Awake up your senses with a zingy lemon sensory tub!

Lemon scented sight words sensory tub

On dark winter mornings, bring a little zing to your day with this lemon scented sight words sensory tub.

The tub smells so good. It’s energising and lovely to play with, and it’s also great for letter and word practise.

Here’s how to dye and scent the rice and add a literacy twist.

Materials needed:

:: uncooked rice

:: yellow food colouring

:: lemon extract

:: plastic tub with lid or plastic bag 

How to dye rice for sensory play

Place uncooked rice in a plastic tub (with a lid) or a large plastic food bag.

Add a drop of yellow food colouring and a little lemon extract.

Put the lid on the tub/fasten up the bag and scrunch, squash or shake until the colour spreads right through the rice.

Lay the rice out over night to absorb the colour and essence and to dry. 

Sensory tub play ideas

Use the rice to fill a sensory tub. Add bowls, spoons and other loose parts and invite your children to play. The lemon smell is so uplifting and gives the senses a boost.

Add in fridge magnet letters to make an alphabet-themed sensory tub. In addition to the zingy smell, the three dimensional shapes of the letters help the children to learn with all their senses.

Children can use scoops and spoons to hunt out the letters.

Can they find the whole alphabet?

Can they find the letters of their name?

Can they spell any words? 

How to make a calming sensory tub.

At the other end of the day, try our bedtime sensory tub which uses calming lavender to help children chill out.