Seasonal Sensory Bins

My favorite "sensory bins" are the ones you don't put together. They're the ones your kids discover on their own- by digging in mud, touching moss, and running their hands in water from a stream. I wasn't even familiar with the term "sensory bin" before coming a mom. But now, after using them for a few years, I see their value. These bins are ways to bring the senses to your children when they (or you) need it most. If you can't get outside - if you're burnt out - if you need something to enhance their learning - whatever the reason, a sensory bin is a useful tool.

Set Up

The best time of day to pull out sensory bins, in my opinion, is the afternoon. We do all our adventures and outings in the morning. After lunch, I put my one year old down for a nap while my four year old gets one hour of tv time, followed by one hour of Quiet Time. By 3pm, my coffee has worn off, both kids are up and energized, and I like to have an idea in my back pocket. I used to always do this in teaching. I would intentionally overplan knowing a lesson I delivered may end sooner than I thought, or maybe the students wouldn't take to it and I'd need another idea. Little kids are just the same. Many of these afternoons are just spent freeplaying outside, but if the weather is poor, or the kids are bickering or need more structure, the bins are helpful to me. This works for us because often the sensory bins are messy, and it doesn't bother me if they get wet or dirty because I know they'll be taking a bath soon.

Some Notes:

*I don't make new sensory bins each day. Sometimes I will make one that is played with throughout the week. Other bins are just for the day (especially for things like water, bubble foam or shaving cream).

*I make a sensory bin based on the unit we are working on with our homeschool preschool, an upcoming holiday, or season.

*For bins, I use different containers. My favorite is the Flisat table because there is a lid, and I can easily cover it when we are not playing. I also use a transportable sensory bin that my dad made out PVC pipe, similar to this one. I've used the tray under our Boon bottle drying rack, a lunch tray, our Doodle Hog art trays, and storage bins or tupperware. Any and all containers work. Just consider the activity and which container would hold that base and activity best.

*The hardest part of this for me has been learning to be ok with the mess. Rice in particular is difficult with my one year old as he likes to fling it. Water can sometimes be hard if they are using droppers and like to experiment dropping it out of the bin, making the floor slick. (We have had a few falls). Also consider if you have multiple children playing, would they will be willing to share, or will you have duplicate tools and objects?

*Don't expect them to spend hours playing. They may play for a little while and then return. Both of mine love water, so they will play longer with water. It depends on their mood, interests, age, etc.

Here's a look at a few of my favorite bins we have done by season.

WINTER

Theme: Valentine's Day Love Potion

Base: shaving cream & water with food coloring/glitter

Objects: gems, heart containers, red pom poms

Tools: popsicle sticks, cups/bowls, droppers

Skills: color mixing, count the gems, stirring and pouring into a container, imaginative play

Theme: Bears & Hibernation

Base: ice

Objects: Counting Bears

Tools: Learning Resources droppers

Skills: cause & effect (If I use warm water on the ice, it melts), volume (amount of water needed to move the bear), counting, patterns, color sorting

Theme: Healthy Bodies (winter is a tough season for sickness)

Base: lentils

Objects: play food

Tools: measuring cups, medical gloves, funnel

Skills: pouring using a funnel, scooping, identification of healthy food, categorizing (vegetable vs. fruit vs protein), imaginative play (doctor)

FALL

Theme: Halloween

Base: dyed pasta, black beans

Objects: mini pumpkins, bones, mini erasers, plastic eyeballs

Tools: tongs, cauldron, cups

Skills: pouring, transferring from one container to another, imaginative play, counting, sorting

Theme: Apple Orchard/Baking Apple Pie

Base: oatmeal with cinnamon

Objects: red, green, yellow pom poms

Tools: tons, pie tin, measuring cups

Skills: measuring, counting fallen "apples" from tree, color sorting, measuring, baking

Theme: Camping

Base: kinetic sand, dyed chickpeas, moss

Objects: peg dolls, pine cones, stones, Magna Tiles, ducks

Tools: tons, measuring cup

Skills: small world play, mixing textures, building with Tiles, scooping using tongs, dialogue using peg dolls, environment (water, grass, trees, rocks)

SPRING

Theme: St. Patrick's Day

Base: shaving cream and glitter way

Objects: gold coins, shamrocks gems

Tools: green tongs, squirter, funnel, tweezers, rainbow

Skills: mixing liquids with solids, pincer grasp, transferring, pouring

Theme: Planting Flowers

Base: black beans

Objects: carrots, bugs, vegetables, faux flowers, mini pots

Tools: scoops, DIY Flisat insert

Skills: posting flowers into holes, patterns with flower type and color, pouring, learning about planting and benefit/disadvantage to bugs during planting season

Theme: Rainy Day Mud (because of April showers)

Base: cocoa powder + water

Objects: farm animals

Tools: fingers

Skills: discussion about weather and how mud is formed, tracing, letter and number identification, storytelling (We paired this with the book Mrs. Wishy Washy)

SUMMER

Theme: Beach

Base: cornmeal & brown sugar, colored water with cornstarch, chickpea liquid

Objects: bath and sand toys

Tools: shovels

Skills: mixing, imaginative play, blender use (kids help to mix the chickpea liquid), sand castle building

Theme: The Itsy Bitsy Spider

Base: water

Objects: plastic spider rings

Tools: pvc pies, tongs, spoons

Skills: storytelling, pairing song with play, counting, pincer grasp with tweezers