Sensory Play of the Day: Water Beads!

Often times we get asked at the gym about some of the sensory play items we have. If you’ve ever come for one of our sensory play days, or stopped by our booth at a resource fair, your kids may have had the chance to have some messy fun with us!  Often times we will play with water beads, or what the kids call, orbeez.

Water beads are probably one of our most popular things to play with when we have them. Kids love how soft and squishy they feel and they’re so incredibly soothing when they dip their hands and arms in them. Water beads are great for fine motor play, color learning, sorting, and more! Water beads are non-toxic and environmentally safe, but be cautious with your little ones. They can be a choking hazard. A quick internet search will show you all the fun things you can do with water beads! For us, we love putting them in a large bin with some drops of lavender oil to add an aromatherapy element. Sometimes we’ll put small toys so the children can use their fine motor skills to pull them out and sort them, while getting that nice tactile sensation as their hands and arms roll through the beads!

The great thing about water beads are that they’re inexpensive and very easy to make! And a little goes a long way. Click on this amazon link to purchase the exact ones we use at the gym!