DIY Sensory Materials: 10 Ideas for Home

Why Are Sensory Materials Important?

In early childhood education, sensory experience is the foundation. Before a child understands abstract concepts (big/small, heavy/light, rough/smooth), they must feel them.

Professional sensory materials (like those used in Montessori classrooms) are beautiful… and expensive. A complete set costs several thousand dollars.

Good news: you can make most of them at home. For pennies. Often with things you already have.

DIY Principles for Quality Materials

Before you start, remember:

1. Quality matters - better 5 well-made materials than 20 mediocre ones
2. Isolate the quality - one material = one quality (e.g., ONLY differences in texture)
3. Aesthetics - beautiful, neat, inviting
4. Durability - the child will use it repeatedly
5. Control of error - the child should be able to see if they did it correctly

---

TOUCH

1. Touch Tablets (Rough and Smooth Boards)

Materials (~$4):

• 6 pieces of plywood or cardboard (10x10 cm / 4x4 inches)
• Sandpaper of different grades (40, 80, 120, 180, 240, 320)
• Glue

Instructions:

1. Glue sandpaper onto the tablets
2. Mark the back with numbers (from roughest to smoothest)

Use:

• Gradation: arrange from roughest to smoothest
• Matching: find pairs (you need 2 sets)
• With closed eyes: recognize the texture

---

2. Mystery Bag

Materials (~$3):

• Opaque bag (cotton)
• 10-12 everyday objects: spoon, ball, block, shell, pinecone, button, key…

Use:

• Put your hand in without looking
• Describe what you feel
• Guess what it is
• Pull it out and check

Advanced variant: Two bags with identical objects - find pairs by touch.

---

3. Fabric Boxes

Materials (~$7):

• Pieces of different fabrics (10x10 cm / 4x4 inches): velvet, silk, linen, wool, felt, fleece, satin, corduroy
• 2 pieces of each fabric
• Storage box

Use:

• Matching pairs (with open or closed eyes)
• Gradation: from smoothest to roughest
• Nomenclature: “This is velvet”

---

4. Thermic Tablets

Materials (~$5):

• Pieces of different materials of the same size: wood, metal (sheet metal), stone, cork, rubber, glass
• Storage tray

Use: All have the same temperature (room temperature), but we feel them as differently warm. Metal feels cold, wood feels warm.

“Which feels coldest? And warmest? Why?”

---

SIGHT

5. DIY Color Tablets (Color Box 2)

Materials (~$8):

• Paint samples from hardware store (FREE!)
• Scissors, glue, cardboard

Instructions:

1. Cut squares of equal size from samples
2. Glue onto sturdy cardboard
3. Make 2 sets (for matching) or a series of shades

Use:

• Matching pairs (11 pairs of basic colors)
• Gradation of shades (from lightest to darkest)

---

6. DIY Knobless Cylinders

Materials (~$10):

• Wooden cylinders from discount stores (different sizes)
• OR: jar lids of different sizes
• OR: toilet paper rolls (trimmed)

Use:

• Gradation by size
• Building towers
• Comparing: “which is taller?“

---

7. Shadow Matching Cards

Materials (~$1):

• White cardboard
• Black marker or printer
• Objects to match

Instructions:

1. Trace outlines of objects (spoon, scissors, cup…)
2. Fill in with black (or print)
3. Laminate

Use: Child matches real object to its shadow.

---

HEARING

8. Sound Cylinders

Materials (~$4):

• 6-8 identical containers (from cream, kinder eggs, effervescent tablets)
• Different materials: rice, peas, sand, buttons, paper clips, cotton

Instructions:

1. Fill containers (2 with each material)
2. Seal/cover so the contents aren’t visible
3. Mark the bottom of matching pairs with the same color (control of error)

Use:

• Shake and find pairs
• Gradation: from quietest to loudest

---

9. Water Bells

Materials (~$3):

• 6-8 identical glasses or bottles
• Water
• Wooden stick

Instructions: Fill with water at different levels (each produces a different sound).

Use:

• Arrange from lowest to highest pitch
• Play a simple melody
• Find pairs (you need 2 sets)

---

SMELL

10. Smelling Jars

Materials (~$5):

• 6-8 small jars (from jam, cream)
• Scented materials: cinnamon, vanilla, coffee, mint, lavender, orange peel, cloves, cumin

Instructions:

1. Put materials into jars
2. Cover with cotton (so contents aren’t visible)
3. Make 2 sets (for matching)

Use:

• Smell and match pairs
• Nomenclature: “This smells like…”
• Categories: “What’s spicy? What’s fruity?”

Note: Scents need to be refreshed every few weeks.

---

TASTE

11. Tasting Bottles

Materials (~$4):

• Small bottles with droppers
• Solutions: salty (salt), sweet (sugar), sour (lemon), bitter (coffee)

Use (with parent supervision):

• Drop on tongue
• “What taste is this?”
• Matching pairs

Hygiene: Each child has their own pipette or spoon.

---

WEIGHT

12. Baric Tablets (Weight Bags)

Materials (~$5):

• 6-8 identical bags (cotton or fabric)
• Filling: rice, sand, pebbles - different amounts for different weights

Instructions:

1. Fill bags so each weighs differently
2. Make pairs (2x the same weight)
3. Mark pairs with the same color on the bottom (control of error)

Use:

• Find pairs of the same weight
• Gradation: from lightest to heaviest
• “Which is heavier? Which is lighter?”

---

SIZE / DIMENSION

13. DIY Pink Tower

Materials (~$10):

• Wooden blocks (discount stores, IKEA) or
• Cardboard boxes painted pink

Official tower has 10 cubes (from 1cm³ to 10cm³). Simplified version: 5 cubes.

---

14. Matryoshka / Nesting Cups

Materials (~$7):

• Nesting cups (available everywhere)
• Or: kitchen containers of different sizes

Use:

• Tower (from largest)
• Nesting (smaller in larger)
• Comparing sizes

---

15. DIY Red Rods

Materials (~$8):

• Wooden strips (hardware store)
• Red paint

Instructions: Cut to lengths: 10cm, 20cm, 30cm, 40cm, 50cm (5 rods instead of 10).

Use:

• Gradation from shortest to longest
• Comparing: “How much longer is this one?”

---

Organization and Storage

Tray for Each Material

Each activity on a separate tray. Child takes the whole tray, uses it, returns it.

Rotation

5-7 materials at a time. Change every 2-3 weeks.

Shelf at Child’s Height

Child can reach and put back independently.

Aesthetics

Clean, neat, inviting. Dirty/broken = we replace.

---

Shopping List (everything ~$40)

From hardware store:

• Sandpaper (set)
• Paint samples (free!)
• Wooden strips
• Plywood

From discount stores:

• Cotton bags
• Small jars
• Nesting cups
• Wooden cylinders

From home:

• Cream containers
• Paper rolls
• Fabric scraps
• Kitchen spices

---

Summary

Good learning materials don’t have to be expensive. They must be:

• Purposeful (isolate one quality)
• Aesthetic (invite use)
• Durable (withstand repeated use)
• Self-correcting (child sees the error)

Make 3-5 materials to start. Observe what engages your child most. Build gradually.

And remember: the process of creating can be as developmental as the material itself. Involve your child!

---

This article is based on classic sensory materials originally developed by Maria Montessori, and creative adaptations used by parents around the world.

---

Read also

• Sensory Play: Why It Matters for Development
• DIY educational materials for under $15 from IKEA and home
• Does Montessori Kill Creativity? Debunking the Myth

Frequently Asked Questions

At what age should I introduce sensory materials to my child?

You can start with simple sensory experiences as early as 12-18 months — things like a mystery bag with large safe objects or fabric squares with different textures. By age 2-3, children can handle more structured materials like sound cylinders or color matching. Always supervise with small items and choose activities appropriate for your child’s developmental stage.

How many sensory materials should I have out at once?

Keep 5-7 materials available at a time and rotate them every 2-3 weeks. Too many options overwhelm a young child and reduce the chance of deep, focused exploration. When you notice your child losing interest in a material, swap it out for something stored away — it will feel brand new when it returns in a month or two.

My child just wants to dump and throw the sensory materials instead of using them properly — what should I do?

This is very common, especially with younger children or when a material is new. Calmly show the intended use once (“I’ll show you how we use this”), then let them explore. If throwing continues, put it away without drama and try again in a week or two. Developmental readiness matters — they may simply need more time before they are ready for that particular activity.