Lenten Activities for Your Family, Pt. 4: A Lenten Sensory Tub

This has to be my favorite project this Lent, and it only took about 15 minutes to put it together.  There are many ways to use this, and it's useful for toddlers, preschoolers and school-age kids.  Since it is a sensory tub, it also has the practical purpose of developing pouring, measuring, sorting, classifying, and other skills I'm forgetting!  Here's how to make one.

You'll need:  a tub, ours is a small sweater bin

                    a bag of rice or sand

                    spoons and measuring cups for scooping (sand toys, shovels, rakes, etc. would work too)

                    Lent themed items:  purple cloth which is the color of Lent, the number 40 for 40 days of Lent, letters that spell Lent, rocks, and a cross (ours is 2 branches tied with a purple pipe cleaner.)

                    You could also include twigs, grass, biblical figurines (such as those from a kid's nativity set) pretend pretzels as a Lenten food, and anything purple.  

Start by adding the bag of rice or sand to the tub.  You should use enough to get at least a 1" base in the bottom of the tub.  My preference is rice because I think cleanup is easier.  We also participate in the Rice Bowl in our parish, so it's a nice tie-in!  Next just add your accessories and spoons.  That's it!  Simple and easy!

I pushed our cross into the rice.

You can see the spoons and the number 40.

This is great for toddlers and preschoolers to play with and begin to experience some of the symbols of Lent.  For older kids, you can set this up in your prayer center, or make this a kids prayer center.  The Actor is very tactile, and loves running his hands through the rice or holding a rock while he reads the Bible or prays.  You can also talk about the symbols and what they mean with older children.  For example, purple is the color of penitence, which is why it's used during Lent.  We'll see the priests and deacons wearing purple at Mass.  Jesus spent 40 days in the desert.  Rice can be tied into Rice Bowl and a discussion about hunger and helping others.  Rocks symbolize strength and firmness, reminding us that Lent helps strengthen us to be better followers of Christ. 

This is our bin on the right in our prayer center.

If your kids are above preschool age, you could do a smaller version of this in a serving bowl.  Wrap it in purple cloth and add rice or sand and some rocks.  When your children pray, they can draw their prayers in the sand or rice, hold a rock, or feel the rice or sand in their fingers.  Actually, it works for adults too!  I find praying this way very soothing and calming.  You'll notice in the picture below that I might have added a little too much rice.  I took a good amount out so the children could move it around in the bowl without making a mess.

Our smaller version last year, which works well for older kids.

Some tips for using sensory bins, don't let toddlers or preschoolers use them unsupervised.  Rice is edible, and everything else is too big for Superhero Princess to choke on, but still.  Place a towel or tarp underneath to catch any mess.  My older kids know that everything has to stay contained.  

Let me know if you make your own and how it goes! 

                       Carolyn