Surviving the Sensory Activities Mess {+4 Tips to Keep Moms Sane}

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1) USE THE SENSORY MATERIAL YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH.

If you don't (yet) feel like exposing your kitchen right away to corn meal or flour, don't. Don't feel bad, it's totally OK. Your kitchen, your rules 😉 You might feel better trying out a bean or RICE SENSORY BIN at the beginning. Rice is easier to contain than corn meal, and beans are even easier to clean up. I can tell you first-hand and you have easily guessed that too. 🙂 Have a look at this post to get an idea of how to set up the simplest rice sensory bin:

 

2) LIMIT THE SPILL-OUT AREA 

 

Now, let's avoid the common misperception that putting stuff on the kitchen table is the best solution. It is NOT. Not with sensory materials for toddler play 🙂

Learn from my mistakes and use these simple tips to limit the mess: 

No matter how many precautions you take (see No 1), chances are there will be a major mess waiting for you to clean up after your toddler has (happily) finished his play with sensory materials, all covered in flour and tired of sitting quietly. So if you lack the energy for cleaning and for reacting quickly - for example, dusting off the child's clothes before he starts running around, covered in a cloud of what-it-is, - just postpone the sensory play to some other, well-rested day. No need to make a bad day worse 😉

Another solution, the least stressful for moms: bring the sensory materials outside! It's a great choice for the warm part of the year, the kids will love it, and you as well. Especially because it's only a good April-weather shower it takes to make your backyard tiles clean again.

And if it's beans, wheat, corn or other seeds in the play, you might get an extra benefit from it: have a thorough look at the outside play area a few weeks later, some of the seeds might even sprout. An extra gardening lesson for your toddler, sensory bins aside!

Have a look at this post about outdoors sensory play from last summer to get an idea:

And we moved one of the sensory play bins to the balcony this year since it contained a lot of mud play:

...Or perhaps the easiest solution: jump straight to playing with regular sand in the sandbox. No, I'm not offering a link to this one 🙂 as I know you have a perfectly good idea about it. Enjoy playing, you and your kids!