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You are here: Home / Fine Motor Activities / Sensory Smart Treasure Hunt!

Sensory Smart Treasure Hunt!

July 12, 2016 by Amy Smith

Reaching into a big bowl to find a “hidden treasure” is ever so tempting for many kids, so why not increase the educational value of this game so that it’s a “sensory smart” treasure hunt!  Children at a young age learn more from touch than they do from listening, so any type of hands-on learning activity is especially beneficial for understanding and retaining information.Sensory activity that helps children hunt for and learn new letters or numbers- its a perfect game for home or school to try out today!

Children are also exploring new sensory sensations through the various substances in the bowl by registering how objects feel, move, sound, and look like.  Plus, kids are getting some great fine motor strengthening and dexterity skill practice in as well.

Add all these benefits together along with the excitement of a “treasure hunt”, and it makes a really FUN and enriching game!

Materials needed

Bowl

Some type of substance such as dry beans, rice, sand, or water

Letters, numbers, or coins

(Optional) Extra treasure chest “goodies” like toy rings, necklaces, rubber snakes, or small toys

How to Play

There are SO MANY different ways you can play this game to tailor it to your child’s learning needs!  Here are just a few suggestions:

  • Learning letter or number recognition– Hide plastic letters or numbers in a bowl and have your child pull them out individually. Have your child identify the letter or number, and if incorrect, hide it back in the bowl to find again.beans game reaching in
  • Coin recognition- Hide various coins (i.e. quarters, dimes, pennies, etc..) in the bowl and ask your child to find them and identify what type of coin it ishidden treasure coins
  • Counting money- Have your child pull all of the coins out of the bowl, then add up how much “treasure” they foundtreasure coins
  • Learning spelling words- Write out your child’s spelling words on paper and place beside the bowl.  Have your child reach into the bowl and pull out the letters until they find the ones needed for a spelling word and place over the written word. treasure letters
  • Learning new sensory experiences- If your child is a little skittish about putting his hand in a bowl full of something, start by giving some deep pressure to your child’s hand through a massage or squeezes.  Then begin by using a substance he’s comfortable putting his hand into ( perhaps cotton balls) and slowly work up to new sensory experiences.  Try using very motivating objects to hunt for as well! touching handsedited
  • Doing fine motor strengthening- If you’d like to increase your child’s fine motor strength or dexterity, try using thicker substances that will provide more resistance (i.e. make it harder) for your child to dig through.  Substances like jello, pudding, cooked noodles, or sand are excellent (and FUN) choices!beans game reaching in

 

Hopefully your “sensory smart” treasure hunt leads you to finding laughter, learning, and lots of fun as well!
Enjoy!

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Related

Filed Under: Fine Motor Activities, Sensory Regulation Tagged With: learning activities, sensory activities, tactile activities

Disclaimer

Kids Play Smarter is a blog about general ideas, theories, and concepts related to the field of occupational therapy and the growth and development of all children. The information presented on this blog is not intended to serve as or replace occupational therapy services for your child. The information on this blog is for entertainment, informational, and educational purposes only. This blog is not meant to replace formal professional consultation or evaluation from a qualified clinician. All children need to have the approval of a physician to participate in physical activities, including those described on this blog. In addition, children need to be supervised by a responsible adult at ALL times when completing activities that are illustrated and described on this blog. The author of this blog is NOT responsible or liable for any damage, injury, accident, illness, death, or adverse reaction due to participation in the activities described on the website.

Comments

  1. Donna Crane says

    September 15, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    Hi. I’m a great grandma of 4 adorable girls ages 10–2yrs. Looking for games to help strengthen motor skills as well as getting them away from so much time on silly electronic games. The 7 yr old has speech pronunce problems and needs help.Do you have or know where we could find activity games to help her? Thank you for helping these kids.My computer is down so using cell phone at moment.

Welcome to Kids Play Smarter

Amy Smith I am an occupational therapist with over 10 years of experience working with children. I created this website to offer parents, teachers, and therapists FREE ideas, strategies, and activities that they can do with their children to improve their fine and gross motor skills, handwriting, academic learning, and regulate their sensory system all while "playing" (just playing smarter)! Read More…

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