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Petunia Flower Sensory Tray

July 1, 2023 by Annette Kaminsky Leave a Comment

Purple-hued flowers are the stars of the show in this petunia flower sensory tray your little learners will love to explore.

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A few weeks ago, a coworker brought me a beautiful bouquet of irises, which I thought would be perfect for a flowery sensory tray. After getting out supplies to coordinate with the purple and white color scheme, I realized I’d forgotten one really important thing… to check if irises are toxic. It was super disappointing to discover that every part of them is, so the irises couldn’t be used for sensory play.

Since all my accompanying supplies were ready to go, I decided to hunt for a child-friendly flowering plant. Luckily, on a shopping trip soon after I discovered a totally non-toxic, bountiful pot of purple-hued petunias. The pot was overflowing with leggy petunia shoots begging for a trim. The cuttings are featured in this petunia flower sensory tray.

This showy starry sky petunia plant is the perfect addition to your patio. Trimmed sprigs are repurposed in a petunia flower sensory tray.

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Petunia Flower Sensory Tray Supplies

A nature-based sensory tray with petunia flower sprigs and pretty purple and white loose parts for tactile exploration.

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A few simple supplies bring this sensory tray to life. In addition to petunia sprigs, there are:

  • metal bowls and tablespoons
  • non-breakable measuring cups, jars, and dessert cups
  • violet craft foam insects
  • metallic purple pom poms
  • purple necklace strips
  • pearl beads
  • large white buttons
  • pebble-shaped acrylic gems
  • scissors

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Pretty purple and white loose parts are the perfect addition to a petunia flower sensory tray your little learners will love to explore.

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Preparing The Petunia Flower Sensory Tray

The bin for this tray is a green active world tray. It is large enough for four or more children to play in at a time.

A nature-based sensory tray with petunia flower sprigs and pretty purple and white loose parts for tactile exploration.

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To set up this flower-themed sensory activity, cover a large, round table with a water-resistant tablecloth and place the tray on it.

Then set up four stations, each with a metal bowl, serving spoon, dessert cup, pair of scissors, and petunia sprig.

Next, fill the measuring cups with water and drop a little neon purple food coloring into each one.

Afterward, set a few jars with water in the tray.

Place a bouquet of petunias in a container in the middle.

Purple and white loose parts and similar colored petunias are the highlights of this petunia flower active world tray sensory play invitation.

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To complete the activity center, arrange bowls with loose parts such as craft foam insects, sparkly pom poms, necklace strips, buttons, pebble-shaped acrylic gems, and pearl beads around the vase.

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The Petunia Flower Sensory Tray

Your little learners will love to explore this petunia flower sensory tray. They’ll be excited to make flower and loose part soup, and to layer a jar with flowers and treasures. Scissor skill practice is a bonus in this play invitation.

Oh-so-fun sensory play with petunia flowers and pretty purple and white loose parts. A nature-based sensory activity.

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Oh-so-fun sensory play with petunia flowers and pretty purple and white loose parts. A nature-based sensory activity.

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Petunias are plentiful in garden centers in spring and summer and come in many different colors and patterns. It is easy to snag a pot for a good price at this time of year. Picking a pot overflowing with petunias ensures that you can cut off sprigs for sensory play and still have the pot of flowers to enjoy afterward. And it is a relief to know that all parts of petunia flowers are safe for children to touch.

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Purple-hued flowers are the stars of the show in this petunia flower sensory tray your little learners will love to explore.

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Related:

White Lilacs And Black Playdough

Flower Theme Activities

Floral Decorated Skeleton

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Celery and food coloring science experiment.

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Beet Science And Sensory Activities

Beet science and sensory activities. Beet washing station, ordering beets by size, and growing new greens and roots. Links to two festive recipes.

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Don’t forget to share this post on Pinterest or your favorite social media channel. Sharing is caring!

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© Annette Kaminsky July 1, 2023

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Filed Under: gardening, insects, preschool, pretend play, sensory, spring, summer Tagged With: flowers, sensory bin, sensory play, sensory tray

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