7 Great Summer Sensory Play Ideas for Kids Age 0-5

Today I’m sharing some summer sensory play ideas for kids of all ages. I’ll break them down into sensory play ideas for babies, Summer sensory play ideas for toddlers and sensory play ideas for pre-schoolers. Sensory play stimulates your child’s senses, helping them to explore the world in a fun and exciting manner, whilst also developing their fine and gross motor skills. There are tons of benefits to engaging in sensory play, and you can begin the play process when your child is still a baby.

Summer is such a fantastic time of year to really explore sensory play with your children. Due to the warmer weather, you can explore a bit more with your sensory play ideas and take them outside. Sensory play can sometimes get a bit messy, so having the opportunity to explore using the 5 senses outside makes it easier for parents to control, and more fun for children as there are fewer restrictions. 

Here are some of our favourite engaging and exciting summer sensory play ideas for you and your children to explore over the warmer months.

Summer Sensory Play Ideas For Babies

Exploring sensory play with babies is an extremely rewarding experience. Babies are often mesmerised by sensory play activities, and engaging in these activities can give your baby a brilliant start to their developmental journey. 

There are plenty of summer sensory play ideas that babies love. Here are just a few to get you started.

• Blowing bubbles. Blowing bubbles with your baby is a gentle way to introduce sensory play into your baby’s play routine. Babies love watching the bubbles float around and feeling them pop on their skin. Older babies may also enjoy trying to reach out and catch the bubbles.
• Taste safe finger paints. A really fun summer sensory play idea for babies is to make your own taste safe finger paint using corn flour, boiling water, a splash of cold water, and some food colouring. Taste safe baby paint is the perfect summer sensory play activity for babies as it feels silky smooth and is very easy to clean up when you’re finished.
• Dyed spaghetti. Use food colouring and water to dye spaghetti strands in different colours. Drain all the water from the spaghetti and you’re left with malleable, colourful spaghetti that’s safe for your baby to taste, throw around, or squish. 

Summer Sensory Play Ideas For Toddlers

Toddlers enjoy many of the same summer sensory play ideas as babies, but here are a few extra ideas to help you to keep sensory play for toddlers interesting.

• Water beads. Water beads are a wonderful sensory play item for children who are no longer interested in putting things in their mouths. Water beads are cheap to buy and can be used in a huge variety of sensory play activities. Before you and your toddlers can play with water beads, they’ll need to be hydrated in water – this can take around 8 hours – therefore it’s best to plan your summer sensory play ideas in advance. 
• Sandpits. Play sand is another cheap sensory play material that is brilliant for use during the summer months. The possibilities are endless – you could build sand castles, create a small world beach scene, or even add water and freeze overnight for some excavation play. 

Summer Sensory Play Ideas For Preschoolers

Preschool children love sensory play! By now, they’re extremely into exploring the world around them, testing the concept of cause and effect, and, of course, they love getting messy! 

• Make your own garden. Creating your own mini garden is a super fun summer sensory play activity for school aged children. Not only do children get to dig holes and use all the utensils in the soil, but when you grow bright flowers or smelly herbs, you can reap the benefits of this play activity for months.
• Water play. When you have preschool aged children, a wonderful way to keep them entertained is to just add water! So much fun can be had with a tray of water, some plastic scoops, and some added ingredients (plastic toys, lemon slices, bottle lids etc). When it comes to water play, your imagination is your only limit.