Tea Bag Tea Party - Sensory and Fine Motor Play

We are not big tea drinkers in our house. Actually, the only time I buy tea bags is when interstate tea-drinking relatives come to stay, so it's no surprise that I came across a box of expired tea bags during a recent clean out of our pantry.

I set up the girls play table with bottles of warm water and some silicone tea cups, the tea bags and a big plastic tub. They had a lot of fun playing 'real' tea parties and there was plenty of sensory, fine motor and imaginary play going on.
Pouring the water, opening the tea bags, making their tea and then pouring it all into the big tub so they could start all over again. 

Bubble really liked the smell of the tea leaves and both girls were examining the dry bags before they went into the water, and experimenting with making the tea darker and lighter by varying how long the bags were steeped for and how much water they squeezed out. 

The highlight for both girls was dissecting the used tea bags inside the tub to see what was inside and feel the tea leaves. 

And make a nice big mess, who doesn't enjoy that! ;)

WE USED:

* tea bags

* warm water

* child safe tea set

* large plastic tub

You could also use tongs and spoons if your child is not keen on feeling the tea bags or to add a further element of fine motor practice.

It took a bit of practice for the girls to work out how to undo the tea bags and release the tags.

Pouring the water was fun and a little bit messy, the girls enjoyed playing with the warm water and watching it come out of the bottle. 

We used a clear glass bottle so they could watch the process but you can use whatever is appropriate for your child/children.

Squeak was intrigued watching the tea seep out of the bag and mix through the water.

When they had finished with their cups of tea the girls tipped them into the tub so that they could make more and examine the used bags later. 

There was lots of interest in dissecting the tea bags and finding out what was inside and where it came from.