60 Super Fun Sensory Bin Activities For Young Kids - This Tiny Blue House (2024)

FAQs

Are sensory bins good for 5 year olds? ›

Sensory bins can boost your child's motor skills. Additionally, adding toy tools such as shovels, spoons, and tweezers can help develop coordination as well. Actions like scooping, digging, and pouring toys and materials will all help improve motor skills. Sensory bins can be a great tool to help your child learn!

A sensory bin is a shallow container that combines filler material and various small odds and ends. You fill the bin with a filler material such as sand or rice, then add items from around the house such as spoons or measuring cups. Let your child explore the items and have fun playing.

Signs of sensory processing disorder include sudden mood swings and strange behavior. Kids with sensory issues might avoid bright lights or loud noises, run around crashing into things, throw tantrums, or appear clumsy.

The basics of using a sensory bin

I wouldn't be as worried with a 6 year old, but if you are using them with younger children, you will need to teach them the expectations and how to play with the supplies in the bin instead of spilling/throwing/etc.

Some of the most popular sensory bin fillers include water, sand, dry rice, dry beans, popcorn kernels, water beads and shaving cream. These items are great to use in sensory bins for toddlers once they can understand not to eat them.

Add 1 cup of uncooked rice to a small plastic baggie and add a few drops of food coloring to the bag. If using gel coloring, you'll only need a tiny bit. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the bag, seal the top, and shake up the bag to mix the color around the rice.

Here's how: Fill a resealable plastic bag with tactile materials like hair gel, pumpkin seeds, shaving cream, or marbles. Reinforce the seal with strong tape, then use painter's or washi tape to secure the edges of the bag to the floor or a table where your baby can play.

At a glance

A sensory diet is a tailored plan of physical activities and accommodations designed to meet a child's sensory needs. This type of treatment has nothing to do with food. The goal is to get kids in a “just right” state.

What age is a sensory bin for? ›

At the toddler stage, from ages 2 to 3, kids are typically ready to engage with more toys. A great place to start are sensory bins—literally, a bin or box filled with various materials meant to stimulate the senses.

Sensory bins provide children with the opportunity to explore and learn through hands-on tactile play that engages their senses. These bins encourage and support various types of development and are great activities to have in your home.

Encourage your children to sort and categorize items by color, shape, and size. Play I-spy with the sensory bin and have your children search for hidden items. Create a counting game by counting the amount of items in the bin.

Sensory bins can support cognitive development as children sort hidden items by size or color. Putting number and letter shapes into the sensory bin can provide children the opportunity to learn the alphabet, their numbers and gain practice with counting and spelling.

From birth, children are ready for sensory play. Children are natural explorers – they're constantly learning and taking in what's around them. Sensory activities can be adapted for different ages, needs and abilities.

Developmentally appropriate practice would probably recommend sensory tables in a classroom setting for children up to age five (or preschool level). Why use a sensory table? Children learn through their senses. Sensory tables improve children's sense of touch which helps them perceive their environment accurately.