Wow, this Monster Truck Sensory Tub was one of those projects that I wish I had done years ago. It cost very little to make (we used everything we already had at home) and the kids spent hours playing with it! I even got the ‘dirt’ for FREE…from Starbucks of all places!!
What we used –
- 1 medium plastic storage container with lid (handy to store away for future play)
- 2 x bags of recycled coffee grounds (enough to mostly fill our tub)
- Monster Trucks
- Bag of loose rocks from our local discount store
- Loose play objects – (signs, drums and a wooden bridge from a Dinosaur play kit)
My 5 year old daughter asked if she could set the activity up as a surprise for her 2 year old brother – she spent the whole 2 hours of his nap time playing with it…I mean ‘setting it up’ lol.
Master M was so excited to see it waiting for him! He immediately set about “roaring” the Monster Trucks around the track and exploring all the loose parts in the tub…all the while I quietly sat back and enjoyed snapping a few photos and having a nice cup of coffee – because the lovely aroma of coffee was all through the air and making me thirsty.
We’ve stored our tub exactly how it is (with the lid on) for more play tomorrow, then when they’ve had enough fun with it they can help me spread the coffee grounds through the garden (yes, coffee grounds are great for your garden!!). *Obviously we don’t want our children eating the ‘dirt’, if you’re concerned you should keep a close eye on them.
It wasn’t until after we did this activity that I googled this title and found some more great ideas – my favourite was this Monster Truck Sensory Tub by Crayon Box Chronicles. I wish I had seen it earlier because we would have used some of their awesome ideas! You can check it out here!
I hope you enjoy this great Sensory Play idea and give it a try at home!
Louise x
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Awesome idea. 🙂
Just out of curiosity, what convinced you to use faux-dirt instead of actual dirt? I think I’d be more concerned about my toddler secretly eating coffee grounds (unless they were decaf, obviously) versus plain old backyard dirt…
Hi Liz,
We did this to try something different as we regularly play with dirt boxes too – the coffee grounds added the sense of smell to the sensory exploration too . My son didn’t eat any and he was also was well supervised (he’s not into eating dirt either.
It really doesn’t matter what material you use to do it. I’m just sharing an idea and activity that we did ourselves.
There are hundreds of different sensory play materials out there that would be awesome for this.
As a Mum that sets up a lot of sensory play activities, I like to mix things up and try new things.
Hope that helps you see my ‘point’ in doing it?
Louise x
Trust me, my kids play in plenty of real dirt…and MUD lol :).
Hi Louise. Thank you so much for including a link and shout out to our Monster Truck Bin! Great bin and images. Pinned. 🙂
Hi Heather, You are so welcome :). I LOVED finding your post…just wish I had seen it before we made ours. We will do it again using some of your suggestions next time – my kids loved it! Louise x
Coffee grounds can sting if they get into small cuts on fingers and hands. I know from trying another project similar to this with my preschool class.