Sensory Bins

Easter Egg Hunt Sensory Bin

Sensory bins are perfect for interactive play. And when you add in seasonal elements, they’re a fun way to celebrate a holiday with your little ones too. This adorable Easter egg hunt sensory bin is filled with unique ways for your kids to explore using an Easter theme, whether they’re learning at home or in the classroom.

Using common Easter themed items in your sensory bin is the perfect way to get your kids playing and learning by using their senses. Each item on the bin is designed to help your child learn as they play by engaging at least one of their senses – sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste.

Easter Egg Hunt Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

Instructions:

Spread the yellow and purple Pluffle in the bottom of the bin, placing one colour on each side.
Place the letters in the bin. You can use the letters to spell out words (like Easter Egg Hunt) or simply let your kids play with the letters and spell words on their own. Kids love to spell out their own names and familiar words.
Spread the sequin eggs and baby chick toys around inside the bin.
Place the magnifying glass on top of the items for the kids to use.

Easter Sensory Bin Activities

Once you have your sensory bin set up, your kids can explore each item inside the bin as they play. These sensory bin activities are fun ways to encourage your kids to explore:

Use the magnifying glass. Move the magnifying glass over each element in the sensory bin and explore the different colours and textures up close. Compare the fluffy chick’s feathers to the smooth letters to see how they are different.
Touch the different items in the bin. Use your fingers to touch each item in the bin and describe what each one feels like. Which items in the bin are soft? Which are hard?
Squish the Pluffle. Use your hands, a spoon, or a scoop to move the Pluffle around. Squish the Pluffle in your hands or combine the colours to see what happens.
Sort or spell with the letters. Put the letters in alphabetical order, sort them by colour, or spell Easter words with them inside the sensory bin.
Play hide and seek. Hide the eggs or chicks under the Pluffle and dig around in the bin to find them. Or play a game with a friend or sibling by hiding items inside the bin and asking someone else to find the hidden treasures.

Check out our other Easter sensory ideas:

Nature Inspired Easter Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

Using nature as inspiration for your sensory bin is a great way to provide your toddler or preschooler with educational interactive fun. And since spring is right around the corner, Easter is the perfect time to create a nature activity for your kids. With this nature inspired Easter sensory bin, your little ones can have some educational fun while exploring nature at home. Nature provides your kids with tons of opportunities to explore and meet their sensory needs. From smelling the flowers to touching the soft grass, there are several ways your child can use their senses while playing outside. And that’s why nature is the perfect inspiration for an Easter sensory bin.

Nature Inspired Easter Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

plastic tub
plush Easter bunny
rocks
gold gems
stones
artificial grass
Spanish moss
artificial flowers and plants
mini birch logs
artificial insects like butterflies/dragonflies

Instructions:

Add the Spanish moss to the tray. Add the artificial grass on top. Spread out evenly.
Place the artificial plants, flowers, and mini birch logs around the bin.
Add the stones, rocks, and gems to the bin.
Add the butterflies and dragonflies to the bin.
Set the bunny near the bin.

Nature Inspired Sensory Bin Activities

Once you have your sensory bin put together, it’s time to let your kids explore.

If you’re looking for ways to encourage your kids to play, try these fun activity suggestions:

Play with the bunny in the bin. Encourage pretend play by asking your child to play with the bunny in the bin. They can make the bunny interact with the different elements of the bin and use their imagination as they play.
Touch the different elements and compare the textures. Explore their sense of touch by touching each item to see what it feels like. Then, compare the different textures to see which ones are similar, like the rocks and gems, and which ones are different, like the logs and moss.

Listen to nature sounds. In addition to invoking your kids’ sense of touch, this nature inspired sensory bin can also let your child use their ears to hear. Figure out what sounds the elements make when rubbed together or moved from spot to spot.
Encourage imaginative play. After child plays with the bunny, your child can also use the butterflies and dragonflies for play. Show them how the insects interact with the different elements in the bin, then let them use their imagination to play with the toys.
Sort and organize. Practice sorting and organizing the elements in the bin into different categories, like colour, shape, or size.
Compare to nature. Take a look at each element in the bin and compare it to items found in nature. Ask your child what each item looks like and then let them guess what it is and where in nature you can find it.

Check out some of our other Easter sensory activities for kids:

Easter Fluffy Slime

Eggs and Carrots Easter Sensory Bin

Sensory Sound Eggs

Ladybug Life Cycle Sensory Bin and Activities

By Sharla Kostelyk

This adorable ladybug life cycle sensory bin is a great addition to an insect study, ladybug study, or preschool classroom. You can set it up for your child at home or students in the classroom and invite them to explore. Whenever you can add a sensory activity into learning, it increases the amount of information children can retain. Sensory bins are a simple way to do this and as kids discover through their senses, they can ask questions which will increase their learning.

Ladybug Life Cycle Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

- plastic bin
- rice dyed green >> read how to dye rice for sensory play
- ladybug life cycle pack
- rocks
- sticks
- plastic leaves
- magnifying glass

Instructions:

Dye the rice (read the full instructions here) and let it dry overnight.
Pour the green rice into a plastic bin.
Place the other items into the bin.
Invite your child or students to play and discover.

This sensory bin contains small parts. Adult supervision should always be used when kids play.

Life Stages of a Ladybug:

egg
larva
pupa
adult ladybug

Activities to Expand on Your Ladybug Study:

Observe ladybugs in nature.
Download and print off this ladybug life cycle printable.
Set out books about ladybugs and other insects.
Make and hang suncatcher decorations to go along with your theme.
Create a craft out of a paper plate.
Use these life cycle sequencing cards.
Print and colour these ladybug life cycle pages.

Kids will engage their visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems by playing in this sensory bin. You can also add something for the olfactory (smell) system by scenting the rice using essential oil.

Resources for Learning About Ladybugs:

Ladybug Life Cycle Pack Ladybug Life Cycle Reversible Hand Puppet Ladybug Land with Live Larvae The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle Life Story of a Ladybug Color the Life Cycle of a Ladybug, Cricket, Butterfly, Honey Bee, and a Frog Ladybugs

You might also want to check out our other life cycle sensory bins:

Sensory Bin Starter Kit

By Sharla Kostelyk

Sensory bins are simple to put together but provide a big “punch” in terms of benefits. Improved fine motor skills, sensory input (tactile, visual, proprioception, and sometimes auditory and/or gustatory), communication skills, and hands-on learning are just some of the opportunities that are presented to a child with sensory bin play.

If you’re new to creating sensory bins for your child or classroom, I’ve put together a Sensory Bin Starter Kit guide for you.

Here are some ideas to help you put together your own sensory bin starter kit:

Sensory Bins eBook

The Sensory Bins book includes idea lists, storage tips, money saving hints, information on sensory processing in how it pertains to sensory bins, and sensory play recipes. It’s a great place to start.

Pluffle

This stuff is so fun! It kind of moves which is just super neat. I discovered it just last year. It makes a great sensory bin filler and is so versatile. You can see a video below of the pluffle in action.

Learning Resources Helping Hands Fine Motor Tool Set

Sensory bins are a wonderful way to improve fine motor skills. This tool set includes large Gator Grabber tweezers, a Handy Scooper, Twisty Dropper, and Squeezy Tweezers. These are all designed for fine motor skill development.

Adding one or more of these into a sensory bin will offer more ways to play and explore. I especially like the Handy Scooper for water bead sensory bins.

For similar effects, you can also add kitchen tools such as measuring cups, measuring spoons, tongs, scoops, ladles, strainers, small bowls, and spatulas. These are great for scooping, pouring, measuring, moving, pinching, and grabbing.

Water Beads

Water beads are such a versatile sensory item. They make an easy sensory bin filler. I’ve used them in so many of our sensory bins.

Small Toys or Items for Play

One of the things I use most in my sensory bins are little toys found in these things called Toobs. I’ve used the space set, human organs, ocean animals, in the sky, arctic, insects, fruits and vegetables, penguins, dinosaur skulls, and many others.

Small toy cars, miniature trees, pompoms, and mini figures are other common items we often use in our bins. If you have all of these basic components and add them to a bin, you can create all kinds of wonderful sensory bins for your child to explore!

As with all sensory play, adult supervision should be used at all times.

Other Sensory Bin Resources:

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin and Activities

By Sharla Kostelyk

A frog life cycle sensory bin is a great addition to your child or students’ science studies. Kids can explore and discover using their sense of touch and sight.

When you can add a hands-on component to any unit study, it increases retention of the information and interest in the topic.

Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

plastic container
blue and green water beads
frog life cycle pack
frog figurines
rocks
plastic lily pads
plastic leaves

Directions:

Place the water beads in a plastic container.
Add water.
Allow time for the water beads to expand.
Make an area in a corner of the bin by pushing away some of the water beads and set out the rocks. This will be the land where frogs can sit.
Add in the frogs, lily pads, and leaves.
Invite kids to explore.

Life Stages of the Frog:

A frog lays eggs. It takes one to three weeks for the eggs to hatch.
A tadpole hatches from each egg. Tadpoles live exclusively in water. They use gills to breathe. This stage lasts 9-12 weeks.
The tadpole then grows into a froglet that looks more like a frog but has a tail. It has legs and lungs, so it is able to walk and hop on land.
12-16 weeks after the egg first hatched, the frog is fully formed and is an adult.

Ideas to Expand Your Frog Life Cycle Unit Study:

Set out a variety of books on frogs.
Go on a nature hike to a pond and observe frogs or tadpoles in person. Draw what you see in a notebook. Watching frogs in real life is the most effective way to learn about them.
Download and print the Frog Life Cycle Hat. Students can colour it, cut it out, and even wear it while they play in the sensory bin!
Use the Frog Emotions Printable Pack.
Learn this cute song about metamorphosis.
Watch a video about frogs.
Fill out a worksheet to help remember the stages.

Resources for Learning about Frogs:

Insect Lore Frog Life Cycle Stages Tadpole to Frog Growing Kit with 2 Live Tadpoles Frog Emotions Printable PackBUY NOW Life Cycle of a Frog Montessori Puzzle Life Cycle of a Frog Learning Chart Frog Life Cycle Hand Puppet And the Bullfrogs Sing: A Life Cycle Begins From Tadpole to Frog National Geographic Readers: Tadpole to Frog

This sensory bin contains small parts and water beads. Adult supervision should be used at all times when kids are participating in sensory play.

Download your free printable Frog Life Cycle Hat. You’ll also be entered in our email series 5 Days to Better Family Connection.

Check out our other life cycle sensory bins:

Bee Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Chicken Life Cycle Sensory Bin

Peter Rabbit Sensory Bin

By Sharla Kostelyk

I’ve long been a fan of the Peter Rabbit books. Then they came out with a pretty cute movie and a sequel. Now the world has met these cute bunny characters. This Peter Rabbit Sensory Bin is a cute way to expand the books or the movie. Preschoolers can engage in imaginative play with some of the most beloved characters in this adorable Peter Rabbit Sensory Bin. We later used some of these same items in our Peter Rabbit Invitation to Play.

Peter Rabbit Sensory Bin:

Supplies needed:

plastic tub
rice dyed green (get full instructions on how to easily colour rice yourself)
dry beans
Peter Rabbit figurines
fruits and vegetables Toob
carrot cookie cutter
scoops and tongs

Directions:

Dye rice green using these instructions.
Once it is dry, place it at the bottom of a plastic bin to cover about half.
Place dry beans in the other half.
Put the figurines and the other items in the bin.
Invite your child to play.

The Peter Rabbit Classic Collection Peter Rabbit Movie GUND Classic Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Stuffed Animal Peter Rabbit Figures A Rabbit’s Tale Felt Figures for Flannelboard Stories Fruits & Vegetables Toob Set of Carrot, Bunny & Bird Cookie Cutters

This hands-on sensory bin provides the opportunity for kids to engage their visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems.

Because of the bunnies, this sensory bin could also be set out at Easter time. Or it could correlate with a literature study or nutrition unit.

Ways to expand this activity:

Read one of the Peter Rabbit books aloud to your child while they are playing in the bin.
Watch one of the movies together.
Create a Peter Rabbit Playdough Invitation to Play.
Set out real fruits and vegetables for your child to snack on while they play.
Suggest that your child recreate a scene from the books or movies in their play.
For older kids, you can create an entire Peter Rabbit unit study and use these free printable worksheets to go along with it.
Play a Peter Rabbit I Spy game.

Some other sensory activities that may interest you:

Peter Rabbit Playdough Center

Bath Time Theme Sensory Bin

Stretchy Butterfly Slime