A watermelon themed sensory bin filled with pink sand and alphabet rocks is a fun sensory activity for toddlers and preschoolers.
Practice learning letters while digging for alphabet rocks in the watermelon sensory sand.
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Watermelon Sensory Sand and Alphabet Rocks
Pink sand makes me think of watermelons and summer, so I created a simple watermelon sensory sand activity for my toddler. My 5-year-old wanted to join in as well. Activities like this are perfect for multiple age groups. Kids love digging in sand.
I first used our pink sand that Crayola gave us to make watermelon kinetic play sand. The addition of a few ingredients makes the sand squishable and moldable just like store-bought kinetic sand. Today we’re just using regular pink sand.
To make the sand smell like watermelon, we added watermelon Kool-Aid. This is totally optional, but it adds a fun touch.
Supplies Needed for the Watermelon Sensory Sand Activity
- Large storage bin (or baking dish)
- Pink Crayola play sand (I’ve added an Amazon link but you can find it at Walmart for about $7 during the spring/summer while supplies last.)
- Watermelon Kool-Aid (optional)
- Black rocks (I found a bag at Dollar Tree.)
- Permanent marker or paint marker
- Excavators, dump trucks, or other construction toys
- Shovels, sifters, or other sand toys
- Container for holding the collected rocks. (I used a green plate to represent the rind of a watermelon.)
How to Set Up the Watermelon Sensory Sand Bin
Pour the sand into a large storage bin. Depending on the size of your construction toys, you can choose a smaller bin if needed.
Add alphabet rocks to your sensory bin. (In my mind, the black alphabet rocks mimic watermelon seeds.)
I wrote lowercase letters on the rocks using a paint marker. The paint marker actually rubbed off some of the rocks during play. I’m thinking a permanent marker would have done a better job.
Always supervise sensory play and be sure to choose appropriate size materials for child especially if your child is likely to put things in his or her mouth.
Add construction toys and a container for the rocks to the bin.
Invite your child to search for the alphabet rocks in the sand.
When an alphabet rock is found, ask your child what letter they see. You can also talk about the sounds the letters make or even what words begin with that letter.
Use the construction toys to search and dig for the the rocks. Or use sand toys to scoop and sift the sand to find the rocks.
You can write uppercase letters on the rocks as well. This allowed us to spell my toddler’s name.
Instead of alphabet rocks, you could use number rocks to practice number recognition and counting. We painted rainbow number rocks for a counting game.
More Alphabet Learning Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Construction Truck Alphabet Matching
Make Words with Alphabet Clothespins
Take Learning the Alphabet Outside with some chalk and a sidewalk
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