If you’ve never used a sensory bin with your children before, this is the perfect one to start with! Not only is it fun, full of different textures, and perfectly themed, it’s also taste-safe. Taste-safe bins are always the most popular around here. It’s that time of year so I’m guessing your family will also want to make this Snowflake Sensory Bag or this Winter Sensory Tray.

Taste Safe Hot Cocoa Sensory Bin Supplies

• Mini Marshmallows. I buy these at my local grocery store or dollar store
• Cocoa Puffs Cereal. Purchased from the grocery store.
• Mini Tea Cups Set. These I purchased at the Dollar Tree.
• Silicone Muffin Cups.
• Trays. If you have more than one child, I recommend making a different tray for each so that you aren’t sharing germs.
• Sprinkles. If the jar is partially used, that’s even better because it will be fun to shake. 

How to Make the Hot Cocoa Sensory Bin

Start by covering the bottom of the bin with cocoa pebbles. Then add mini marshmallows until it looks right. Finish with the accessories. The only variable here is really how much of each thing you put in the bin or tray and there is no right answer. 

What else can I add to the Hot Cocoa Sensory Bin? 

Different Marshmallows. The larger sizes of marshmallows might be fun if you want to include a variety. I’ve also seen special bags of “just the marshmallows” from cereal, which are dried marshmallows and I think those would be fun. 

Peppermints. You can get soft peppermints, or peppermint sticks, or even peppermint marshmallows. If you do this, I recommend one per tray. 

Tips and Tricks for the Best Sensory Bin Experience

Only leave a specific sensory bin out for one or two days. Then take a break and introduce a new one a couple of days later. This keeps them fresh and fun. 

Throw out the edible contents of a Taste-Safe sensory bin and start fresh each time so you don’t keep or harbor germs or invite unwanted guests. 

Tie your sensory bins into other themes or activities happening in your child’s world like holidays, events, school themes, favorite books, etc. 

Add different scooping and measuring and sorting tools on day two. Keep things interesting by changing up the tools you add to the tray the second time your child uses it. 

Stop any sensory activity before it gets frustrating. Limit the amount of time your child has access to the sensory bin if you can tell the textures, tastes, or smells are overstimulating. 

Perfect Moments for a Hot Cocoa Sensory Bin

• Little kids stuck inside while big kids play in the snow.
• After the kids all come in from playing in the snow and have hot chocolate. 
• When it’s cold outside. 
• For holidays.
• Snow Days when kids are stuck at home all day. 
• During a polar vortex.
• When you are doing a snow-themed unit in your preschool or homeschool. 
• When the adults are having “fancy” hot chocolate and you need something simple to do for your kids. 

What are Kids Getting Out of Sensory Bin Play?

If you are wondering about the money or the mess, here are reasons why sensory play is essential for childhood development. 

This particular sensory bin helps with pincer grip (picking up anything between the thumb and index finger) which is a very important developmental milestone. 

Hand-eye coordination. Picking up, eating, sorting, and moving the contents of the bin. 

Fine Motor Skills. Using the muscles of the hand to scoop, pick up, etc. 

Sensory Feedback. Learning to interpret and understand sensory experiences like taste, touch, and smell. 

Nervous System Regulation. Sensory play is known to have a calming effect and help kids move out of “fight or flight” or stressful states. It’s not just a distraction, it’s actually stimulating the vagus nerve in a positive way. 

Books About Chocolate to Read with Kids 

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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?

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I don’t know about your kids, but sensory bins are something we get excited about around here. They provide just the right amount of sensory stimulation, without overwhelming. The mess is contained, and the exploration is fun. When we are done, it’s so easy to put away! Most of the supplies for this sensory bin were purchased at Dollar Tree so it’s a very affordable project. 

Dollar Store Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin Supplies

• Brown Decorative Shred (Dollar Store) 
• Mini Pumpkins (Dollar Store) – I got mine in orange and white
• Pumpkin Seeds (bulk store or grocery store)
• Silicon muffin tins from Amazon
• Mini Hay Bales (Dollar Store)
• Plastic Trays (Amazon)
  

What Else Can I Add to A Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin?

If you want more volume or more variety, consider adding one or more of these things:

• Cinnamon Sticks – will add an olfactory (smell) sensory component
• Small Green Leaves like the leaves on a pumpkin
• Put Pumpkin Patch related stickers on the bottom of the plastic tray for your child to discover.
• Honestly sometimes just walking through the Dollar Store, you will find something that is perfect to add that I completely missed on my shopping trip! If you find the perfect add, be sure to mention it in the comments. 

How to Make Your Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin

Set out the tray and add the various supplies, adjusting the quantity of each as needed to get a nice blend of content. Add child-friendly scoops, cups, spoons, and tongs to encourage fine motor work. It’s that simple! 

Why Kids Need Sensory Bins

Having sensory feedback allows a child’s nervous system to settle down and reset. If your child is sensory-seeking, this kind of activity can be a life-saver for the family, giving your child some much needed quiet, focused play-work and bringing more calm to your evenings. 

These bins also give your child a chance to learn more about their world. They explore textures and shapes, talk about seasons and colors and themes, and more! 

As your child uses tongs, scoops, spoons, and cups to move and sort and organize the contents of a sensory bin, they are also problem solving, organizing, and improving fine motor skills. 

Add encouragement for your child to count, sort, and discuss the various components of the sensory bin and now you’ve brought even more value to the activity.

What to do with the Pumpkin Patch Sensory Bin

Ask questions like these:

• How many white pumpkins are in there?
• How many orange pumpkins are there?
• Which are there more of – orange pumpkins or white pumpkins?
• How many hay bales can you stack before they tumble? 
• How many pumpkins or pumpkin seeds fit in a silicone cup?

Rotate it out with other Fall-themed sensory bins to keep the interest high. We also have a Taste-Safe Pumpkin Pie Sensory Bin and a Pumpkin Spice Latte Sensory Bin.

Add other pumpkin-related activities to keep the learning momentum going! 

Pumpkin Patch Extension Activities

Since you already have the supplies, make up a pumpkin patch sensory bottle to take on the go! 

Help your kids make pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread or cookies as a special treat.

Visit a pumpkin patch and bring home a pumpkin. If you can, add in a hayride while you are there! 

Play this Pumpkins Emotions Game.

Have fun making Pumpkin Slime.

Watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown with your family. If you do this, you might add some Peanuts related items into your sensory bin for a day or two. We thought these Charlie Brown Stress Balls were a cute choice.

Read Pumpkin Related Books. We’ve highlighted a few books below, but I do highly recommend asking your local kid’s librarian — they love to help! Sometimes you can also find seasonal puzzles and other activities to check out at the library. 

Pumpkin Theme Books For Kids

The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons. Mrs. Gibbons always has the most interesting books, and you can usually read just the first sentence or two to your small child and as your children get older add more and more of the detail on each page. 

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White

How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin by Margaret McNamera. Delve into STEM and actually take a pumpkin apart to explore it’s parts! 

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Create this quick and easy Candy Corn Construction Sensory bin and watch as your child spends hours occupied with driving and dumping, snacking and shovelling for all it’s worth. If you have a little one into construction toys of all kinds, this activity is a no-brainer! 

Sensory bins are easy to put together and so much fun for kids. If you haven’t tried one yet, now is the time. Your kids will appreciate the novelty of it, and love exploring the textures and smells and sometimes tastes of the sensory bin and you will enjoy the quiet, focused play.

It’s a great tool to use when you need to get dinner on the table, work sent to a client, or that last bit done before your deadline. When you can work just a few feet from your kids without stress, that’s a win for everyone! 

Supplies for the Candy Corn Construction Sensory Bin

• One bag of candy corn
• Construction toys

Tips to Make It Awesome

• Use mini construction toys. They are the right size for candy corn.
• Don’t cover the bottom of the container completely. Allow room for kids to push and scoop the candy corn with the toys.
• Have them see how many different machines they can transfer the candy corn to without touching the bin.
• See if transferring multiple pieces at once is more difficult than just one piece.
• Play Supervisor, and request the kids pick up a specific number of candy corn to fulfill an order.
• A dedicated sensory table can be used over and over again for easy play time. I highly recommend this one.

How to Change it Up for Day Two

I like to only leave each sensory bin out for a day or two and then have a day or two break and switch it our for another one. Sometimes, boredom sets in on day two though, and adding just one or two ingredients can re-engage your child. It’s also a great way to keep the sensory bin fresh when you plan to use it more than once in the same season.

Any easy way to change up this particular bin could be changed by adding different colors of candy corn or the mini pumpkins. If you want to get a little fancier, hiding these matching stickers in the bottom under candy corn would be a fun add!

One or two of these candy corn stress balls might also be fun. Miniature construction cones are the perfect addition! Did you find the perfect add-on? Be sure to let us know in the comments! 

Why Making Time for Sensory Play Matters

Sensory play is important for all children, not just those who are extra sensory-seeking. Exploring the senses is a classic way to calm down the nervous system, process stress, and calm down anxiety. It actually has a direct impact on vagus nerve health and regulation.

I know sometimes it just seems like one more thing added to your plate, but I have found over and over again that starting with sensory play or including sensory play in our consistent daily routine pays me back in spades – because as my child’s anxiety drops and behavior improves, I have more time to focus on the things I need to get done, and that helps reduce my stress.

If you aren’t sure if you can “waste” the time it takes to source and set up sensory play activities for your kids, I encourage you to try it for just two weeks. Once you observe the benefits, I think you’ll find it worth the effort. 

Besides helping with emotional regulation, sensory processing, and anxiety, playing with one of our sensory bins also helps your child develop fine motor skills, work on hand-eye coordination, practice number sense and verbal expression. It’s a win-win for everyone! 

Books about Candy Corn or Construction to Read with your Kids

Reading with your kids takes something ordinary and turns it into something extraordinary – stories spark the imagination, teach your kids to create imagery in their heads when they hear stories (an important skill that starts developing as soon as you start reading to your kids!) and creates new neural pathways between different experiences like the sensory bin, the construction site you watched for an hour after that appointment, and the information in the books you read. So much goodness happens when you read a book to your kids, and even more when those books are connected to the other things you’ve been doing.

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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.

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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.

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Sensory bins are, indeed, the most quintessential sensory feedback play to give your child interesting and dynamic experiences with texture, touch, and grounding. Once your kiddos are all done with this one, switch it up and keep the sensory play going. 

How to Make an Apple Pie Sensory Bin

Supplies

• Oats – I bought mine from the grocery store, but you could also buy them at a bulk store or on Amazon. 
• Red and Bright Green Pom Poms – I ordered mine in a bulk package from Amazon, but your local craft store will also have them.
• Cinnamon Sticks – Find these in the spice section of your grocery store.
• Brown and Tan Felt – This is easy to find at a craft store or you can sometimes find it at a dollar store.
• Silicone Muffin Cups
• Child-Safe Tongs or Scoops

Setting Up the Sensory Bin 

1. Put the oats in the bottom first.
2. Strew the other materials out on top.

To prepare for apple pie sensory play, read a book or watch a video about making apple pie. Talk about the different parts of a pie (crust, apples, seasoning, etc.) and how a pie is made. 

Introduce the sensory bin by showing your child each of the different parts and placing it in his/her hand. Talk about the texture — how does it feel in your hand and how does it make you feel? If any of the textures are unpleasant for your child, you can remove those items and try re-introducing them later. 

Allow free play with the apple pie sensory bin in any way that works for you. It could be for fifteen minutes first thing in the morning while you get your coffee. Or it could be an hour in the evening while you make dinner. It could even be in the afternoon while younger siblings are taking a nap or just whenever it fits into your day. There is no set amount of time so you can set limits or let your child play for as long as they like. 

For extra sensory fun, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, apple extract, or maple extract and stir it into the oats before you add the other ingredients. Alternatively, you could stir in a small amount (a few drops) or Fall scented essential oils.

More Ways to Play with Your Apple Pie Sensory Bin

Practice math skills. Adding. Subtracting. Fractions. All kinds of skills can be practiced in hands on ways using the various parts of the pie. 

Practice language skills. As your child to describe the pieces of the sensory bin. The textures, the colors, the smells, the feelings it evokes; these are all things your child can describe in words. You can also have your child talk you through how to make a pie and the parts of a pie, etc.

Practice following instructions. Make up recipes for your child to follow. Like this. “Add five green apples, four red apples, a scoop of oats, and two cinnamon sticks. Top with the crust. You made a pie!” Then try a different “recipe.”

Encourage use of the tongs, scoops, spoons, etc. to give your child practice in hand-eye coordination, muscle development, and fine motor skills. 

Sort the pom poms into the two different colors using the tongs. 

Extend the Apple Pie Sensory Bin with other activities related to an apple pie theme. Go pick apples. Make apple pie and/or apple sauce together. Read books about apples and pie. Do apple experiments and make apple art. 

Fantastic Apple and Pie Books To Read 

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington

Amelia Plants and Apple Tree by Elena Magidson

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman

Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie by Herman Parish

Apple Pie Tired by Beth Charles

Pie In the Sky by Louis Ehlert. This one is about cherry pie, but it is an excellent apple pie adjacent read. 

We have even more beautiful apple books to read on our post about Taste Safe Apple Pie Sensory Bin fun. It’s a completely different sensory bin with the same theme so you can keep going! 

Why Use Sensory Bins

Sensory bins have a way of distracting kids from big emotions, helping them calm down, self-regulate, and focus on something new. The tactile experience can help sensory averse kids become more used to a variety of textures and smells. It also provides much needed sensory play for overall vagus nerve health and sensory integration. Besides all of the sensory benefits, these bins also provide fine motor skill and large motor skill work (playing with tongs and scoops or standing over the bin both use different muscle groups), hand-eye coordination, visual perceptual skills, and more. Read more about the importance of sensory play for all children here.

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Here’s to winning mamas! We all know this is an intense, but worthy gig. Sensory bins can be an easy and fail-safe part of your routine. Have a stash tucked away to improve any rainy day whether it is stormy on the outside or the inside. Nothing improves grumpiness faster! That’s because sensory play is calming. It provides a sense of safety for the vestibular system and helps children of all ages move back to parasympathetic mode. 

How to Make a Taste Safe Apple Pie Sensory Bin

Supplies Needed

• Apple Jacks Cereal
• Caramel Apple-Flavored Candy Corn (shaped like apples and seasonally available)
• Mini Pie Crusts
• Tan Card stock
• Cinnamon Sticks
• Scoop or Spoon

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Cut the card stock into strips. This will be used for the lattice crust. 
2. Cover the bottom of the bin with Apple Jacks cereal.
3. Place the rest of the supplies on top of the cereal.

Ways to Make the Taste-Safe Apple Pie Sensory Bin Work For You

• Have kids follow a recipe to help develop cognitive skills. For example, one red apple, two green, and two scoops of Apple Jacks. 
• Kids can also stack apple candies for a fine motor skill activity. See how many they can get before they all tumble down.
• Use different tools to change things up from one day to the next and work on new skills! Start with a spoon or scoop. Then add a pair of child-friendly plastic tongs. Next, throw in a metal measuring cup. Try a few small wooden bowls. If you have a wheel-hungry kid, you can even throw in a couple of bulldozers to build that pie. I’m not even joking. 
• Weaving the lattice crust is its own skill. It requires hand-eye coordination, planning, and spatial awareness. You can practice this skill separately to help ease into it. The same technique can be used to make an apple pie craft –giving you another opportunity to practice this skill with your little one.
• Ask your child to talk about what they are touching. You might ask leading questions like: “Describe how smelling the apple candy makes you feel?” or “What can you tell me about Apple Jacks cereal?” or “What are the steps to building a (pretend) apple pie?” This encourages language development and helps strengthen neural pathway connections. 
• Have your child sort red apples from green apples and red cereal from green cereal. Place one color in one pie crust and one color in the other. 
• Encourage counting. How many apple candies fit in one pie crust? etc.

Books to Read with our Apple Pie Sensory Bins

We have two different apple pie sensory bins. This one is taste safe, and our other one is a completely different sensory experience. Perfect bins to use back-to-back when you can plan a trip to the orchard for picking apples, and read these books together at the same time. Want more book ideas? We’ve got a whole different list on our regular Apple Pie Sensory Bin so you have lots of options! 

The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

Apples Here by Will Hubbell

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

Apples by Gail Gibbons

Why Sensory Bins Make Sense

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Why Explore Emotions with Sensory Bin Play

I can think of no better way to explore emotions safely. Sensory play is calming to the central nervous system and helps your child move from parasympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) to the sympathetic nervous system. It is also allows for the safe physical expression of emotions, pressing, squeezing, and pulling to work through anger, fear, or anxiety without hurting themselves or others. This helps cortisol levels come down.

Sensory bin play is also grounding, giving your child a sense of his place in space and his connection to the physical world. Body awareness increases as children play with toys that provide sensory input, and this also helps them recognize emotions as they begin and build instead of after they spill over. Combined with the fact that the actual content of this bin teaches kids to identify, name, and talk about various emotions and you have a win-win play experience.

How to Make an Emotions Sensory Bin

Supplies Needed

• Sensory bins
• Emotion stickers
• Sensory tools
• Makeup brush 
• Oats

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Put the stickers on the bottom of your sensory bin.  
2. Cover with oats. 
3. Add in any sensory tools and the makeup brush and have your kids explore and search to find each emotion.  

Tips and Ideas for your Emotions Sensory Bin

• Other sensory tools or figurines can be added to make the bin more fun to play with or more educational. 
• Instead of oats, you can use various types of rice, quinoa, cereal, or water beads. 
• You can make an emotion card and laminate it so your kids can check off each emotion as they find it.
• Take the time to talk about each emotion to help your child learn more about emotions as well. 
• Read books related to emotions to give your child the language necessary to discuss big emotions with you or a therapist.
• Play with toys, games, and add more sensory activities to help your child form connections. We have a great list to get you started at the end of this post. 

More Ways to Play With Your Sensory Bin

• Add more tools, such as tongs, scoops, buckets, bowls, cups, funnels, construction vehicles, etc. 
• Practice counting as you find the emotions stickers. 
• Encourage verbal expression, asking your child to describe each sticker and use emotion words etc. 
• Tell a story as you uncover various emotion faces and turn each into a different character in the story. 
• Remove all of the oats little by little into a large bucket until all of the stickers are exposed, then dump the bucket back in and play some more. 

Books to Read about Emotions

• Train Your Angry Dragon by Steve Herman
• The Color Monster: A Story About Emotions by Anna Llenas
• Roaring Mad Riley by Allison Szczecinski MEd
• A Little Spot Emotional Regulation Boxed Set by Diane Alber

Toys and Games that Teach About Emotions

Don’t Go Bananas. A therapy game intended to help kids work through strong emotions.

Roll With It Coping Skills Dice Set. teaches 52 different coping skills for big emotions.

LeSong Plastic Sensory Emotions Shapes. These would be a fun add for your sensory bin! 

More Great Ideas for Working with Emotions through Sensory Play

We have so many fantastic ways to explore emotions through play! Be sure to check out Emotions and Calm Down Strategies Mega Bundle. It has a huge stash of resources to help your child in this area. 

Play the Feelings Jenga Game to get your child talking about emotions as they work through the emotions of frustration, anger, and excitement caused by the game itself.

How to Work Through Emotions with My Child will give you coping skills and strategies to use as the parent in any big emotions situation.

Make sure to check out our Big List of Books About Emotions for Kids to get even more book suggestions!

The Emotions Sensory Bag and the Emotions Sensory Bottle are both fun new activities. Each pairs perfectly with our Emotions Sensory Bin and will also work well for younger children who aren’t quite ready for sensory bin play. 

Get even more ideas from this Big List of Ideas to Teach Kids About Emotions.

The post How to Make an Emotions Sensory Bin appeared first on The Chaos and the Clutter.

Bright and engaging colors, a variety of interesting textures, and a story to tell, retell, and imagine will make this a sensory bin your kids won’t want to leave. The value of sensory input for children cannot be overstated. The same can be said for literacy. This activity encourages both.

About The Day the Crayons Quit

A delightful book, The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt and Marichelle Daywalt, tells the story of a time when all the crayons were dissatisfied with their lot in life. Each of the crayons leaves behind a letter to explain their plight and a dissappointed young man must convince them to take up their posts again so that he can color. The book covers themes like communication, feelings, empathy, and respect.

Why Connect a Sensory Bin to a Picture Book

The beauty of reading picture books to children is that the pictures help  to bring stories to life for children and help them engage with the story even as they work separately on the skill of picturing a story as they read. Reading out loud to your children has immense value because they can hear and understand far more than they can read on their own. So by reading, you are providing an enriched literary experience they will come to crave for themselves. 

When you add a sensory bin to the picture book experience, you are extending the magic. You keep the story alive in their minds and give them one more way to explore the concepts introduced by the book. As they play, they replay or continue the story in their heads or outloud with each other. This gives kids practice using vocabulary, communicating with each other, using imagination, and exploring the world.

The connection between the sensory bin and the book strengthens neural pathways in the brain and improves comprehension through play. It’s a new way to process and work through new information. 

How to Make a “The Day the Crayons Quit” Sensory Bin

Supplies Needed 

• Rainbow Rice – Make your own dyed rice.
• Rainbow Pom Poms
• Number Mini Erasers
• Child Friendly Tongs
• Magnifying Glass
• Foam Dice
• Small Bowl
• Book: The Day the Crayons Quit

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Fill the sensory bin with rainbow rice.
2. Add rainbow pom poms and number mini erasers.
3. Add small bowl, tongs, magnifying glass, and dice.
4. Set the book next to the bin.

Suggested Activities to Go with The Day the Crayons Quit Sensory Bin

• Read the book.
• Roll the dice and find a matching number mini eraser with the magnifying glass.
• Roll the dice and use the tongs to place the correct number of pom poms in the bowl.
• Use the magnifying glass to take a closer look at the book.
• Locate a color in the book and find the matching colored pom poms.

How to Play with A Sensory Bin

• Sort and organize. This is such a valuable activity for kids. You can sort items in the bin by color, type, or size. 
• Encourage your children to enjoy free play in the bin and see how they approach the experience. Let them run their hands through the rice, scoop and pour it, and play for as long as they like.
• Compare and contrast. Talk about how the textures, colors, shapes, and sizes of each object compares to the others. Use descriptive words like smooth, soft, fluffy, or bright to describe the objects and compare them. 
• Gather and distribute. Move all of the pom poms to the bowl. Then dump the pom poms and move all the number erasers to the bowl. Use tongs, tweezers, or thumb and index fingers to work on fine motor skills a variety of different ways.

Sensory Bin Variations

You do not have to use rainbow rice. You could use rainbow pasta, rainbow beans, or a different sensory bin filler in primary colors. 

Be creative! You can find mini crayon erasers and all kinds of things to use in your sensory bin if you have the room in your budget, but you can also pick things up at yard sales, at thrift shops, and from around your home. For this sensory bin focus on primary colors or rainbow colors to go with the theme of the book.

Add funnels, scoops, tweezers, measuring cups, spoons, and other tools to help your child experience the different materials in the bin. 

Learning Extension Activities for The Day the Crayons Quit

Create Your Own Follow-Up Story: The Day the Crayons Were Happy

The Day the Crayons Quit Coloring Page

Make Crayon Ornaments

How to Melt Crayons and Make New Ones

The post The Day the Crayons Quit Sensory Bin appeared first on The Chaos and the Clutter.