Tutorial: Make a Nature Themed Sensory Box

I am a big fan of sensory tables for kids but they can be very costly to buy/build. Claire's Nana does have plans for one her, but to tide us over until it is ready I made us a makeshift one in a matter of minutes...and you can to!

A sensory table is an activity centre that encourages child led play and exploration, stimulating a child's keen senses. Being that it is fall I thought I would make a nature inspired one with different shapes and textures. The first thing I did was find a long rectangular box and reinforce it with some packing tape.

Then I went through my tupperwear cupboard to find some interesting shaped containers that were missing lids, instant containers for different nature finds! I traced the bottom of these on the top of the box. Because tupperwear has a lip to it for the lid to snap on to they were perfect for whats coming next....

Next I cut out the shapes I had traced making perfectly sized holes that I could slide the containers into so that Claire could reach inside the sensory box to discover items. Before I inserted them, I painted the box black, it could be any color you want though! Once the paint had dried I slid the containers in and filled them with little bits of nature that Claire and I found on a recent trip to the beach.

Pine cones, drift wood and big (non-choke size) rocks in all sorts of shapes and colors. A West Coast themed sensory box that took me 20 minutes and no money to make!