Simple Sensory Play | Hands-Free Ice Cube Race

As always, I am excited to be back for another Saturday Science. I am especially excited today  because if you are a regular here, you know this is also day 7 of simple sensory play with ice! All week we have been part of the Sensory Play Blog Hop, hosted by my new favorite blog, Sensory Activities for Kids. Today, I wanted to continue with the sensory fun, by sharing another activity that involves our senses. My goal is to bring you simple sensory play by using the same material throughout the whole series.  One material for 7 activities engaging 7 sensory systems.

ORAL MOTOR PLAY | Hands Free Ice Races

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Sensory System

Oral Motor

Benefits of  Oral Motor Sensory Play

Sensory play is such an important part of early childhood. Not only can it be vital in speech, language, and cognitive development, it also plays a key role in helping children organize their world and allows them to integrate the input to develop a healthy sensory system.

The Gustatory Sense is responsible for a child’s sense of taste. However, not only does this sense relate to a child’s ability to tolorate various foods, but also their need for oral input such as biting, chewing and sucking. When speaking of sensory play it relates to not just taste and sensations but to the development of important oral motor skills which are important in speech and language development.

Oral motor play provides an opportunity for children to be presented with the organizing sensations they are craving to better facilitate a lengthy attention span. Chewing, sucking and blowing can strengthen the muscles in the jaw and mouth as well as be alerting for children to help them prepare and focus on other tasks.

Oral motor play is the foundation for tasks such as reading, isolation of sounds, production of words/phrase, and so much more.

Materials Needed

Ice
Water
Large Plastic Bin
Straws

Optional Materials

Tongs
Tape

Icy Sensory Play Ice races

Instructions for this Simple Oral Motor Sensory Experiment

Setup for this activity was simple and easy. We began by marking the container with tape at both ends to mark a start and finish line. We added a line in the middle to make “lanes” for the racing and then we filled the container with water. Filling the container provided proprioceptive input as well.

ice sensory science experiment set up

Once we were all set up, I let the boys explore and experiment on their own. The object of this sensory play activity was to get the ice cube to the other side of the bin without using their hands. They could only blow from the straw. This took planning, strategy, and trial and error.

ice cube race

Bones (6) played for about 30 minutes, changing his technique to get a faster time.

Hands Free Ice Races Summer Fun

Next, it was time for the boys to race the ice cubes against each other. They both chose their favorite ice cube, picked a strategy to use, and went to town blowing. It was so fun to them problem solve and plan.

It was a great opportunity to talk about the properties of ice and water, why the ice was melting, and the reason they were able to move the ice.

ice cube sensory play science game

This game can be played solo or as a race if you have children that can handle competition well. My boys tend to prefer playing against themselves by using a timer to beat their best time. They played this game over an over throughout the day.

It is a great calming game on a hot summer day. The oral stimulation will help calm and center your child, allowing them to be open and receptive to other tasks.

Did you know sensory play could be so easy and so beneficial? It doesn’t have to take expensive materials and complex plans to make it work.

 simple sensory play ice series

Click more to read other posts from our Simple Sensory Play | Ice Series!

More Resources for Oral Motor Sensory Play

Sensory Diet Ideas for Oral Seeking Behaviors | Livestrong
Oral Sensory Diet | Everyday Life

Alerting Snacks to Regulate Sensory Input | Special-Ism.com

Follow Dayna :: Lemon Lime Adventures’s board Sensory Play on Pinterest.

ARE YOU READY FOR MORE SCIENCE FUN?

Saturday Science Blog Hop

TIME FOR SATURDAY SCIENCE BLOG HOP!

VISIT THESE GREAT BLOGGERS FOR MORE FUN SATURDAY SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS TOO!

Sprouting Birdseed from Stir the Wonder
Oil and Water Experiment from P is for Preschooler
Bouncing Egg Experiment from The Joys of Boys
6 Hands-On Ocean Science Activities from Little Bins for Little Hands

Follow Science Experiments for Kids on Pinterest.

What is your favorite science activity? I would love to hear! connect with me on FacebookTwitterGoogle+PinterestInstagram or subscribe by email. I can’t wait to hear your ideas.

 


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10 thoughts on “Simple Sensory Play | Hands-Free Ice Cube Race”

  1. I love all the ice ideas you’ve shared this week! I’m keeping this particular one in mind for the coming week, when the weather will be hot enough that playing with ice will be a treat!

    1. Lemon Lime Adventures

      Thank you so much! It was really fun! I hope you enjoy doing it, let me know if you do!

    1. Lemon Lime Adventures

      I know right! Thanks!

  2. this looks like so much fun! I think I’ll try it with different shaped/sizes ice cubes too see if it makes any difference in speed/maneuverability (that and I just really want to do it with X-wings…)

    1. Lemon Lime Adventures

      Absolutely! We were going to do differences with the ice cubes but for the simplicity we chose to just use the bag of ice, as is! We can’t wait to freeze LEGO ice cubes!

  3. Pingback: 8 More Ideas Using Straws

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