Make a snowy sensory tray with mini construction trucks for an invitation to indoor imaginative play this winter!
When you can’t get out into the snow (or have no snow to get out TO), bring the snow inside!
I love how easy it is to set up a sensory bin or tray.
It took me seconds to put this snowballs and snowplows sensory tray together, and the girls both had a blast with it for nearly 20 minutes, which was just long enough to fully enjoy an extra hot cup of coffe in the morning!
Elena and I recently read this book (Construction Site on Christmas Night by Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford) about construction trucks working hard to build a home for some fire engines for Christmas.
Honestly, trucks are not my cup of tea, but Elena was riveted. We see all kinds of construction trucks all over our town, so I think it struck a chord with her.
Construction Site on Christmas Night is perfect for construction truck lovers, and a perfect companion book for playing with snowballs and trucks!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
How to Make a Snowballs and SnowPlows Play Tray
For this snowy sensory tray, we used
I used a mix of cotton balls and sparkly white pom poms because I just happened to have both! You can totally just use one or the other.
The cotton balls are fun to play with because they stick together. Kids can make an actual big snowball with it!
Cotton balls do shed, kind of. The kids aren’t allowed to play with them on the rug because little cotton fibers get stuck on there, which drives me nuts.
To the sensory tray, I added mini construction trucks to the tray for pushing the snowballs around and little trees.
Some other cute toys and minis to add would be:
I left this play tray up all day, and the girls came back to it fairly often. I’ll admit, I was kind of surprised that Elena spent so much time with the trucks because she’s never shown so much interest in it before.
Maybe the book helped? 😜
What We’re Learning
I’ve labeled this as a sensory tray, and it is a fun sensory experience with the cotton balls. But the main thing Elena (3YO) did was lots of imaginative play with the little trucks and snowballs.
The trucks, of course, can talk, so they coordinated with each other to clean up all the snow on the tray. They also helped clear the “bad” trees and replaced them with “good” trees. (Totally was the same tree just moved to a different spot via the dump truck.)
This little sensory tray was also a great way to extend our reading of Construction Site on Christmas Night.
Lia, the sixteen-month-old, just loved throwing the snowballs in the air, picking them up again, and trying to steal the tray away the minute we turned our backs.
Toddlers…
Your Turn to Make a Snowball Sensory Tray
Fill a tray with cotton balls and pom poms. Add a few trucks and trees, and you’re well on your way to a good half hour of blissful peace.
Also, if anyone can help me figure out the difference between a bulldozer and backhoe, please let me know!
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
[…] those kids who love construction vehicles, this snowballs and snowplows play tray from Entertain Your Toddler would make an awesome sensory bin. I love the combination of the […]