Sensory bins are a forever love in our home. My kiddos can’t get enough of them! We’ve tried water, rice, beans, dried pasta, crushed Oreos, rocks, shells, Easter grass, and the list goes on and on! With sensory bins being all the rage right now (and rightfully so with all of the learning potential!), I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to talk about the basics of a sensory bin for those who are just getting into them (and create an amazing ideas list for those who already love them!).
Getting Started
Creating a sensory bin can seem overwhelming. I know that I put off introducing my kids to them for a while because I was worried about the mess and I didn’t know where to begin! Let me assure you, sensory bins are sooooo worth the potential mess. Mostly because, if you lay down the ground rules, there shouldn’t be a mess!
Maybe you have avoided sensory bins because you’ve seen all of the magazine-worthy photos floating around Pinterest and Instagram of sensory bins with expensive set ups and tables that you may not have space for. Although that is definitely an option when creating a sensory bin, you don’t really need all of those things. Sure, a pretty set up and sensory table would be amazing! But your kids don’t know the difference. All they know is that Mom is letting them play with water inside the house and they love it! So what do you need when creating a sensory bin? Let’s break it down:
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Materials
- Plastic container with lid
- Sensory Bases
- Fine Motor Tools
- Add-ins
- Drop cloth
Sensory Bases
The sensory base is, as it sounds, the foundation of the sensory bin. The sky is the limit when it comes to bases! There are some pretty standard ones, to include water, rice, and pasta, but you can get super creative with them as well! Brighten up your sensory play with some of these:
- Water
- Rice (Check out how to color it here!)
- Pasta
- Dried Beans (lima, kidney, black, pinto, garbanzo)
- Seeds
- Crushed Oreos
- Sprinkles
- Cereal – Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs
- Flour/Sugar
- Oats
- Corn Kernels
- Easter grass
- Play Dough
- Small rocks
- Sand
- Shells
- Flowers
- Cut up straws
- Water beads
- Fake snow
- Buttons
- Jewels
- Beads
- Pom Poms
- Cotton balls
- Feathers
- Small Blocks
- Legos
It is worth noting that many of the sensory bin bases can also double as add-ins when used in a smaller quantity.
Fine Motor Tools
Although you can definitely have a sensory bin without the use of fine motor tools, it just adds a whole other element that makes this play so much more beneficial. If you have a kiddo in Preschool or Kindergarten right now, you’ve probably heard a lot about fine motor skills. Maybe your kiddo is rocking their fine motor skills; or maybe they need a little extra practice in that department. No matter which category your little falls under, more fine motor exposure can only help them become better at writing, coloring, cutting, buttoning and so much more!
If your cutie is not yet in school, this is the perfect time to target those fine motor muscles and develop those skills. Kids are never too young to start! Here are some of my favorite ways to sneak in some fine motor practice while my kiddos explore their sensory bins:
- Tongs
- Scoops
- Spoons
- Clothes pins
These everyday kitchen utensils may seem ordinary to you, but they can do extraordinary things for your kiddos and their fine motor skills! Have you ever watched your child try to pick something up with a pair of tongs? Hand them some and see if they can pick up a block. A toy? A pom-pom? It may seem like a simple task to us, but remember; a few years ago these cuties didn’t even exist! This task takes a lot of practice to master. We are working on hand strength, coordination, patience and so much more! And the sensory bin is the perfect place to do it.
Related: Check out this amazing game using tongs that you will want your kids to play EVERY NIGHT!
Fine Motor Tools Continued…
- measuring cups and spoons (wet and dry)
- small glass jars with lids
- bowls
- cups
- muffin tins
- cookie trays
- funnels
Again, we see a lot of everyday kitchen items on the list. If this surprises you, stop and think; what do YOU do with all of these things in the kitchen? Measure, scoop, and pour. All fine motor skills! All essential tasks for your child to develop the strength, coordination, and precision they need to write, cut, and color. These items are typically on the receiving end of the tongs, scoops, and spoons, which means your kiddos are needing a lot of coordination and precision to get their objects into these jars, cups and trays. That is what makes these items an essential part of fine motor play!
Related: Looking for more fine motor practice? This is the ultimate game to work those muscles and leave your house clean and organized!
Add-ins
This, in my opinion, is the fun part of building a sensory bin. The add-ins are all of those things that will spark your littles’ imagination and help this play to extend for hours or days! The best part about add-ins is that there are no rules. Anything goes in this department! However, you have to be strategic when picking your add-ins for a sensory bin. These items are what will direct the play session. Throw a bunch of random things in there at once, chances are your child will not make it to a deep level of play. So, what do you want your kiddo focused on? Are you trying to work on a skill? i.e. counting, letter recognition, color matching, fine motor focus? Are you talking about a holiday or specific topic? Or do you just need to keep those little hands busy for a while? wink, wink.
Determining your purpose for creating the sensory bin will help you narrow down the add-ins that you want to use. If you are focusing on a specific skill you will want to use add-ins that directly correlate with that skill. Discussing a holiday will require holiday themed materials. Keeping little hands busy will mean using your kiddo’s favorite toy or interest to hold his/her attention. Here are some add-ins that I recommend, depending on your purpose:
Skill Focused Sensory Bin
- Cookie Letters
- ABC puzzle
- Magnetic letters
- Play Dough ABC stamps
- Large foam dice
- Number puzzle
- Counting bears
- Shape puzzle
- Pattern blocks
- Pom-poms
- Buttons
- Gems
- Foam colored stars
- Animals and cards
Theme Focused Sensory Bin
- Small animals
- Small dinosaurs
- Cars/trucks
- Flowers/plants
- Ice
- Dishes
- Play food
- Shells
Sensory Bins to Keep Little Hands Busy
When it comes to your kiddo’s interests, you know them best. Think about what your little could play with and never get tired of. What do they use to create stories and engage in imaginative play? For my littles it’s animals, dinosaurs, Paw Patrol, Play Dough, and our cookie letters. Use what you have to keep those little hands busy!
Putting It All Together
Building a Sensory Bin
Now that you have a handle on what to include in your sensory bin, let’s put it all together!
1. Check out the sensory base list and pick one to place in your sensory bin. (Note that many of the bases can also double as add-ins if used in a smaller quantity.) Ex. rice
2. Decide on your purpose. Why are you creating this sensory bin? Ex. to practice matching and animal recognition
3. Grab your add-ins to match your purpose and add them to the bin. Ex. small animals with cards and a cookie tray
4. Add the fine motor tools that best go along with your purpose and materials. If you are not sure what to use, tongs and scoops are always a great place to start! Ex. tongs
5. Your bin is built! Make sure your drop cloth is underneath and invite your kiddos to join you! Ex. Click here to see what my example bin turned out like!
If you are looking for a little inspiration, or some ideas on where to begin; check out some of our favorite bins below:
- Alphabet Soup
- Animal Match
- Dinosaur Bin
- Wash the Alphabet
- Roll and Count Fine Motor
- Star Color Sort
- ABC Play Dough
The Rules
Now, if you want to have what I described at the beginning of this post, a mess-free experience, you need to lay down some ground rules. These may take some time for your littles to adapt to, depending on their ages; but they are well worth it in the long run!
You can determine the rules that fit your family the best, but here is what works in my home:
1. No eating anything in the bin – seems like a no-brainer, but 2 year olds sometimes need a reminder when they are playing with crushed Oreos, wink wink.
2. Everything stays in the bin (or on the drop cloth, depending on the activity) – I am not about to chase garbanzo beans across my dining room because my littles decided bowling was a good choice, so they stay in the bin!
3. SHARE – I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 year old who play with our sensory bins simultaneously while the baby naps. The last thing that I need is one of them screaming while the baby tries to sleep because something was taken from him. So, sharing is a must for us!
My kiddos know that if they don’t follow all of the rules, the sensory bin gets put away. And trust me, that (most of the time) is motivation enough for them to listen. There are countless more rules you could use, but I have found that 3 it’s a good number for my kiddos. Anymore and they won’t remember them all.
Prepare to be Amazed
I am a firm believer that kids are so much more capable than we give them credit for. Sensory bin play proved that in my house. My kiddos are able and willing to follow directions and explore new things during sensory play. Their imaginations and ability to turn anything into something special absolutely amaze me. Sensory bins are a way to see qualities you didn’t know your child already had and skills that you were unaware they had already mastered. It is a magical activity where anything is possible! I hope you find as much joy in creating sensory bins as I do. What are you waiting for?! Go for it!
Check out our Top 12 Indoor Activities to Keep Toddlers Busy here!
