I’m a stay at home mom and therefore am always looking for things to change up our day to day routine and keep my little one engaged. Sensory bins have been a HUGE hit! My little guy, even at only 16 months (and we started even earlier) will be entertained with sensory play time for anywhere from 15 minutes up to an hour! And if you have a toddler you know that keeping them focused on one thing more than 5 minutes feels like a win, but a whole hour?! Amazing! The possibilities are endless with sensory bins but I’m going to share my little guy’s top three at the moment to get you started.
The What and the Why of Sensory Bins
A sensory bin in the simplest terms is just a container of some type of material that allows a child to explore with their various senses. It lets them touch and feel, see, hear and SOMETIMES taste different materials. Why do I love these? So many reasons! They can help improve fine motor skills as they practice scooping, pouring, picking up pieces etc. It can help with their language skills as you talk with them using new words to help them describe their experience. Sensory bins can teach kids about how things work as they manipulate the materials in different ways. And if you have multiple kids playing they can build social skills as well!
And now that we know why I love them, let me tell you which 3 are on the current rotation in our house.
Dry Beans
Up first is the first bin we tried and is still his favorite- dried beans! I use a mixture of dried kidney and dried lima beans. This means there are the two colors and two different sizes for him to explore and compare. To keep things simple I keep these in a disposable aluminum baking dish- it’s large and deep so he can just play right in it. When it’s time to play, I grab some random kitchen utensils like measuring cups/ spoons, spatulas, funnel etc and just let him explore. I’ll sit alongside him and model how he can use some of the tools and I’ll narrate what I see him doing to help build vocabulary. The first time we tried this activity he played for a full hour before starting to get distracted. And it is still a tried and true smile bringer when I pull it out.
Moon Sand
Have you heard of kinetic sand? It’s that special sand that sticks together and comes apart with no water needed. This is SIMILAR but can be made at home, is much cheaper and is taste safe if your little one accidentally (or intentionally) gets a fistful. The recipe I use is 8 cups of flour to 1 cup oil (I used vegetable oil but I would assume any oil would work). This made 9 cups of moon sand. You put it in a mixer and just let it go till it starts to resemble a crumbly dough. When you test it, it should clump together in your hand with ease. You can also add food coloring to make it more fun! With this bin, I tossed in a few of his beach sand toys for him to build with. This one can be a BIT messier than the beans just because of the sandy consistency so I do recommend a mat or plastic tablecloth underneath when playing.
For more details about making moon sand check out this link:
Colored Rice
Last but not least is colored rice (uncooked). This is such a fun texture for kids to explore and the rainbow colors make it look like a fun bucket of sprinkles! I use similar tools with this one as I do with the beans. But it’s also fun to add little figurines that you can hide in the rice for your little one to find, or toss in some Pom Poms to mix in and pick out. Here’s the details on how to make the multicolored rice:
Disclaimer for Sensory Bins: All of these items can be so fun for little ones but you should monitor your child closely when playing with these bins as the dried beans and rice could pose a potential choking hazard.
Does your little one have a favorite sensory bin material? Let us know, so we can try it out!