Your older kids are headed back to school, and your little one no longer has playmates right there at home. What to do? Sensory Bins will give them a way to play, pass the time, and learn fine motor plus focusing skills!
With these 4 basic components, you can create your own sensory bin:
Container (baking pan or plastic bin that is not too deep for a child to reach in)
Filler (see below)
Objects (toys and/or tools)
Large towel (underneath bin to catch spills for easy clean up)
Enjoy getting creative with all the mix and match options for fillers and objects that can be utilized!
Dry Filler - Sand, play dough, raw pasta, dry beans, shredded paper, small Lego bricks, cotton balls
Wet Filler - water, damp sand, shaving cream, jello, slime
Edible Filler - Cereal, dry oatmeal, raw rice, water, cornmeal (Advisable if your child is the age where they might decide to snack on the sensory bin’s filler!)
Toys - Anything that won’t get ruined by the filler they are put in. Smaller items are best suited for sensory bins. Sets are good so kids can practice matching items. Be aware of the colors or shapes you include because they can be sorted out based on general category if you want that as part of what your child can do during their play. Or choose one kind of toy to put in. For example put in all the little plastic dinosaurs your child has.
Tools - Pouring cups o, scooping implements, tongs, funnels, sieves, cups for filling, egg cartons for filling and sorting. Vary sizes and styles. Use disposable items like yogurt containers, and plastic utensils so you don't have to sacrifice your actual kitchen supplies.
Considerations As You Plan and Build the Bin
- Are the tools the right size and skill level so your child can use them without getting frustrated?
- Try having a theme and not putting too much stuff in. You don’t want your sensory bin to be a jumble that overwhelms and becomes a turn off.
- Themes are most easily based around the tools or toys that will be utilized. For example, for a water bin, put in a couple plastic funnels and cups in 2 or 3 sizes to practice pouring. Or to encourage play with bulldozer toys put in brown beans or brown rice to act as the “dirt.”
- A dollar store is a good place to pick up items for sensory bins (or the bins themselves) but you probably have a lot of components already at home so they are budget friendly.
- If you use bins with snug fitting lids, you can store the ones with items like sand, dry beans or cereal that will keep over time. Even more budget friendly!
- If you choose to store and reuse your sensory bins, make a few and rotate them. This saves you time since you don’t have to build them from scratch every time and instead can just swap something out. From your child’s perspective, they will have variety and will enjoy the “new” experiences when you rotate something new in.
- For white rice or pasta, consider dyeing it with food coloring or kool-aid and then re-using it. (Click here For a How To) This becomes its own fun little project to do with your child(ren).
Suggestions to Get You Started
Macaroni or other small dry pasta and chunky puzzle pieces hidden inside. A 2-for-1 because they get the sensory bin plus the chance to build a puzzle once all the pieces have been found.
Dry rice, an egg carton plus 12 seasonal items to find and put in the carton (spiders and eyeballs for halloween, shells for summer…) This gets them playing AND counting to 12.
Water, a small squit of dish soap, a toothbrush and sponge for scrubbing, and water safe toys that need a little cleaning. Your child won’t even know you’ve just put them to work!
Mostly just focus on what your child will enjoy and what you have around the house to utilize. One of the nice things about Sensory Bins is that there's no "wrong" way to go about it! Hope your little one has lots of fun with what you create for them.
For more Ideas and Info:
https://busytoddler.com/sensory-bins-for-toddlers/
https://www.thebump.com/a/sensory-bins
https://www.bostonabilitycenter.com/post/sensory-bin-ideas-for-toddlers
