmental stage and individual needs when choosing sensory materials.
An activity that is suitable for a preschooler may not be suitable for a baby or young toddler.
Sensory Play Safety Tips
Sensory play should always be age-appropriate and supervised.
Keep these basic safety considerations in mind:
- Avoid small objects and loose materials that could present a choking hazard for babies and young toddlers.
- Closely supervise children during sensory play.
- Check materials for sharp edges or other hazards.
- Choose child-safe, non-toxic materials where appropriate.
- Consider allergies and individual sensitivities.
- Be mindful that young children may put materials in their mouths.
- Never leave children unattended during water play.
- Wash hands and clean surfaces after messy activities.
- Stop an activity if your child appears uncomfortable or distressed.
If you aren’t sure whether a particular material is appropriate for your child’s age, choose a safer alternative.
Sensory Play Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
Some of the best sensory play experiences use simple materials children encounter every day.
- For a baby, sensory play might mean touching a safe textured object or listening to a new sound.
- For a toddler, it could involve scooping and pouring water or exploring playdough.
- For a preschooler, it might become a more purposeful investigation involving numbers, patterns or simple science.
What matters is giving children opportunities to explore, experiment, make choices and discover.
At Beginnings Early Learners, play and exploration are an important part of children’s early learning experiences. Our approach encourages children to learn through meaningful, hands-on experiences that support their curiosity and development.
Whether your child is discovering textures as a baby, experimenting with materials as a toddler or investigating a sensory science activity as a preschooler, everyday play can provide valuable opportunities for learning.
Looking for an early learning environment where children can learn through play and exploration? Explore Beginnings Early Learners to learn more about our early learning programs and environments.
Final Thoughts
Sensory play can grow with your child.
A baby might explore the texture of a soft fabric, a toddler might pour water between containers, and a preschooler might investigate whether an object sinks or floats. Each experience can provide opportunities to explore, communicate, experiment and learn.
You don’t need expensive toys or a complicated setup. Start with simple, age-appropriate materials, follow your child’s interests and give them the freedom to explore.
Sometimes the simplest sensory experiences can lead to the biggest discoveries.