How do I make sensory toys for students?

HTR1008 has some really good & simple/doable ideas :-)

here are some things i made for my niece [catering to diff senses & also to learn while playing ] -

-- filled bean-bag beans [styrofoam pellets] in the plastic-wire bags [in which you get fruits, potatoes, etc] & sewed the opening. She loved them so much & it helped us teach her how to throw & catch since she found it difficult with a ball.

-- filled little bottles with diff things that emitted a distinct odor - scents, incense sticks, whole spices, essences, etc. She likes to smell & that helped her a lot too. You can also just soak a cotton wad in any scent & place it inside. The kid then gets to identify the odors too.

-- just like you mentioned rice [another good idea], look in the kitchen for other grains, textures, scents that may be used. eg. khuskhus or semolina, whole grains, spices, seeds, etc. You can also layer a tray with any of these & help the kid draw/write on it.

-- foam, lather, gel, tooth paste ....

-- collect tic-tac containers or any other small bottles. partially fill with whole seeds, beads, glitter, bells, buttons, tiny pebbles, etc, etc. These will make diff sounds depending on the item & quantity inside.

-- a Texture Tunnel : take any shoe-box. cut out the 2 square ends to get a "tunnel". now you can place anything - diff textured fabrics, leather, towel, papers, or anything you wish - through your end & the kid puts his/her hand through the other end of tunnel & tries to guess what it is or just whether is it 'soft', 'hard', 'rough', smooth, & so on.

-- just like clay/plasticene, you can make pliable dough, add a few drops of food color & allow the kid to do as please

-- cooked pasta. sometimes they love the feel of cooked noodles, spaghetti, etc. Create some fun game from these.

-- an assortment of beads, marbles &/or buttons of various shapes, sizes, designs, colors. help sort them out or pack them in little zip-seal pouches ...

-- a soft toy with seeds, beads, etc as stuffing.

hope some of these help too

all the very best :-)

ADDITION : also remember, that all kids don't necessarily like all sounds, textures, etc. So you may need to be patient & observe what kind of sensory stimulations your student enjoys & choose those activities/toys.

You could always use balloons and fill them with something gooey like pudding. (Don't really blow them up much, and use a medicine dropper to insert the pudding)

Another thing you can fill the balloon with is sand, just make sure you tie the balloons well.

Again, you could also put marbles in the balloon.

I had a student once that wanted something to rub so I taped a piece of carpet under his desk. It sounds crazy but it would calm him down and it wasn't as obvious as to what he was doing.

It really depends on what that student is needing. Alot of people are into the weighted blankets or shirts, even pencils. I think if you enter make your own sensory items into a google search you might find some great ideas!

Hope this was helpful and good luck!