Home > Sensory Play for Kids > Arctic Sensory Tub

Arctic Sensory Tub

As winter approaches it’s time to switch out the Autumn and Leaf books and look towards books that feature colder weather and some of our favourite Winter and Polar Animals. “Forever” by Emma Dodd is a beautiful heartwarming story about the love that lasts forever between parent and child. The story is the perfect way to end the day and is our favourite bedtime story. I wanted to create my son an Arctic Sensory Tub based on the story that could be used in the lead up to bed time.

Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

My son has Sensory Processing Disorder and is a sensory seeker. Through trial and error, we have discovered that sensory tubs with heavier items have a calming effect on him. He enjoys exploring different textures and temperatures so I wanted to factor this into our Arctic Sensory Tub.

MATERIALS NEEDED TO MAKE AN ARCTIC SENSORY TUB

White storage box

Frozen White Rice Steam Bags – I used three small steam bags

White Styrofoam peanuts

Cotton Wool Balls

Large polar bear and Small polar bear

Small round mirror

Indoor Snowballs

 Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

PREPARATION FOR THE ARCTIC SENSORY TUB

First I placed the mirror coaster into the middle of the white storage box. This would be used to represent the frozen ice. Next, I emptied three bags of frozen white rice around the storage box. The white rice is a perfect snow colour and as the rice is frozen, it adds an additional sensory element to the activity.

Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

Around the edges of the sensory tub, I added the indoor snowballs. These crunchy snowballs are soft and feel just like snow without getting your hands cold. I then added white styrofoam peanuts and cotton wool balls to the sensory tub, before adding the large and small polar bears.

Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

PLAYING WITH THE ARCTIC SENSORY TUB


As soon as my son saw the Arctic Sensory Tub he recognised the Mummy and Baby polar bears from Forever. He placed his hands in the white rice and exclaimed that it was cold just like snow. He spent ages moving the frozen rice around the sensory tub, scooping it up with his hands and watching it fall back down again.

He soon discovered his reflection in the mirror and placed the baby polar bear beside the frozen lake. He got the two polar bears to talk about how much they loved each other.

Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

My son loves the part in the story that reads “If you’re ever feeling lost, know that I will find you.” My son wanted the baby polar bear to hide among the white snow in a game of hide and seek. The Mummy polar bear then had to find her baby.

The frozen rice remained intact, whilst my son explored the Arctic Sensory Tub. When it was bedtime I placed the rice in a Ziploc bag to store it in the freezer. It means that the contents of our Arctic Sensory Tub can be used time and time again whenever my son wants to explore the story Forever again.


Extend the Arctic Sensory Tub with these ideas:


Pin this Arctic Sensory Tub for Winter Themed Play

Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

Share this Sensory Tub on Facebook

Put together an Arctic Sensory Tub and explore, temperature, texture as well as connect with the story Forever by Emma Dodd and retell using toy animals.

Author
Emma Edwards

During a difficult pregnancy suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) Emma vowed to make every day an adventure once she had recovered. Adventures of Adam is the outcome of completing a 100 day play challenge with Adam as part of that promise. Emma has a section dedicated to HG friendly play activities so that Mums can still be part of their children’s play whilst they are ill.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.