Sensory Activity for Preschoolers

Mystery Bag with Flax Seed & a sea turtle hatching poking his head out. Thank you Safari for the mini sea turtle hatchling replica!

This Mystery Bag activity is an extension of a traditional Montessori Sensorial activity. I’ve written on Mystery Bag extensions in the past so definitely check out the posts.

Materials Needed:

A bag you can’t see through preferably with a drawstring
Objects to place in the bag {Our bag included an acorn, a mini clothespin, a pine cone, a small wooden square, a mini violin replica, a crayon, a sea turtle mini replica and a key.
A blindfold {optional}
Cards to match the objects in the bag {optional – I made my own}
Sensory material to use as base like rice, beans, or my personal favorite, flax seed (have you felt the slippery, lovely stuff?)

Approach:

Invite your child to explore the new work with you: “I want to show you something new today. This work we do with our hands.”
First reach in the bag yourself and pull out each object. Ask the child if he knows the name. If not, tell him. If so, great. Either way line the objects up from left to right. Before replacing the objects in the bag review the names.
Show the child the cards to match the object as you go along.
Now offer the child a turn. Remind him to take time to explore with their hands
Do the exercise with the cards laid out near the child: “Can you find X?” or have him identify what he is feeling with his hands
Invite the child to close his eyes or to use a blindfold. If he does not want to, no big deal
Proceed with the exercise until each object is identified. If the child gets most of the objects incorrect, no big deal. Keep the objects the same for a while before switching them up with other items.

Mystery bags are great because they are easy to execute and to make interesting for your child. You can creative by classifying objects or creating a themed bag. The direct aim is to develop the stereognostic sense. Indirect aims include language, pre-writing and pre-reading skills as you line the objects up from left to right and name each object.

Thanks for visiting. I hope we inspired you today.

Marnie

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Marnie Craycroft

Founder, Publisher, Writer & Editor at Carrots Are Orange, Inc.

Marnie began Carrots Are Orange in 2010 after the birth of her first son. Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori inspired homeschooling blog for parents and educators. She hails from Maine, a wonderfully down to earth place to grow up. Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999, currently living in Seattle with her husband and two young boys. She is pursuing Montessori certification.