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Bird Seed Sensory Table

Lesson Plan:

​Activity:

Bird Seed Sensory Table

Lesson plan developed by Ms. Erika Geelhoed, BA Ed

Age Group:

Toddlers

* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with  preschoolers.

Objectives:  

Child will:

• develop sense of touch by experiencing new textures
  
• to increase sensory motor skill

CDA Competency Standard:   

II.4.3a

• Activities and materials encourage children to develop their senses
  • ​​​a) Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch experiences are encouraged through a variety of developmentally appropriate materials and activities

Bird Seed Sensory Table

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Bird Seed Sensory Table

Materials: 

• Large plastic bin
  
• bird seed
  
• plastic Easter eggs
  
• sticks
  

Procedure: 

Prep for sensory play by filling large bin with bird seed, plastic eggs, and sticks. Set bin on the floor and allow child to play. Make sure you monitor child to prevent choking. As the child plays, have a conversation with them about what they are experiencing. Ask them questions and use new vocabulary to describe what is happening. 

Assessment: 

• Observe and record child’s reaction to new textures.
  

Note:  Please provide appropriate supervision to the children in your care when completing all activities. You will need to decide what types of activities are safe for the children in your care.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when providing art and sensory experiences for children.  Toddlers require special caution, only use non-toxic materials, and do not allow toddlers to put things in their mouths that are a choking hazard. ​​​

Online Early Childhood Education

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Open-Ended Materials for Infants and Toddlers 

Open-Ended Materials for Infants and Toddlers

Open-ended materials are objects or play things whose use is not predetermined or narrowly limited in action or purpose; rather, children can use them in many different ways. A set of blocks, for example, is open ended because growing children can see and use them in different ways: Infants reach for, grasp, mouth, drop, and bang blocks; toddlers carry, stack, and make simple structures with blocks. 

Providing infants and toddlers with a variety of open-ended materials like the set of blocks or basket of beads enables them to explore and manipulate the materials in ways that are personally meaningful and suited to their individual levels of development. It also allows them to discover and gain knowledge about the multiple properties and uses of the objects they explore. In these ways, open-ended materials are both more emotionally and intellectually satisfying to children for longer periods of time than single-purpose toys.

Open-Ended Materials for Infants and Toddlers