Winter Sensory Tub and Snow Dough

I finally made a new sensory tub and and playdough to go along with our winter/snow theme.  Right now we’re using Itty Bitty Bookworm’s Bailey Year 2 January curriculum, and we’re reading about snowmen and penguins.

This is probably my favorite sensory tub so far, and The Littlest Apple seems to love it just as much as I do!  I think part of the reason it was such a hit with both of us was that it is super easy to clean up, way easier than those dreaded popcorn kernels!  I’ve seen the idea to use cotton balls for “snow” on many blogs, including Counting Coconuts.  My sensory tub includes cotton balls, some pine cones (that are cinnamon scented), cinnamon sticks, a couple of corks, and some silver jingle bells.  The Littlest Apple particularly enjoyed picking up items from the sensory tub using one of my hair clips (who knew that would be such a hit?!)

The recipe for Snow Dough is from the IBB curriculum, but I’ve seen similar ideas popping up on lots of blogs lately.  For another similar and easy to use playdough recipe, try this one from My Montessori Journey.  I added lots of light blue glitter and about 3 teaspoons of peppermint extract for some extra fun.  The Littlest Apple and I spent nearly an hour playing with this today, which is a record for any activity I think.  (and he was asking to get it back out later in the day!!  Success!)  We made a family of snowmen, a nest with eggs, a baby seal, igloos, snowball forts, a baby with a blanket, and candy canes.