Introduction

Sensory play is an important aspect of growth for every child. Interacting with the world around them begins through their senses. A sensory room combines beneficial tools, activities, and designs to create the perfect space based on your child’s senses.

Children with sensory sensitivities find great fun and benefit from sensory rooms. Designing a sensory room around a child’s sensory needs ensures a safe space where they can thrive and learn. Here are three tips to consider when building a sensory room. As well, we’ve included five sensory-tailored products from Lily and River to furnish your new sensory room.

What is a Sensory Room?

Full of just the right colors, textures, lighting, and more, sensory rooms soothe and comfort. Think of them as a safe space made of exactly what your kids enjoy, including their favorite calming colors, the softest fabrics and squishiest pillows, and engaging games and play equipment designed to stimulate the senses.

A sensory room is, above all, safe. It’s full of soft and comfortable surfaces. For example, beanbag chairs and puffy pillows are always popular. Soft play mats make great floor covers, especially for active children.

Or, consider tailored sensory items like the Little Rocker. With a comfortable memory foam pad liner, the Little Rocker is a climbing tool, play place, and resting seat all in one. Kids can relax in comfort while rocking back and forth as they self-soothe. Flip it upside down for a fun reading cave. With the Little Rocker, the sensory possibilities never end.  

Here are even more ideas to create the perfect sensory room for your kids.


Little Rocker

Designed and Made in America by Seasoned Craftsmen at Lily & River Workshop


(Rocker Version)

(Climber Arch Version)


#1: Activities, Tools, and Toys

Activities, from motor skills to hand-eye coordination, are a great way to build key abilities. Tactile tools and other sensory toys provide safe learning opportunities in a sensory room. Children with sensory sensitivities find great benefit in targeted, sensory toys. Tunnels and ball pits are fun additions that foster body awareness and spatial perception. Sensory bins and fidget toys soothe and help condition children to various textures.

Entire playsets exist around sensory touch. The Little Learner combines matching, stacking, and number games with a Lego/Duplo smart table. Suitable for art, play, and anything the imagination can come up with, the Little Learner creates a perfect sensory base for your children’s room.


Little Learner Playset

Designed and Made in America by Seasoned Craftsmen at Lily & River Workshop


For more active play, consider exercise equipment. This includes:

  • Exercise balls for balancing and light exercise.
  • Trampolines to work out extra energy and encourage spatial awareness.
  • Little Steps to build gross motor skills and teach balance.

Don’t forget sensory bins filled with pasta, beans, or other textured items. These encourage creativity and help young children learn about textures. If your child has sensory sensitivities, only use items that soothe or calm.

Little Steps

Designed and Made in America by Seasoned Craftsmen at Lily & River Workshop



#2: Sensory Surfaces Everywhere

A sensory room should make use of every surface, from floor to ceiling. For instance:

 

  • Use interactive music wall panels for fun audio stimulation.
  • Create light-up panels featuring your child’s favorite images.
  • Promote sensory teaching and even desensitization with textured walls.
  • String programmable LED lights across the ceiling to create soothing light displays.

 

The floor is another essential surface in a sensory room. Thick carpets help keep kids safe should they fall or play too hard. Note, however, that children with sensory sensitivities don’t always enjoy thick or textured carpets. Plus, the thicker the carpet, the more difficult it is to clean.

For an alternative, consider Big Mat. Made of interconnecting pads, the Big Mat is washable and stackable for any use. Create a safe tumbling area, a soft obstacle course, a fort, and more. Also, the Big Mat is entirely washable.


Big Mat

Our multipurpose foam playmat ensures that playtime is also safetime. Connectable, washable, and stackable, the Big Mat is designed to provide a more comfortable, and safer playtime experience for your baby or toddler.

Get 50% Off Big Mat • Use Code: BigMat50

Velcro + Zippers

Washable

Memory Pad

Landing Pad

Connectable, interactive and multi-purpose playmat designed purely for a more fun, comfortable, and safer playtime experience.

Landing Pad

Connectable, interactive and multi-purpose playmat designed purely for a more fun, comfortable, and safer playtime experience.

Connectable, interactive and multi-purpose playmat designed purely for a more fun, comfortable, and safer playtime experience.


As a final tip, color coordinate the surfaces. Some children are sensitive to bright and bold colors. As well, “cool” colors like blues, greens, and earth tones create a soothing feel within a room. Specific toys might be brightly colored to entice use. To keep it a safe, calm space, though, use cool or neutral-colored surfaces.



#3: Audio and Visual Requirements

Sight and sound elements provide excellent finishing touches to your sensory room. Focus on items that engage and offer additional means of exploration. For example:

 

  • Fiber optic lights come in many shapes and forms. Create a fiber optic curtain or spray to display calming colors in safe, interactive means.
  • Bubble tubes provide soothing colors and playful bubbles for your kids to watch. Like lava lamps, bubble tubes promote focus and relaxation.
  • Vibro-acoustic platforms play sounds that you feel. Your kids will literally feel their favorite songs and sounds when using vibro-acoustic devices.

 

For kids with audio sensitivities, noise-canceling headphones create safe areas even when others are in the room. Many visual aids are great at building memory, as well. Little Matchables feature 18 wooden pieces. Each piece highlights a colorful image for your kids to enjoy.

Little Matchables

Designed and Made in America by Seasoned Craftsmen at Lily & River Workshop


Customize the audio and visual requirements for the sensory room to your child’s needs. Focus on calming displays, as the goal of a sensory room is to provide a safe, soothing space.


Final Thoughts

When you design your sensory room, focus on objects that will benefit your child’s body and mind. Professional craftspeople make toys that consider all aspects of engaging, active play, from the mental stimulation games to the many physical activity sets. That’s why kids and parents alike love Lily and River.

Made to promote healthy, safe activity within a soothing space, sensory rooms are great tools for children. Full of engaging and educational objects, they provide hours of safe fun, engaging learning, and peaceful calm.

Bio: Rachel is an Outreach Associate with North Star Inbound. An honor graduate of New York University, she contributes home improvement, landscaping and renovation pieces. When not writing, she enjoys gardening with her mom and spending time in the Florida sunshine.

Original Pikler Toys

Designed and Made in America by Seasoned Craftsmen at Lily & River Workshop

Created for Littles Ages 1 to 6








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With every order, one tree is planted. In just 2021, our team planted over 20,000 trees.



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Lily & River is a family owned & operated children's workshop located in Phoenix, AZ (USA). Our mission is simple - to create the safest and most effective Montessori inspired toys to empower your little's to live a happy and healthy lifestyle.

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Bonus Information

If you made it this far then I bet you would like some of our other resources. In our related post --> The Benefits of Sensory Toys & Sensory Play for Toddlers, we discussed:

  • What is Sensory Play?
  • What are Sensory Toys?
  • Benefits of Sensory Play for Babies and Toddlers
  • Sensory Toys for Gross Motor Skill Development
Rachel Perez