I am constantly looking for ways to keep my little one busy while I homeschool my other children. I have made him bins of toys that I have rotated daily, busy bags, etc. but he has the attention of a flea! Then I remembered some of the past sensory bins I have made for my other kids and I decided to put together a Christmas themed sensory bin for him. It is nothing fancy, most of it was from items I already had. Most items came from the Dollar Tree or items I found other uses for to use in this bin.
Our sensory bin includes small Grinch fish tank stones which I grabbed at the pet store a few years back. I love the Grinch so I bought them not knowing what I was going to do with them until now. Other items in our bin are various sizes of jingle bells, mini plastic candy canes, a 1/2 cup size measuring cup, tongs from the Giggle Wiggle board game, an old Christmas cookie tin and other small containers. As well as small items from the Dollar Tree such as mini plastic presents, small Christmas erasers and other Christmas trinkets I could find around the house. I also added empty Christmas candy containers that he could fill up and add the tops back on. The best part is that he plays with it in the plastic storage box and when he is done playing with it we put the lid on it and when he’s ready to play with it again we can pull it back out.
Surprisingly he loved his Christmas sensory bin. He lined up all the candy canes on the rim of the empty cookie tin, picked out certain items, separated them into the containers and he tried to use the tongs but he is still little so it will be a work in progress. The best part is sitting back and watching him play. He quickly figured out different ways to use the items. He was entertained for quite a while and when he was done my 5 and 7 year old wanted to play with it!
I think sensory bins teach so many different things. It gives an opportunity for practicing hand and eye coordination, to practice dexterity, sorting plus it is a fun way to create and use their imagination! What sensory bins have you done with your little one?
Be sure to check out some of the other sensory bins I have done with my children in the past:
Speak Your Mind