Exploring Sensory Play With CONNETIX

By Mihaela Tirdea

Finding play that includes both of my girls can be difficult, however play that uses CONNETIX or coloured rice are well-received. Since sensory play can offer so many benefits for children’s development, it provides a great opportunity for children to explore different types of play! Participating in diverse activities that stimulate their senses not only fosters joy, but also establishes the groundwork for cognitive, emotional, and physical development.

Fine and gross motor skill development is aided by sensory play. Hand-eye coordination and muscular strength are improved by manipulating magnetic tiles and also by pouring and scooping in sensory bins. It also helps with emotional development and improves cognitive abilities.

The play takes on a whole new level of excitement when the kids add sensory materials to the Ball Run tubes. They have the opportunity to learn about cause and effect and improve their critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, fine motor skills, and social development, making learning more enjoyable.

CONNETIX makes it quite simple to create a magical and sensory play. I built a simple castle wall in order to create a fairy play. I added two little ball runs and I filled the tray with coloured rice. I also included a few peg doll fairies. It was a simple play full of color and shine with CONNETIX help.

I used the following tiles to create this invitation to play:

For castle:

2 rectangles 4*1 or 8 squares
2 rectangles 3*1 or 6 squares
2 rectangles 2*1 or 4 squares
4 squares
6 small rectangles
12 equilateral triangles
6 isosceles triangles
4 rectangle triangles

For ball runs:

First you will need a tray, try to create a castle wall to fit the tray’s margin. Add the bigger rectangles in the middle and the smaller ones on the edges. Add triangles on top of each rectangle to give it the castle look. Using rectangle triangles and equilateral ones add stages where you can place the fairies. Once the castle is ready, you can add 2 small ball runs, they shouldn’t include more than 2 pairs of tubes each. I recommend leaving some tiles close, as the children might want to add their own fairy houses or other builds (my daughter added a TV for them…). Fill the tray with colored rice or other dry sensorial material and let the fun begin.

The castle can be adapted to any tray you have, the more simple it is the more creative the children will be. They will pour rice into the ball run tubes and call it fairy dust, also transforming the ball runs into slides for fairies. There will be just another world where kids can build anything they want, just sit behind and enjoy the view. Or as I did, join the play, because their joy is contagious.

I used tiles from the following packs:

Mihaela Tirdea

Mihaela is a working mum of two with a passion for open-ended toys. Ella channels this passion into creative and enriching play ideas, exploring the endless possibilities of open-ended play and learning.

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