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​Simple Sand Sensory Bin

Lesson plan developed by Mrs. Erika Booth, BA Ed
Activity:  
Simple Sand Sensory Bin
Age Group:
Preschool
* Lesson plan objective and assessment can be adapted to use this activity with toddlers or school-age children.
Objectives:  
  • Student will develop sensory motor skill
  • Student will practice small motor skills
  • Student will practice sorting skills
​Simple Sand Sensory Bin
​Simple Sand Sensory Bin
CDA Competency Standard:   
II.5.3
  • Candidate’s interactions promote children’s thinking and problem solving
    • a) Facilitates children’s thinking and problem-solving skills
Materials: 
  • Colored sand
  • Rainbow beads
  • Different colored paper clips
  • Cups and scoops
  • Muffin tin
  • Paintbrushes (for writing)
  • Child tweezers (if desired)
  • Plastic sensory bin
Online Courses
Procedure: 
  1. Create the sensory bins by adding all the materials to the plastic bin
  2. Place the bin in an appropriate area for play and encourage the child to play with you
  3. As they explore, talk about what sorting means. You can ask questions like “why do you think people sort things?” to get the child thinking. 
Assessment: 
  • Observe and record the child’s fine motor skills. Were they able to pour the sand and sort the beads and paper clips into the muffin tin? How did they decide to sort the beads (color, size, etc.)?
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Magnet Magic

Picture
Magnets Throughout the Classroom
When introducing preschool students to magnets, explain that magnetic objects will attach on their own to some, but not all, types of surfaces. Children can discover for themselves the surfaces that attract magnets:
  • Encourage children to test different surfaces throughout the room to see where their magnets will stick. Examples of surfaces that can be used in this experiment include wooden table tops, steel doors or walls, carpet, and metal chair legs.
  • Each time a new surface is tested, ask the children the question "Does the magnet stick to the ____?". After the experiment is finished, briefly explain how and why magnets are attracted to types of metal. 

Dancing String
Attach something metal to a string. Hang the string from a table or the ceiling. Let your children use a magnet to make the objects dance.



What Does a Magnet Stick To
Have the children decorate tongue depressors or Popsicle sticks. Put a piece of magnet tape on the stick. Next take your children on a walk around the school to see what the magnet sticks will stick to.

Magnetic Pans
Fill cupcake pans with sand. Put different metal objects in the sand. Cover the top with something so that the children cannot get to the sand. Finally, give your children magnetic wands to move the metal objects around with.

Magnet Cars
  • Attach bar magnets to the fronts of small toy cars with masking tape.
  • Make sure that the magnets are attached, so that some will repel and some will attract.
  • Let the children play with the cars.
  • Ask them to roll two cars toward each other.   What happens?
  • Can they figure out a way to push a car without touching it?