Blogger / 5 February, 2024 / Nanny Anita

Chinese Lion Dog Sensory Tray

During the lock down at the beginning of 2021 I made a Lunar New Year sensory tray.  This year I have expanded on that sensory tray to make a Chinese Lion sensory tray.  You might be wondering what a Chinese lion is, well you have may have seen them as part of the Lion dances that take place at new year celebrations and other times.  They are believed to bring good luck and fortune to the audience and performers.  Which is why I added them to my sensory tray.

Make sure you follow my Lunar New Year board on Pinterest for more ideas.  Don’t forget to save the pin for later.

To make your own Chinese Lion sensory tray you will need:

• A tray (mine is from Inspire My Play)
• Scopes (also from Inspire My Play)
• Bowls
• Gold coins
• Red and gold beads
• Red envelopes
• Coloured rice
• A printout of a Chinese Lion

*The Chinese Lion I used for my sensory tray was made by me from cardboard.  A bit like quilling, but bigger.  And I only made mine by hand because I had nothing else to do and was really board.

This sensory tray (in this set up) would not be good to use with small children who still put things in their mouths.  The coins would be a choking hazard and the coloured rice is not taste safe.  You can absolutely adapt it to make it suitable for younger children.

Colour some rice using red and gold paint in a Ziplock bag by shaking it.  For the first time I also added some hand sanitiser to the Ziplock bag when I was shaking them.  I didn’t think it would do anything, but it really did make the paint cover everything more easily.  Place the rice onto to some trays to dry.

Print out a picture of Chinese Lion and add your rice, coins, beads, and anything else you think is appropriate.  I added my wooden Chinese zodiac figures as well.  If you have any books on Lunar New Year, then you can add them too the side as well for the children to look through.

If you enjoyed making this Chinese Lion sensory tray, be sure to check out my fire breathing dragon craft.

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