Sensory Bins

Take advantage of your child’s natural love of animals and create an incredible sensory experience with this Arctic Animals Sensory Bin. Filled with different textures and ample opportunity for pretend play, this could keep your little one happy for hours. Bonus: Sensory play helps kid regulate emotions. It’s a win for everyone! 
We are huge fans of sensory bins around here because they help with so many different areas of childhood development. From encouraging fine motor skill improvement, to encouraging verbal expression and communication sensory play can be the springboard for growth. Be sure to check out our huge and growing list of sensory bin ideas for a huge number of themes and special occasions. While you are poking around, you’ll also want to check out the Arctic Animals Sensory Bag and Bottle, both of which are more portable and serve different functions.

Supplies for your Arctic Animals Sensory Bin

• Cotton Balls from The Dollar Store
• Blue and Clear gem stones from The Dollar Store
• Arctic Animals 
• Sensory Trays or this option.

How to Make an Arctic Animals Sensory Bin

Set up a tray in a central location or a spot near where you will be working. One of the things that makes sensory bins so handy for moms with small kids is that you can move them anywhere you need to make your life easier! Working in the kitchen on dinner, set one up at the table or island. Need to finish work for a client on the computer? Set up a bin in your office on the floor. Ready to relax with your favorite cooking show? A sensory bin on the coffee table is perfect! Once you have the tray in your desired location, simply fill it with the various supplies and invite your kids to play. It’s that simple.

As a special note, if your child is young enough to put things in their mouths all the time, they cannot play with this or any other sensory bin without direct supervision.

How to Direct Sensory Bin Play

If your child is struggling to know what to do with a sensory bin, you can ask leading questions to encourage play. Depending on the child, you can either focus on the textures of the bin with questions like “Describe how the cotton balls feel on your hand?” or “Do you think the cotton balls feel like real snow?. If focusing on textures is a bad idea, focus on the animals instead. “What do you think polar bear wants to do today? Show me!” or “What is the sea lion’s favorite part of the day?” Once your child starts playing with the sensory bin they aren’t going to want to stop. Sometimes, encouraging that first step is the hardest part! 

Ways to Change up the Arctic Animals Sensory Bin

A simple change that can be fun for some kids is adding fake snow. Insta-snow expands with water, and if you use cold water it will be cold! It has a fluffy texture, but can be off putting to some kids. If you do this, leave out the beans and cotton balls.

Blue kinetic sand (also called moon sand) can be a fun way to simulate water in place of or in addition to the glass beads. 

Adding a couple of ice cubes can be a fun way to talk about the temperatures in the arctic. Remove the ice cubes after a few minutes of play to prevent messes.

If safe (and your child won’t throw them) add a couple of very large rocks to the sensory bin. Not only does it add a new texture to the bin, it also adds a touch of real nature and gives the animals new places to perch or congregate.

What are the Arctic Animals

The list of animals who’ve adapted to life in the Arctic is actually quite long, and if you want to expand your sensory experiences into preschool learning, these are just some of the animals you could study or find to include in your sensory bin!

• Polar Bear
• Arctic Fox
• Caribou
• Musk Ox
• Arctic Wolf
• Walrus
• Narwhal
• Orca
• Beluga Whale
• Grizzly Bear
• Arctic Ground Squirrel
• Arctic Hare
• Arctic Tern
• Dall Sheep
• Bald Eagle
• Ermine
• Harp Seals

If you want to take your sensory bin in a new direction, gather up any stuffed animals you have from the list above (or you can find the full list of arctic animals here). Have one or two of the stuffed animals join your child at the sensory bin. Engage with your child and pretend that the animals are participating in sensory play. After a few minutes, step back and see what happens. 

Arctic Animals Books to Read

• Rory: An Orca’s Quest for the Northern Lights by Sarah Cullen
• Arctic Animals by Tyler Grady
• The Arctic Fox’s Journey (Let’s Read and Find Out About Science).
• I Spy Arctic Animals by Alek Malkovich
• North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration by Nick Dowson

Helping Children Become More Aware of their Bodies and Emotions

• If you want to help your child connect with their emotions or sensory input, sensory play is a great time to ask open ended questions like these.
• How do you feel when running your hands through the beans (or glass beads, etc.)
• Can you remember how you felt when you were crying earlier? What has happened to those feelings?
• If you pull apart a cotton ball, what do your fingers think about that? 
• Scoop beans into your hand and let them fall out slowly. What does that make you think about?

The seasons and the holidays are the perfect time to set up an invitation to play centered around the themes of the season. Our Pumpkin Spice Latte Sensory bin combines all of our favorite colors of Fall with a valuable sensory experience children will love. It’s easy to pull together, fun to play with, and easy to dispose of when interest wanes. Plus, we have all kinds of ideas to take your play experience even further. 

The varying cereal colors represent the colors of the actual liquid in a pumpkin spice latte. Pumpkin candies reinforce the pumpkin angle. The marshmallows represent the whipped cream on top. For older children not likely to put them in their mouths, you might also add coffee beans to get that amazing smell into the mix. Once interest has waned or the ingredients are stale, wait a few days and then reintroduce similar concepts with our taste safe pumpkin pie sensory bin.

Supplies for your Pumpkin Spice Latte Sensory Bin

• Reese’s Puffs Cereal
• Mini Marshmallows
• Pumpkin Candy
• Coffee Mug or Cup
• Whisk or Spoon
• Scoop

How to Make the Pumpkin Spice Latte Sensory Bin

• A metal or plastic mug or even a styrofoam cup is preferable so that it isn’t breakable. 
• Cover the entire bottom of the bin with cereal, then push some aside to make a spot for the marshmallows. This guarantees good coverage.
• Making separate areas for each ingredient helps kids view them as individual parts of a recipe. If you follow the recipe play suggestion, this can help.

Invitation to Play

• Provide scoops, spoons, and child-safe tongs for play.
• Encourage kids to scoop the various ingredients into the cup or mug.
• Kids can practice making layers of each ingredient.
• Mix the ingredients, and encourage kids to sort them back out before scooping.
• Give kids a specific recipe, eg two scoops of cereal, one scoop of marshmallows, and six pumpkins and have them create the recipe in a child-safe coffee mug. A styrofoam cup works just fine.
• Using the tongs and scoops to move ingredients around will help your child build stronger fine motor skills, muscle strength, and coordination. Provide bowls or plastic jars in the play area and demonstrate as needed to encourage this type of play. 

Important: While this pumpkin spice latte sensory bin is taste safe and can be used with little ones who put things in their mouths, supervision is still required. Please note that the pumpkin candy may be a choking hazard.

Why I’m Always Adding New Sensory Bin Ideas

If you’ve had any kids in occupational therapy, you’ve seen first hand the value and benefits of sensory play. For a child who is texture averse, simply engaging in sensory play can increase tolerance for different types of clothing or foods over time. It’s not an instant fix, but it can help!

Besides the benefits for kids with sensory aversions, this kind of play can help with emotional regulation, body awareness, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, pretend play, and so much more.

Ask questions to get your child talking more as they play. Tell stories to inspire imagination and storytelling. Practice math skills, following instructions, and large muscle movements like stirring. You can even encourage cross body movements to improve cross dominance by asking a child to move the pumpkins from the top left corner to the bottom right corner while standing still.

As you explore sensory play with your children, you will come up with even more ideas to help your child grow and develop. 

More Pumpkin Play to Enjoy

If better emotional regulation is your goal, you will also enjoy our Pumpkin Emotions Game. Make our Puffy Paint Pumpkins for a fun art project with a sensory element. And just for grins, I’ll also mention our pumpkin slime recipe. Embrace the mess! If you are building a week around pumpkins, you might also enjoy this wooden pumpkin patch puzzle, or this book: Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie.

What could be more delightful than creating a sensory bin related to the season and the holidays that your child can also eat as they explore? Our Taste Safe Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin is one of the easiest sensory bins you’ve ever assembled, with all of the ingredients coming straight from the grocery store and the play tools are already in your kitchen. 

Everything in this fun and engaging sensory bin can be eaten. Once your child starts to tire of this one, be sure to check out our Pumpkin Spice Latte Sensory Bin for new smells, new textures, and new invitations to play. 

Supplies for the Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin

• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
• Pumpkin Candy
• Mini Marshmallows
• Mini Pie Crust
• Scoop or Spoon
• Whisk

How to Make a Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin

Combine all of the ingredients in a large, flat tub to allow easy access for your child. Add the tools of play (scoops, spoons, whisks, tongs, etc.). Set the sensory bin on a low, flat surface and invite your child to play. Demonstrate for a few minutes, or play along with your child. 

This activity engages the olfactory (smell) sense with the smell of cinnamon in the cereal, tactile (touch), and gustatory (taste) if the child decides to taste the edible parts of the sensory bin.

How to Encourage Sensory Play 

• Scooping and dumping helps your child improve fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and predictive play. Show them how once or twice. 
• Help your child practice taking oral instructions by giving them a recipe to create. For instance, have them combine a scoop of cereal with one spoonful of marshmallows and two spoonfuls of the pumpkin candies. Make up different “recipes” for them to follow.
• If the cereal is the crust, the pumpkin is the filling, and the marshmallows are the whipped cream, you can have your child practice following instructions again by having them “build” a pumpkin pie in a small bowl or pie tin one layer at a time. You can also use the mini pie crusts to do this activity. 
• Supervision is required. Be aware that the pumpkin candy may be a choking hazard for the littlest players, but in general this taste safe pumpkin pie sensory bin is ideal for those still putting everything in their mouths. 
• Have your child move ingredients into a jar or bowl one at a time using child-friendly tongs for improved pincer grip, muscle development, and fine motor skills. If necessary to keep it interesting, add racing against the clock. 

Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin Extension Activities

Reading books can be a great way of increasing interest in a sensory bin and vice versa. The books Too Many Pumpkins or Oh My Pumpkin Pie are both excellent options to explore the topic of pumpkins. You can also build a LEGO pumpkin, Smash and plant pumpkins in your yard, or make a real pumpkin pie together. What about making pumpkin slime, or your own DIY pumpkin pie scented moon sand. Our pumpkin puffy paint makes a great art project. Learn about managing big feelings with our Pumpkin Emotions Game.

Another great idea for sensory play is to engage with your child to improve verbal communication. This kind of interaction with a parent or caregiver is invaluable! Here are some examples of questions you can ask your child to get them talking more and learning to express themselves. 

• What is your favorite part about eating a marshmallow?
• How does the marshmallow feel when you squish it with your tongue?
• Have you ever tried to smash cereal with your tongue instead of using your teeth? 
• How would you describe the contents of this play bin?
• What colors do you see in the bucket?
• What was your favorite part of this play time?
• Can you tell me three words to describe pumpkins? 
• If your pumpkin had a name, what would it be?

Try telling a story about the pumpkin pie with your child. Just start a random story and invite them to help you finish it. “Jason went down to the pumpkin patch one day and found the perfect pumpkin. He brought it home and showed his mother. Together, Jason and his Mom . . .” Just keep telling the story until it ends with a pumpkin pie on the table, engaging your child to fill in the blanks all along the way. 

Why Is Sensory Play Important?

Well-rounded exposure to sensory play helps your child feel grounded and secure. Sensory play can lead to better emotional regulation, improved mood, better sleep, and better overall behavior in public spaces. Sensory feedback is crucial for child development as children are growing from infancy and trying to understand their world around them. It stimulates critical thinking, problem solving, spacial awareness, and tactile engagement.

Sensory play can also be an effective way of desensitizing a child who is overly sensitive and does not respond in normal ways to normal sites, sounds, and textures they encounter in their every day world.

Finally, sensory play encourages other skill development too — things like fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and visual perceptual skills are all positively impacted through sensory experiences like this one.