Minibeasts Sensory Story and Themed Teaching Activities

Dive into the fascinating world of minibeasts with this immersive, hands-on learning experience aimed at sensory learners of all ages. This pack is designed to spark imagination and exploration through interactive storytelling, sensory activities, and explorations.

🦋 What's Inside?

'Minibeasts' - A fully resourced, step by step sensory story.

Ideas for setting up minibeast themed sensory bags and bins

Spider’s Web Craft Activity: Get creative and weave your own web, learning about the magic of arachnids.

Minibeast Hunt: Venture outdoors to discover real minibeasts in their natural habitat!

Make a Wormery: Observe the fascinating world beneath the soil with an easy-to-build wormery.

Wildflower Pellets: Attract pollinators and contribute to biodiversity with beautiful wildflowers.

Bonus Sensory Story: Experience ‘A Very Hungry Caterpillar’ specially adapted for sensory engagement.

Outdoor Learning & Inspiration: Fun-filled ideas to make outdoor education exciting and memorable.

Minibeast Fun Facts: Learn intriguing facts about the secret lives of bugs!

This resource is aimed at supporting students and sensory learners of all ages following pre-formal/sensory, semi-formal or formal pathways incorporating activities that promote the five areas of the engagement model, creativity, independence, building communication skills, and supporting other areas of learning linking to curriculum subjects, themes, and topics.

This teaching pack is tailored to accommodate students’ individual learning needs through differentiated, themed, sensory extension activities linking to the EYFS Framework and areas of the KS1 National Curriculum making it the perfect resource for Special Education, Mainstream schools and settings, Speech & Language and EAL students.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Benefits of Multisensory Storytelling
How to Tell a Multisensory Story
Using Sound Effects in Multisensory Storytelling
Story Props Checklist
Minibeasts - Full Poem
Minibeasts - A Multisensory Exploration
Minibeasts - Story Bag
Minibeasts - Sensory Bin
Spider's Web Craft Activity
Minibeast Hunt
Make a Wormery
Wildflower Pellets
Adapting 'A Very Hungry Caterpillar' into a Sensory Story
Outdoor Learning Ideas & Inspiration
Minibeast Fun Facts

About the Story Props
The story props are low budget, everyday items found around the home, garden, outdoor areas and in the classroom.

What are the Benefits of Multisensory Storytelling?
• Storytelling creates a bond between the storyteller and the story explorer enhancing and enriching experiences.
• Multisensory Stories connect the individual to literature, culture, history, and topic in a fun and engaging way.
• The stories form a base on which to scaffold learning enabling the student to work on personal goals and individual targets.
The activities in the stories are designed to promote:
• Initiation and sensory exploration.
• Communication skills: anticipation, eye contact, listening, shared attention, and language development.
• Self-confidence and well-being: trying out new ideas, and skills, persistence.
• Practicing self-care, independence and enjoying achievement.
• Self-awareness: asking for ‘help’, ‘again’ and ‘more’.
• Opportunities to explore cause & effect and build anticipation skills.
• Physical Development.
• Engagement in scientific experimentation and mathematical concepts.
• Development of social & emotional skills: turn-taking & sharing, listening to others’ ideas and teamwork.
The sensory stimuli (story props) are a tool for the story explorer to explore and express their likes, dislikes, and sensory preferences and to have the opportunity to make choices and rejections. These preferences can be noted and used in care plans and to enhance areas of daily life.

Your questions, queries, comments, and feedback are always welcome.
Thank you for looking😊