XPost in Special needs- Please help with 1)sensory table materials and 2)sensory bag

[gatorsmom]

Our school is small and private and does not have the funds for this so I offered to purchase a sensory table with filler materials and little toys as well as put together a sensory bag for the class room. I'm doing this mainly for my son, Greenbean, who has mild Sensory Processing Disorder but we'll leave it there when he moves on. I'm trying to find easy ways for him to soothe himself without being disruptive. I've gotten the approval from the Principal and the Preschool Teacher. So, I just need to put these together. And I need to do it in a week (thus the xpost in Lounge).

Ideas for either? I thought of different themes for the sensory table like:

1)water with wet shaped sponges, small bubble wands and maybe some of the slushy stuff that turns bathwater into slushy- like material (I need to find a link and make sure it's nontoxic)
2)dry beans with toys thrown in
3)sand with summer toys thrown in
4)rice with little toys thrown in
3)autumn leaves
4)snow when it gets cold

But I need help thinking of some fun little toys to throw in with the other materials. Ideas?

Also, I need ideas for an opaque sensory bag. I'm thinking unusual shapes, textures, etc. Any ideas? TIA!

[ABO Mama]

Flour is another good filler.

[Indianamom2]

For the sensory table....

shaving cream or whipped cream
cotton balls
something squishy (maybe mud or pudding)

For the bag...

sandpaper
piece of satin/silky material
tin foil all crumpled up
a ball covered in double-sided tape?

[brittone2]

If you look at pinterest, there are lots of sensory bins on there. One of the big Montessori type bloggers has a ton of sensory bin ideas. You could do seasonal themes:

http://twolittleseeds.blogspot.com/2010/09/autumn-sensory-box.html
http://countingcoconuts.blogspot.com/2011/04/april-sensory-tub-spring.html

Color themes, holiday themes (if they are okay with Halloween, spiders, etc. in the bin)

Looks like there's a slide show here with 60 ideas.
http://www.jonti-craft.com/sensory/Jonti-CraftSensoryTables.asp (click on view online I think).

The counting coconuts blog has a lot of sensory bin ideas.

[gatorsmom]

Ooh, great ideas! Thank you so much !

[o_mom]

packing peanuts (the foam kind)

[Sweetum]

a lot of montessori materials are sensory based like sensory boards with fabrics and materials of different textures that kids can run their hands over. our school used sensory bins with water, cornmeal, flour, sand, water. Playdoh is sensory play too. what is the purpose behind the sensory bag?

[larig]

our preschool teacher used this stuff in the winter. It's awesome and really feels like snow. (http://www.achievement-products.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=1041&keyword=snow&scategoryid=0&CategorySearch=&Brand=&Price=)

She also did big blocks of ice and water with penguin toys and other cold weather animals.

[Seitvonzu]

i've done a mini-tub with black beans for halloween-- i added all sorts of SPOOKY stuff-- including a skeletal hand that i found on clearance (it's very large and very poseable) spider rings, glow in the dark bats, of course pumpkins, some velvety leaves (a bit more saturated red/purple than the normal autumn stuff and GREAT texture) etc. maybe not super school friendly? but the kids who come over can't keep their hands out of it.

i bought black beans as our base medium because i also thought they would work for "fake" gardening play-- plant tiny veggies/play food, fake flowers, etc. this easily extends to "garden" or "spring" (add tiny insects-- butterflies, lady bugs, various gardening tools) i've also done more seasonal with things like pots of gold, rainbows, and i had various valentines stuff in there too (goes with flowers /hearts containers for scooping)

[brittone2]

As long as he's not going to put it in his mouth, Dollar Tree stores have lots of things you can use in sensory bins. I think that's where a lot of the bloggers get items for bins.