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Search Results for: sensory

Easter Sensory Bottle

By Sharla Kostelyk

One of the simplest forms of sensory play for young children is a sensory bottle. And when you add holiday elements to your bottles, you have the perfect way to celebrate an occasion. This simple Easter sensory bottle features classic holiday elements, allowing your child to celebrate Easter and have a little bit of educational fun at the same time. clear bottle with sequins and glitter and eggs and chicks. Text reads "Easter sensory bottle"

Easter Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

  • plastic water bottle (Voss bottles or craft store sensory bottle)
  • purple glitter
  • pastel baby chicks
  • mini coloured foam eggs
  • pastel sequins
  • clear dish soap (Dawn or LemiShine soap are good options because they have a thick consistency)
  • optional: Superglue or hot glue to seal the bottle cap 

Instructions:

  1. Pour the clear soap into the sensory bottle until it’s around 2/3 of the way full.
  2. Add the glitter, baby chicks, foam eggs, and pastel sequins to the bottle.
  3. Fill the rest of the container with water.
  4. If you plan on gluing the lid to keep the bottle from reopening, add hot or Superglue glue to the inside of the lid, then replace the lid on the bottle. Otherwise, you can simply put the lid back on.

Easter Sensory Bottle Play and Learning Activities

This sensory bottle is perfect for encouraging interactive play with young children. But keep in mind that your child should always be supervised by an adult as they play. Even if the lid is glued to the top of the bottle, it could come off. And since the pieces inside could be a choking hazard, it’s important to keep an eye on your child as they’re playing with their bottle.

Try these play activities to give your kids a chance to use their visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems as they learn:

  • Seek and find. Shake up the Easter sensory bottle and let your child search through the items as they float to find different elements inside. Ask your child what they see and let them point out the different pieces inside the bottle.
  • Count the eggs and chicks. As the eggs and chicks float around the bottle, let your child count each item to see how many eggs and chicks are inside.
  • Calm a busy mind. The Easter holiday can often cause sensory overload for young kids. Creating this Easter sensory bottle is the perfect way to calm your child when they’re feeling overwhelmed. Simply shake the bottle to mix up the elements inside, then let your child watch the pieces as they float around inside.

Some other Easter sensory activities:

Easter Oobleckdrips of pastel colours of goo coming down into a sensory bin of oobleckEaster Fluffy Slime

Nature Inspired Easter Sensory Binplush bunny sits by a sensory bin filled with moss, grass, and toy butterflies

Eggs and Carrots Sensory Bin

Filed Under: Crafts and Activities Tagged With: sensory bottles, sensory play

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. stuffed bunny, moss, grass, sticks, and toy insects. Text reads "Nature Inspired Easter Sensory Bin"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.collage of photos of a hand playing in a Spring 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 

plush bunny sits by a sensory bin filled with moss, grass, and toy butterfliesInstructions: 

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

collage of photos of creating an Easter sensory 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.

hand playing in an Easter sensory bin

  • 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.

hands holding toy butterflies

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

Easter Fluffy Slime

Eggs and Carrots Easter Sensory Bin

Sensory Sound Eggs

Filed Under: Crafts and Activities, Sensory Bins Tagged With: sensory bin, sensory play

I Spy Birds Sensory Bottle

By Sharla Kostelyk

Kids can work on their visual perception while playing with this I Spy Birds Sensory Bottle. It is simple to create at home or for the classroom. clear plastic bottle filled with dry white rice and tiny toy birdsThis sensory bottle creates opportunity for kids to use their tactile, visual, and proprioceptive sensory systems. Sensory input is an important part of child development and emotional regulation. 

I Spy Birds Sensory Bottle:

Supplies needed:

    • 16.9 oz. bottle (you can use a sensory bottle or Voss type water bottle)
    • white rice
    • funnel
    • bird buttons 
    • optional: hot glue

Directions:

  1. Using a funnel, add a small amount of rice to the bottom of the bottle.
  2. Place a bird button inside the bottle.
  3. Repeat the above steps until all the birds are placed inside the bottle. By layering the rice and birds, you can ensure they won’t all be in the same place. 
  4. Fill the remainder of the bottle with rice, but leave some space for the rice to move around. You can empty out rice if you feel the rice doesn’t move enough to allow the animals to be seen.
  5. Replace the lid on the bottle.
  6. If you want to secure the bottle, you can secure the lid with a hot glue gun.
  7. Give the sensory bottle to your child or students to explore.
  8. If you want, you can write a list of the birds for them to find.

collage of photos of making a sensory bottle with white rice and bird buttonsAllow the child to move and shake the rice around until they find all of the birds. They can even expand the activity by researching what type of birds they are.

This activity would go well with a unit study on birds.clear bottle on its side filled with dry rice and colourful bird buttons

Expanding your study on birds:

  • Go for a nature walk to observe birds and listen to their songs.
  • Create bird notebooking pages.
  • Set out books on birds. 
  • Make a bird feeder and watch as birds come to eat.
  • Complete some bird worksheets.
  • Play the Birds of North America game.

a collage of four photos of a clear bottle filled with white rice and colourful bird buttonsAs with all sensory play activities, adult supervision should be used at all times. Even if you have secured the lid with glue, it is still possible to get it open and the bottle contains small parts which are choking hazards for children.

Are you looking for more easy sensory play ideas to make for your child or students? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out some of our other sensory bottles:

Dinosaur Sensory Bottle

Bugs Sensory Bottle

Van Gogh Starry Night Inspired Sensory Bottle

Filed Under: Crafts and Activities Tagged With: sensory bottles, sensory play

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. dyed green rice, magnifying glass, and toy ladybugs. Text reads "Ladybug Life Cycle Sensory Bin"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

toy leaves and ladybugs next to rocksInstructions:

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

collage of photos of a sensory bin of green rice and ladybug toysThis sensory bin contains small parts. Adult supervision should always be used when kids play.

Life Stages of a Ladybug:

  1. egg
  2. larva
  3. pupa
  4. adult ladybugtoys of the life stages of ladybugs sitting on dry green rice

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.

small hands hold a plastic ladybug and leavesKids 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.small hand holds a ladybug pupa in dyed green rice

Resources for Learning About Ladybugs:

Ladybug Life Cycle PackLadybug Life Cycle PackLadybug Life Cycle PackLadybug Life Cycle Reversible Hand PuppetLadybug Life Cycle Reversible Hand PuppetLadybug Life Cycle Reversible Hand PuppetLadybug Land with Live LarvaeLadybug Land with Live LarvaeLadybug Land with Live LarvaeThe Grouchy Ladybug by Eric CarleThe Grouchy Ladybug by Eric CarleThe Grouchy Ladybug by Eric CarleLife Story of a LadybugLife Story of a LadybugLife Story of a LadybugColor the Life Cycle of a Ladybug, Cricket, Butterfly, Honey Bee, and a FrogColor the Life Cycle of a Ladybug, Cricket, Butterfly, Honey Bee, and a FrogColor the Life Cycle of a Ladybug, Cricket, Butterfly, Honey Bee, and a FrogLadybugsLadybugsLadybugs

 

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

  • Frog Life Cycle Sensory Bin
  • Praying Mantis Life Cycle Sensory Bin
  • Chicken Life Cycle Sensory Bin
  • Life Cycle of a Bee Sensory Bin
  • Life Cycle of a Sea Turtle Sensory Bin

Filed Under: Homeschooling, Printables, Sensory Bins

Chocolate Oobleck or Fake Mud for Sensory Play

By Sharla Kostelyk

In case you’re not familiar with it, oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid. That means its viscosity can change from liquid to solid depending on the pressure it’s under. So this chocolate oobleck is both a sensory play material and a science experiment!hands in a bowl with a brown messy sensory material. Text reads "Chocolate Oobleck"This recipe makes great messy fun for kids. It can be used at home or in the classroom for a fun sensory activity. Because it’s taste safe, it can even be used with toddlers or preschoolers.

We’ve made regular oobleck, candy cane (scented) oobleck, and lemonade oobleck. I had the idea of doing a chocolate version because I thought it would be fun with Valentine’s Day coming up. The chocolate smell really brings in the Valentine’s theme.

Once I saw it, I realized that it would make a really great fake mud for sensory play. When my boys were younger, they would have had so much fun driving toy trucks and construction vehicles through this stuff!

So regardless if you use this in a sensory bin with toy vehicles as a safe fake mud or in a Valentine’s theme bin with a heart mould to pretend to make chocolates with, this recipe is where you start!a child's hands pull a brown sensory material over a bowl

Chocolate Oobleck Recipe:

Supplies needed:

  • 1/4 cup cocoa
  • 2 cups cornstarch
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. water

Instructions:

  1. Mix all ingredients together.
  2. Get to playing.

collage of photos of making chocolate oobleck including the cocoa, cornstarch, and water neededImportant notes: Make your oobleck on the day you want to play with it as it doesn’t keep longer than a day or two. NEVER dispose of oobleck down the drain as it will clog your drain. Allow it to dry uncovered and then scoop it into the garbage.

When kids squish or squeeze the oobleck, it will act like a solid but when they allow it to fall through their fingers, it acts like a liquid. hands hold clumps of a brown material over a bowl

Playing with this oobleck engages the tactile, visual, proprioceptive, and olfactory (smell) sensory systems. It is also taste safe, so technically, it could engage the gustatory system but I wouldn’t recommend eating it as with all that cornstarch, it won’t taste great.

Enjoy the messy, sensory, science fun!

Are you looking for other fun sensory play recipes to make at home? Join us for a five day email series on Sensory Activities and Solutions and get a free sample of our Sensory Play Recipes eBook.

Check out our other oobleck recipes:

Lemonade Oobleck

Candy Cane Ooblecktray of red and white oobleck and candy canes with a pair of hands squeezing the oobleck

Filed Under: Crafts and Activities Tagged With: sensory play

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. green and blue water beads and toy frogs on top. Red filler and heart shaped erasers on the bottom.

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

Sensory Bins eBook

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. four plastic toys for fine motor skills

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:

  • Over 100 Sensory Bin Themes
  • Sensory Bin Fillers and Tools
  • How to Dye Noodles for Sensory Play
  • How to Dye Rice for Sensory Play
  • How to Create Sensory Bins Your Child Will Love

Filed Under: Sensory Bins

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