With winter in full gear, this week’s Playful Preschool lesson plan is the Arctic. I decided to up the ante on Jael’s preschool sensory activities and created a mini arctic world. Let’s walk.
To say that this mini world was a hit would be a huge understatement. I knew that my daughter was a sensory junkie but the minute she saw the mini world her first words were, “Oh boy indeed!” (She is not allowed to say OMG ;))
What You Need for Your Arctic Sensory Bin
Please note that affiliate links are used below for your convenience.
Before your child can explore their Arctic sensory bin, a few things need to be gathered.
- Snow (lots of it)
- Dish
Sterilite 16558010 28QT Storage Box
Wild Republic Polar in Nature TubeMcCormick Culinary Blue Food Coloring, 16 oz.
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First, decide where you want your pool of water to be and then place your dish there.
Next, fill your bin with snow, lots of it. If you do not have any snow at the moment, you can simply use cotton balls or use colored ice like we did in this post.
Once your bin is filled, add a few drops of blue food coloring to your dish and then fill it with water.
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Sculpt your mini world. I attempted to make a hilltop as well as an area that the penguins could slide down.
Invite your preschooler to come and play, if they are not already begging to do so.
Extended Play
Once your preschooler is fully into playing with the Arctic mini world, start adding to their vocabulary. I told J that she is playing with her arctic bin. She then asked what arctic meant.
We also discussed the different animals in her bin. She noted a few differences between the emperor penguin and the other penguins. She attempted to say Beluga whale, and it was the most adorable thing ever.
The scientist in her then took over, and she started to add the snow to the water. She realized that the snow melted and eventually more snow was added to the pool.
Once that was done, she decided to throw the animals into the basin to see if the water would then splash on the snow and color it blue.
Be sure to follow my preschool sensory activities board for more ideas as well as the Learning 2 Walk Facebook page as I share a ton of resources.
Follow Learning 2 Walk’s board Preschool Sensory Activities on Pinterest.
My kids have started falling in love with small world play. I haven’t colored my water yet. Was it messy?
No it wasnt messy at all Amanda. You shoyld totally go for it.
What a cool and fun sensory bin! I love play that allows them to explore and just have fun.
Just beautiful!
Thanks Devany
We love small world play – I love the water colour and wish we had snow but I guess Ice Cubes could work
Ice cubes or cotton balls Cerys.
That looks like so much fun. I love your photo with the penguin diving in with the reflection captured in the water. That’s awesome!
Thanks Theresa!! I would love to say it was all planned but it was purely coincidental.
So fun! My son would love this.
This looks so fun! My 3 year old would love this!!!
I need to find some penguins. 🙂
Love this! Really great idea! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This looks like a lot of fun! Thanks for sharing!
Small world play is so fun and something I remember fondly from my childhood!
What a fun sensory idea for kids we are always looking for sensory ideas that teach. Thanks for sharing!