Materials for modifiers -water -sparkles -small plastic fish -sand -seashells -slime -small plastic spiders -Kinetic sand -small plastic dinosaurs
Modifiers
For an easier challenge: -Replace rice and bugs with water, sparkles, and small plastic fish. -Replace rice and bugs with sand and seashells
For a trickier challenge: -Replace rice and bugs with slime, sparkles, and small plastic spiders -Replace rice and bugs with Kinetic sand and small plastic dinosaurs
Follow-up Idea
-Create a sensory quilt. Sew different material squares like silk, felt, cotton, and denim to make the blanket. Place it in a quiet area in the room like the book corner.
-Make floating toys for the water sensory bin with pool noodles. Slice off piece of the noodle and place the piece in the water. You can even make little "sails" for the boats with drinking straws, paper, and tape!
Originating Idea
Our infants classroom has a number of these sensory bottles that the infants love to play with during free choice. Sensory bottles not only allow infants to explore objects, but they enjoy listening to the sound of the rice or sand moving in the bottles, encouraging creative development. In addition, the infants have to find the bugs in the bottle themselves. This will help them learn how to take initiative.
How to Make It
The teacher will fill the empty Gatorade bottle with the rice and small plastic bugs. She will then hot glue the cap of the bottle and screw the cap back on, making it impossible for the infants to open the bottle.
How to Implement It
During free choice time, the teachers should let the infants choose the toys they want to play with. Then she should bring out the bottles and set them on the floor. She should say, "Look at these cool bottles! What do you see inside the bottle?" She should then observe how the children interact with the bottles.
The infants will hold the bottles with their hands and move it around. They may laugh and make silly sounds when they see the bugs hiding in the rice. They may also shake the bottles and listen to the sound of the rice and bugs moving around in the bottle.
When the infants are no longer interacting with the bottles, the teachers should quietly pick up the bottles and put them away on a cabinet the children can reach. That way, they can interact with the bottles later that day.