October 6, 2026

Sensory Crafts for Kids

A child pressing shapes into playdough beside a bin of coloured rice

Sensory crafts ask children to notice how something feels, not only how it looks. Keep the materials large enough for the age, and put a tray under the work. These projects use dough, dry rice, and texture you already have.

Playdough prints

Ages: 3+. Time: 15 minutes.

You need: playdough, a fork, a cup, and a block.

  1. Roll a fat pancake of dough.
  2. Press the fork in to make lines.
  3. Press the cup rim to make a circle.
  4. Squash it flat and start again. The print is the craft.

Homemade dough works. So does store dough. Flour on the table stops sticking.

Dry rice tray

Ages: 4+. Time: 15 minutes.

You need: dry rice, a tray, scoops and cups.

  1. Pour a shallow layer of rice into the tray.
  2. Hide three large buttons or blocks.
  3. Let them scoop, pour, and find the objects.
  4. Pour the rice back into a jar when you are done.

Skip this for children who still put small things in their mouths. Use large pasta instead.

Texture rubbing

Ages: 5+. Time: 15 minutes.

You need: thin paper, an unwrapped crayon, a leaf, screen, or sidewalk.

  1. Lay the paper over the texture.
  2. Rub the side of the crayon.
  3. Try a second texture on the same page.
  4. Label the rubbings in their words.

Peel the paper off a crayon so the side can rub.

Salt-dough tags

Ages: 6+. Time: 40 minutes plus drying.

You need: 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup water, a straw.

  1. Mix the dough until it holds together.
  2. Roll and cut simple shapes.
  3. Poke a hole with a straw.
  4. Air-dry for a day or bake low until firm, with an adult.

Salt dough is for keeping. Do not eat it.

The Imagination Hive is a children’s art and STEM studio in Milton, Ontario. These projects use ordinary paper and scraps so you can start today.

Keep making