The Hidden Sensory Secrets of Your Kitchen Cupboards

A Treasure Map Guide to Sensory Play in Your Pantry

Let me tell you something I wish someone had told me years ago: you don’t need fancy, expensive toys to create amazing sensory experiences for your kids. You know where the real sensory aisle is?

Your kitchen pantry!

Yep. Right next to the Weet-Bix and the questionable jar of sauce that expired in 2021 lies a goldmine of textures, smells, sounds, and chaos-ready-to-happen. Over the years - with three neurodivergent kids, tight budgets, and more than a few “we can’t go anywhere today” moments - I’ve learned that sensory play doesn't have to cost a thing. You just need a bit of creativity (and a high tolerance for mess).

So, here it is - your treasure map to sensory gold, hidden in the kitchen.

Dry Goods = Texture Heaven

Rice & Lentils: Pour them into a tub, add some cups, spoons, and a dinosaur or two - BOOM: instant sensory bin. Tip: Coloured rice is a vibe. Just add a few drops of food dye and vinegar in a zip-lock bag, mix it, dry it overnight, and pretend you’re Pinterest-perfect.

Spaghetti (cooked or uncooked): Uncooked spaghetti is great for poking into playdough, stacking, and breaking. Cooked spaghetti? That’s where the fun begins. Add a bit of oil and food colouring for slimy, squishy, rainbow spaghetti sensory spaghetti heaven. Warning: You will consider eating it. Do not. It’s for the kids. Probably.

Oats: Silky, soft, and weirdly satisfying to run your hands through. Add some scoopers, and you’ve got a toddler trap that’ll keep them occupied while you finish your coffee (hot, even!).

Flour: Super soft and dusty - perfect for “drawing” with fingers or toy trucks. Bonus points if you add cocoa powder for that aromatic baking vibe without actually having to bake anything.

Frozen Feels

Frozen Peas: Weird? Yes. Brilliant? Also yes. They're small, cold, roll around, and provide that tingly touch input. Also fun for sensory sorting or colour-matching with bowls. Also excellent for ouchies - multitasking magic!

Ice Cubes: Freeze small toys inside, add food colouring, salt, or glitter (if you're brave), and turn your kitchen bench into an arctic sensory rescue mission.

Frozen Cooked Pasta: Slippery, firm, and excellent for poking, twisting, and "feeding" to toy animals. If you can handle cold slime, this one’s for you.

Gooey Goodness & Squishy Surprises

Cornflour + Water = Oobleck. The chaotic neutral of sensory play. Is it a liquid? Is it a solid? Does it get absolutely everywhere? Yes. But it’s so worth it. Add a few drops of food dye and just embrace the mess.

Cooking Oil: Add it to cooked pasta or oobleck for an extra layer of slippery mess. You’ll hate yourself for it later… but also kind of love it?

Bicarb + Vinegar: SCIENCE! The fizz! The bubbles! The excitement! Let your kids “clean” your muffin tray by pouring coloured vinegar into little blobs of bicarb. Actual joy unlocked.

Spoon, Pour, Shake, Repeat

Jars with Lids: Great for storing sensory mixes, but also fun for shake bottles with coloured rice, glitter, oil and water, or whatever concoction your kids invent.

Measuring Cups & Wooden Spoons: Tools = power. Kids love feeling like they're doing a “job,” even if that job is stirring dry lentils in circles for 45 minutes.

Why This All Works (and Why You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About It)

Sensory play isn’t just about keeping your kids busy (though let’s be honest, that’s a huge bonus). It helps with:

• Emotional regulation
• Fine motor skill development
• Tactile processing
• Creative play
• And maybe most importantly… connection.

Sometimes, the best sensory play happens when you’re both elbow-deep in coloured rice, laughing while the cat watches in horror. Or when you realise your child’s had a full 20 minutes of focused, joyful play using nothing but frozen corn and an old muffin tin. That’s magic.

Final Thoughts (and a gentle nudge)

If you’ve got a cupboard and a bit of chaos tolerance, you’ve got everything you need to start. Don’t overthink it. Don’t compare it to Pinterest. Just dive in. Get messy. Make memories.

And maybe… just maybe… remember to clean the flour off the ceiling before someone comes over. Or not…