Easy Sensory Play With Sharks

Do you want to know my favorite thing about summer? It’s how easy it is to throw together a fun, last minute summer activity. Chances are if there’s water involved, then the kids are having a blast. This is why easy sensory play ideas are so awesome.

Every single day when we go outside, we are filling the water table up and grabbing the dinosaurs to play. When they get bored with the dinos (which takes a while but does happen), they start splashing each other and fighting. Since I love their easy outside sensory play so much and didn’t want it to be spoiled, I had to get creative and come up with some fun and easy sensory table ideas. One of our favorite easy sensory table ideas is the shark sensory play.

Lots of times, my 2-year-old uses sharks with dinosaurs, which is pretty exciting for him. I love watching him use the two together and make the dinosaurs and sharks interact. He really gets to use his imagination.

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Our Water Table

Our water table (I also refer to it as a sensory table, so please forgive me if I switch back and forth) has two sides; one is intended for sand and the other for water. I have to replace the sand about once a week, and if they run out too soon they just get water. I’m a mean mom, I know, but they really don’t mind.

I love our sensory table because of the two separate sides and a lid to keep sand clean and dry. Another perk is that it fits my 3 littles without a problem and they have plenty of space to play. It also comes with some dinosaurs, a cup with a handle, and a cup with holes in the bottom. Oh, and it comes with a shovel and a rake, too.

Now I know this is a dinosaur table, but there are so many fun sensory ideas out there that we sometimes have to just ignore the dino effects. 😉 It works out great, and I’m so happy this is the one we chose.

It’s lightweight and easy to clean, which is always a plus for me because I hate when their toys start getting yucky and are a hassle to clean. My toddlers help me with the cleaning, if that says anything.

Other Material For Easy Sensory Play With Sharks

Using sharks in the water table is so easy, as you can simply hand over some sharks and let them get to it, or you can make it a little more exciting by using color changing tablets to make blue water for the sharks to swim around in. I like to use the Crayola bath fizzies, which makes the water fizzy at first but eventually just changes the color of the water.

This time, however, I used blue bath paint. It’s actually soap but it’s all I had at the moment, so we went with it. My littles LOVED it. Plus, their toys got a little scrub down, too. 😉

We went to dollar tree to buy sharks for the kids, but Liam chose a whale instead. See what I mean when I say easy sensory idea? It’s no big deal if your kid wants to change it up a bit, just go with it. Whales, Sharks, whatever little man wants. 😉

Putting It All Together – Sharks in the Sensory Table

So, once I have all of my material ready, I put it all together. I filled the sensory table with water and then let the kids add the stuff to change the color of the water. They really enjoy that part, so I always let them do it.

That’s it! Give your kids the sharks (and whale in my case), and let them play with their sharks in the sensory table. Sometimes I sit with them and we talk about sharks (shark facts, stories, etc.). Other times I just read a book nearby and let them play together. I’m telling you, easy sensory play can be a blast.

What easy sensory activities do your kids love? I’d love to get some more ideas!