Sensory bins are an engaging way to entertain little ones while helping them develop fine motor skills, explore textures, and spark their imaginations. This hands-on activity is simple to put together and can be customized for the season or your child's interests.
What you'll need:
- A shallow plastic bin or storage container. Choose one that's large enough for your child to use but not too big. The base material (rice, etc.) tends to escape if you use a container that's too small.
- Base material. For a winter-themed bin, white rice is great or you could try cotton balls, white dried beans, polyester fiberfill (available at craft stores), or even instant snow powder.
- Winter-themed objects. For instance:
- Small plastic animals
- Foam snowflakes
- Mini evergreen trees, to create a forest
- Small buildings
- Blue and silver pom poms to represent snowballs or for creating snowpeople
- Tools and accessories:
- Ice cube trays -- let kids fill and empty them using tongs or spoons
- Scoops, spoons and tongs -- for pouring and filling activities
- Bowls, cups and pitchers -- fill and pour
- Small plastic containers -- to fill or to act as small buildings or igloos
Tips for using the sensory bin:
- Encourage children to create landscapes and imaginative stories
- Kids will build fine motor skills and hand strength by scooping, pinching and sorting items
- Help kids practice their alphabet by challenging them to find something that begins with each letter
- Be sure to supervise little ones in case of choking hazards
- Children can practice numbers by counting the objects or seeing how many objects will fit in a cup
As the seasons change, replace objects with seasonal items, like flowers and bugs for spring, tractors and farm items for summer, and leaves and acorns for fall.
I hope your child enjoys their sensory bin!
Tips for this article were generated via ChatGPT.
