Sand and Shells

Sensory Bucket ~ Reward

I love the beach. The sand and ocean. Unfortunately living in Utah the opportunity to go to the beach is few and far between. When you need a little taste of this feeling bring the beach to you. I purchased 100 lbs. of play sand that you can find at any hardware store for a few dollars. I then bought a large bucket to put the sand in. If you want to be able to cover the sand make sure you buy a container with a lid. I placed a bag a seashells into the sand. You can find your own shells along a real beach or you can go to Walmart and purchase a bag of shells to put into your sand. This then becomes a wonderful sensory activity. Children can dig in the sand and find shells. I also generally turn this into a language building activity by having the kids describe what they are feeling (ex: I feel something bumpy and round) The nice thing about sand is that you can hide all sorts of treasures in the play sand. If you want to have a fun scavenger hunt. Create a little map that will lead the kids to the bucket of sand and then follow the clues to find the sand and treasure. One final thought, students with many sensory needs generally enjoy digging in the sand. I have worked with many kids that would complete their TEACCH jobs and their reward was playing in the sand.