• Home
  • Blog
  • Start Here!
  • Free Printables
  • About
    • Products we love & Support
    • Contact
    • Terms of Use
    • Disclosure
    • Hire me
  • My eBook
  • Subscribe

Wildflower Ramblings New

our new site

  • Homeschool
    • Charlotte Mason Method
    • Reggio Emilia Approach
    • Montessori Learning
    • Waldorf at Home
    • Classical Conversations
    • Early Literacy Stages Series
    • Curriculum choices
      • Tot School (2 years)
      • Preschool (3 years)
      • Pre-Kindergarten (4 years)
      • Pre-Kindergarten (4 years – 2017)
      • Preschool (5 years)
      • Kindergarten (5 years)
      • First Grade (6 years)
      • Charlotte Mason Schedule: Year One
    • 12 Months of Sensory Dough
    • Sensory Play
    • Crafts through the Bible
    • Practical Life Ideas
    • Before Five in a Row – ISH
  • Baby
    • Montessori Baby Room
    • Treasure Bins for Baby
    • 21 Activities for One Year Olds
  • Tot School
  • Preschool
    • What is Number Sense?
    • ABC Felt Animals
    • Preschool Alphabet Book
    • Our Preschool Notebook
    • Preschool Circle Time Schedule
    • Free 24 Preschool Chants
    • Free Preschool Songs
    • Our Preschool Plans
  • ABC
    • Letter A
    • Letter B
    • Letter C
    • Letter D
    • Letter E
    • Letter F
    • Letter G
    • Letter H
    • Letter I
    • Letter J
    • Letter K
    • Letter L
    • Letter M
    • Letter N
    • Letter O
    • Letter P
    • Letter Q
    • Letter R
    • Letter S
    • Letter T
    • Letter U
    • Letter V
    • Letter W
    • Letter X
    • Letter Y
    • Letter Z
  • Toys & Resources
    • 20+ Tools for Hyperactivity
    • What is Sensory Processing?
    • Best Workbooks & Readers {Ages 2-5}
    • Essential Preschool Tools
    • Essential Craft & Homeschool Tools for Mom
    • Best Art Utensils for Kids
    • Bible Resources for Kids
    • Our keeping and recording memories series
  • Health
    • Herbal Remedies
    • The home birth of my son
    • The water birth of my daughter
    • her waterbirth
    • When your baby has a fever
    • Example of Hospital Birth Plan {free printable!}
  • Books
    • My AMAZING Book Store
    • Books for Children
    • Pop! Squirt! Splash! Ebook
    • Learn with Play Ebook
You are here: Home / Sensory Bins / 16 Sensory Bin Ideas

16 Sensory Bin Ideas

June 5, 2013

I didn’t know what a “Sensory Bin” was until about a year ago.  Simply put, it is a bin full of fun, sensory exploration for your little one.  They usually have a “base” (of rice, beans, etc), but they certainly don’t need to!  And they can be “themed”, but again, that is optional, too!  Also, it is helpful to include spoons, dishes, funnels, and other scooping equipment to help learn practical life skills while learning and playing.

Children thrive through sensory experiences.

Children thrive with boundaries.

16 Sensory Bin Ideas from Wildflower Ramblings

I didn’t start any bins with my son until he was about two years old.  He is the rambunctious type who is often found just throwing all of the beans, rice, etc everywhere.  He has slowly learned how to treat his sensory bin time.  We set the bin on a large blanket and the only rules are:

  1. Keep it on the blanket.
  2. Do not throw.

John has (finally!) learned how to play “nice” with his bins.  I certainly don’t mind a bit of a mess — but he needs to practice some self-control — and sensory bin time helps him to learn how to play constructively and creatively.

I have found so many wonderful resources from many wonderful blogging mamas out there.  I am always amazed at the sensory bins you all come up with!  I decided to compile the bins we have done in Tot School so far.

You can click on the below picture to take you to the post to see more pictures and to read about that week in Tot School:

IMG_5758
IMG_5992
IMG_6285DSC00339
DSC03007DSC03367

This simple bin of cracked corn and tractors and little lambs has been, by far, my son’s favorite:

DSC04872

Check out how you can make your own Peter Doll from The Snowy Day:

IMG_6967IMG_6817

Check out how you can make your own little felt leprechaun:

DSC01545

Here are some of our very first sensory bins (doesn’t John look so little and sweet?!):IMG_3257 IMG_3233 IMG_3199 IMG_3182 IMG_3166 And John’s very first Sensory Bin ♥IMG_3165

Here are some other wonderful places to find sensory bin ideas (much more thought out and messy and intricate than mine):

  • 1plus1plus1equals1 has amazing sensory bin ideas, as well as great storage suggestions.
  • Royal Baloo has so many wonderful, sometimes messy, ideas.
  • Play Create Explore has inspired me so much.  Her Pinterest Board has over 200+ sensory ideas!
  • Little Bins for Little Hands has so many sweet and thoughful bins and sensory play.

 

 photo Amy3_zps8e2e6a59.png

Thanks for visiting Wildflower Ramblings, if you’d like to receive post updates, please Like my Facebook Page! Or follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Check out my Link-Up page for where I may link this blog post!

Thank you for featuring me ♥

Tender Moments Blog Hop at For This Season
Hearts for Home Blog Hop
Sugar Aunts

Delightful kids' crafts delivered right to your door.  <Shop Kiwi Crate!>

Related Posts

  • Teaching practical life skills – just give the kid a real glass!Teaching practical life skills – just give the kid a real glass!
  • 24 Preschool Chants by Month {free printable!}24 Preschool Chants by Month {free printable!}
  • Tot School – Letter KTot School – Letter K
  • wordless wednesday: make spring flowers with egg cartonswordless wednesday: make spring flowers with egg cartons
« creating a content closet
Guest Post at Life with Moore Babies: Outdoor Water Play »


Comments

  1. Debbie @ http://kidsbibledebjackson.blogspot.com/ says

    June 7, 2013 at 12:10 am

    These are great ideas! Pinned it! Thanks for sharing at Family Fun Friday!

    Reply
    • wildflowerramblings says

      June 7, 2013 at 12:11 am

      Thanks, Debbie — I love all your resources about Bible education!! -Amy

      Reply
  2. Mama H says

    June 9, 2013 at 9:41 pm

    Linking up from Violet Imperfection. What a great idea!

    Reply
    • wildflowerramblings says

      June 10, 2013 at 1:56 am

      Thanks for visiting, Hannah ♥

      Reply
  3. Lanaya @ Raising Reagan says

    June 9, 2013 at 11:52 pm

    Sensory bins are so cool.

    Thank you for linking to Raising Imperfection.
    Please come back Friday to see if you were featured. :)

    ¤´¨)
    ¸.•*´
    (¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo
    http://www.raising-reagan.com
    Lanaya @ Raising Reagan recently posted…Raising Imperfection Sunday Link Party Week 27My Profile

    Reply
  4. Leslie says

    June 11, 2013 at 8:23 pm

    I have been waiting for my little one to get a bit older to start sensory bins. I think they are a wonderful tool.

    Thank you for linking up to Raising Imperfection!
    Make sure to check back on Friday to see if you were featured.
    Leslie
    http://www.violetimperfection.com

    Reply
  5. Momma Jo says

    June 12, 2013 at 4:58 am

    I just love the wonderful ideas on this post. My children love sensory bins. Thanks for sharing.

    This post has been selected to feature on my Hearts of the Home Blog Hop post due to go live tomorrow. Congratulations!

    http://monstersed.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/hearts-for-the-home-blog-hop-3/
    Momma Jo recently posted…Back to School with Enchanted Homeschool Mom ~ Early Learning Brick PackMy Profile

    Reply
    • wildflowerramblings says

      June 12, 2013 at 10:54 am

      Wow, thanks Momma Jo! I will put up your featured button now ♥ -Amy

      Reply
  6. Carla says

    June 12, 2013 at 10:37 am

    These are awesome ideas!! I love the letter-themed bins…I bet my preschoolers would have so much fun with them!! Thanks for sharing this at Teach Me Tuesday at Preschool Powol Packets!
    Carla recently posted…Teach Me Tuesday 6-11-13My Profile

    Reply
  7. Sugar Aunts says

    June 13, 2013 at 10:34 pm

    We will be featuring your post on a HUGE list of Rainy Day Summer Play activities on Share It Saturday this weekend! We will be sharing with all of our followers on our social media sites (including group boards and communities!!) Thanks for sharing with us at Share It Saturday!

    Colleen at http://www.sugaraunts.com

    Reply
    • wildflowerramblings says

      June 14, 2013 at 6:05 am

      Thank you so much Colleen! :)

      Reply
  8. Carrie says

    June 14, 2013 at 4:51 pm

    What wonderful ideas for sensory bins. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!
    Carrie recently posted…A Spanish Day–Around the World in 12 DishesMy Profile

    Reply
  9. Christin says

    February 9, 2014 at 8:06 am

    Really great ideas. A big thank you also from me for sharing them. I think they are really a great tool for learning, playing and discovering. Big hugs from China :)

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tender Moments with Toddlers & Preschoolers Blog Hop #19 says:
    September 23, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    […] Our featured post with the most clicks is… Preschool Curriculum and 16 Sensory Bin Ideas […]

    Reply
  2. 10 Letter recognition activities - The Measured Mom says:
    May 29, 2015 at 3:15 pm

    […] We like to create a sensory bin for each letter we study. Here is our letter Oo bin with various Os and O objects! You can see more of our sensory bins here. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Connect

Amy is a former Kindergarten teacher, M.Ed., turned homeschooling mom. Sharing her imperfect life and her love of teaching & learning, reading, herbal remedies, parenting and more.
Read More →

Search

NEWSLETTER

Join 30,000+ other subscribers! Receive weekly email updates and free printables, and as a thank you, you’ll receive my Early Literacy Stages eBook, 24 Preschool Chants, and the ABC Lego Cards for free!

banner-001 Shop Montessori Services

Favorite Posts

1legos 1quiet memories 1act 1chants 1closet hyp note classical dots 15act 1reggio 1turtle 1around 1bible1 sidebar bible1 crafts reggiomath essentialoils print

To Note

Unless otherwise stated, all words and photos on this blog belong to Wildflower Ramblings. You may pin from my site, but do not use a photo, or any text, without my permission. All content is copyrighted.   This is a for profit blog. I use affiliate links on the sidebars and in posts. I only share products that I love and enjoy with my family. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I receive a small commission. Occasionally, I will receive products free of charge and share them here.  Words and opinions expressed will always be my own. Please email me with questions or comments. Thank you for visiting.
Logo Whimsy Workshop Teaching

Categories

Archives

More

Copyright © 2021 · Wildflower Ramblings [footer_backtotop] · Genesis Framework · WordPress