Dirt and Worms Sensory Bin

Lesson Plan:

Activity: Dirt and Worms Sensory Bin
Lesson plan developed by Ms. Erika Geelhoed, BA Ed

Age Group:
Young Infants
* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with mobile infants, toddlers or preschoolers.

Objectives:
Child will:

interact and explore new textures
increase sensory motor skills

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 throughout a variety of developmentally appropriate materials and activities

Dirt and Worms Sensory Bin

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Materials:

large bin
cooked spaghetti noodles
cocoa powder

Procedure:

After cooking and draining noodles, put them in the large bin along with several cups of cocoa powder. Place bin on the ground and sit with child in your lap. As they begin exploring, talk with them about what they are experiencing. Have a conversation and ask questions involving their sense of touch. Remember to use descriptive language and introduce new vocabulary during the lesson.

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. Infants require special caution, only use non-toxic materials, and do not allow infants to put things in their mouths that are a choking hazard.

Assessment:

Observe and record how the infant reacts to the noodles and powder.

Online Early Childhood Education

Click on the course icon for enrollment information.

A Many-Textured Environment

To support the infants’ and toddlers’ direct sensory-motor method of learning, include in their environment a lot of different textures for tactile exploration. Teachers can consider the following opportunities to incorporate or make use of textural variety in and around their setting:
Varied floor surfaces, such as carpet, vinyl tile, and wood; outdoor walkways with small mirrors, ceramic tiles, or smooth stones embedded in them
Various types of movable surfaces to sit on, lie on, crawl on, play on, such as tatami (straw) mats, blankets, pillows, comforters, fleeces, mattresses, and futons; a plastic wading pool containing sand or filled with crumpled newsprint

A variety of outdoor surfaces, such as grass, fine ground covers, wooden decks and pathways, flat stone pathways, areas of sand, areas of soil, and leaf-covered areas A variety of low-level wall surfaces/coverings, such as metal mirrors, cork, wood, butcher paper, foil, cardboard egg cartons, pegboard, glass brick, fabric, Con-Tact paper with the sticky side out
Various types of outdoor barriers or fences made of such materials as board, stone, brick, chain link, rubber tile, straw bales, and tree stumps
A variety of fabrics used for drapery, upholstery, and pillow/mattress coverings, such as corduroy, chenille, polished cotton, seersucker, ribbon, felt, silk, velveteen, leather, vinyl, suede, and knitted or crocheted pieces