A sensory box is a tub, box, jar or container which is filled with any kind of tactile material that is safe for children to explore with their hands and other senses.  They can use their sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste (when safe!) to experience their environment in new and engaging ways.  This can be a fun, useful learning experience, but also a nice way to relax.

Take a box or container and collect a variety of outdoor items to put into it.  You might want to make it themed to the seasons, your child’s interests or topics being studied, or a book.  You can put in leaves, sticks, twigs, stones, pine cones, feathers, bark – the list in endless.  This could also be supplmented with some edible items from shops – berries, or spices to create different smells etc.  Talk about the different textures of what you can touch and the different ways you can manipulate the resources – can you shred the leaves or the grass?

There are lots of ideas for different sensory boxes to be found on sites, such as, Pinterest.