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Let’s sprinkle a dash of color and a whole lot of fun into learning phonics! Picture this – a sensory bin bustling with vibrantly colored or snow-white rice, a playground of textures and hues where little toys are ready to help your child learn and practice their letters and sounds. Our Letter Sound Matching Sensory Bin is here to offer a playful bridge between touch-and-feel fun and the exciting world of letters and sounds. Let’s get started!

Phonics: The Gateway to Reading

At the heart of this activity lies the powerful world of phonics, a critical stepping stone in the journey of early reading. It builds a natural understanding of the sound-letter relationship, grooming them to be fluent readers as they grow.

Learning phonics early on has a monumental impact on a child’s path to becoming a fluent reader. It instills a deep understanding of the way sounds correspond to letters, which is a fundamental pre-reading skill. This understanding forms the basis for spelling and pronunciation, fostering a clear and confident communication style as children grow. Moreover, it can enhance a child’s comprehension skills; as they learn to decode words more naturally, they can focus more on understanding the meaning behind the sentences rather than stumbling over individual words. Essentially, phonics empowers them with the tools to decode the world of words, setting a firm foundation for a lifelong love of reading and learning. It invites kids into a rich literary world, where they can navigate complex ideas with ease, thanks to their early start with phonics. It’s an investment in their educational future, nurturing curious, independent, and insightful learners.

WILL YOU TRY THIS LETTER SOUNDS MATCHING SENSORY BIN WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!

Gathering the Essentials

A sensory bin or large storage container (I like this one)
Colored or white rice (Find the colored rice recipe here)
Small toys that correspond with the chosen letter sounds
Sticky notes and pen
Containers from this sensory bin or separate bowls for each letter

Setting Up the Sound Sensory Wonderland

Step 1: Begin with the foundation of our playful learning scape — a sensory bin filled with colored or white rice. It’s not just the vibrant backdrop for our activity but a wonderland offering a rich sensory experience.

Step 2: Let’s pick six letters to be the stars of the day. It could be the initial letters of their names or any other letters you wish to introduce.

Step 3: The hunt is on for small toys that align with our chosen letters. Be it a tiny apple for ‘A’ or a small boat for ‘B’, let’s gather a miniature world of objects representing our letters.

Step 4: Write down the chosen letters on sticky notes and place them in separate containers or bowls.

Step 5: Scatter the small toys in the rice sensory bin and invite the young learners to begin their letter-sound matching adventure.

Sprouting Skills

As the little ones delve into the sensory bin, navigating the world of textures and colors, they are nurturing a range of skills:

Phonics Mastery: Through this tactile exploration, they are associating sounds with letters, laying a strong foundation for reading in the years to come.
Fine Motor Skills: Digging, picking, and matching; it’s a workout for those tiny fingers, enhancing fine motor skills.
Vocabulary Building: Each toy picked is a new word learned, expanding their budding vocabulary one toy at a time.

Path to Success

To ensure the journey is as enchanting as it is educational, here are a few tips:

Guidance: Initially, guide them through the sounds of the letters to foster correct associations.
Praise: Celebrate their successful matches with encouraging words to boost their confidence.
Variations: Keep the activity fresh and exciting by changing the letters and toys.
Extension: Can your child think of other items that begin that letter sound?

Age Suitability

This activity is good for toddlers aged children 3 years old and up with adult assistance.

Mess Level

The mess level for this activity is medium.

Difficulty to Create

Low.

Skills Developed

Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.

350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.

Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here.