I’m always looking for fun new activities to do with the kids outdoors. Sure, this construction sensory box could be an indoor activity, but I also like to avoid sand all over the house. Instead of using regular sand, which can be rough and grainy, I decided to make some cloud sand with the kids! Since cloud sand is just flour & baby oil, it’s super soft. I love that you can press it together to mold shapes, and then work it into a crumble. We had fun digging, scooping, and driving vehicles through the sand in our construction sensory box & then reading more about the vehicles we were working with!
What You Need for Your Construction Sensory Box
- Some kind of plastic bin (we got ours at Costco)
- 8 cups of flour
- 1 cup baby oil
- Construction trucks
- rocks from your yard
- shovels, sifters, etc (we got ours at the dollar store)
Time for FUN
I decided to make the cloud sand in advance to avoid splattering my already dirty kitchen floors with more flour. Making cloud sand is super easy! 8 cups of flour plus 1 cup (or a little more to make it more moldable) then mix. Voila! I then dumped it into a medium size plastic bin big enough to contain our construction supplies.
I put in some fun construction vehicles to drive, bulldoze, scoop and more with. The kids collected some rocks from out flower beds & yard, and tossed them in.
Then it’s time to get busy! we built sand piles, bulldozed rocks, dug holes & had fun! The kids loved squishing the sand and figuring out how all the trucks worked.
Let’s Read our Construction Book!
Are familiar with Shine-a-light books yet? Kids (or parents) use flashlights behind the page to see hidden pictures. It is helpful for building critical thinking, and help keep kids’ attention during story time. We love to use them at all times of day, but especially covered up in a blanket fort, snuggled in mom’s bed, or in our rocker getting ready for nap time.
On the Construction Site helps kids discover the world of designing and building buildings! You can explore the different construction vehicles and their jobs on the work site, and continue the work as indoor plumbers, electricians, all until the building is move in ready!
We learned lots of fun facts
- A Hoist is a cage that brings materials up to the top of a building
- A road has many layers under asphalt including earth, gravel & sand
- Construction workers use hand signals to communicate on site
- A pile driver hammers steel poles into the ground for building support
I can’t believe summer is winding down and the kids are heading back to school already! We loved having this fun construction sensory box to play around and do a little learning with. You can check out a bunch of other options for construction books here if you are looking for something a little different! If you would like to be in the loop for more fun & projects like this construction sensory box & book pairing, check out my VIP group! To learn how to earn this book and many more for free, contact me!
[…] a little springtime into your house! If you liked this flower planting sensory box, check out my construction sensory box for some digging & building fun! You can also check out all the UBAM lift-the-flap […]