I'm so excited to introduce morning sensory and play bins to my daughter; the opportunities for skill-building and experiential learning support this decision for me. I was hesitant to make these at first as one of my priorities in our home is to avoid having junk or clutter and quality over quantity. However, a trip to the dollar store to buy the contents for these bins was so much fun. They complement our playroom very well, and their purpose brings value!
I'm looking forward to these sensory/discovery bins evolving with her as she grows and the different contents and ideas we can try with time. I am also really looking forward to nature-based sensory bins this summer in the backyard, but for now, we are accommodating indoor play.
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Through these sensory bins, I hope to create more structured activities to complement our morning routine and encourage solo play to cultivate some time where I can do some computer work or get ahead on two hand chores before we head out for the day.
I previously have done sensory activities randomly, often water-based, with food in the kitchen ( I also found water and bubbles a fun way to clean hands after meals). But, this idea of bringing it into a bin taken out daily is a great next step in creating structure and organization for us and building our morning routine. To keep it interesting, I will take out a different bin each morning and likely switch out the contents monthly.
Here are my first sensory bins. I didn't do any research ahead of time; I just explored Dollarama and chose what looked fun and interesting. I will say they are plastic-heavy, which is unusual for me. I am more of the Montessori aesthetic when it comes to our playroom, but it is important to experience the fun and creativity of variety and items of shorter lifespans as well.
Find Cute bins! Finding a bin that I found cute and fun was a highlight for me. Dollarama had these cute leggo stackable bins. They are a playful toy on their own and complement our playroom very well. Perfect for holding the contents of our new sensory discovery bins!
Create a base for each bin with a filler of your choice. My daughter is still young, so I was going for fillers that can't be swallowed, but in time, I'm looking forward to exploring rice, beads, and more. You can stay the dry route with kinetic sand, play dough, and pom poms or the messy route with bases like water or milk or adding colourings.
Add play accessories to find within the filler of your bin or tools to work with the filler. In my first bin, I added scoops, cookie cutters, and spoons to play, hold and mix the sand or play dough. They can be livelihood items like Tongues, funnels, letters or foods like apple slices, cranberries or flower petals. The sky is the limit!
Have fun shopping or gathering with sensory exploration and curiosity in mind. Dollarama has a wide variety of children's toys but also everyday items like cooking wear, utensils, gardening materials, bathrooms and vehicles. Every aisle has many objects of interest to tiny toddlers' fingers. It is extremely easy to shop for these creative bin experiences. For my first bins, I mostly stayed in the children's aisles. For my next bins, I will look for content with less plastic, more content from the other livelihood aisles, and incorporate items simply from nature. A cool thing for sensory bins is that they can actually be entirely free if you source nature ones which I look forward to doing in the summer some ideas are pine cones, rocks, shells, and sticks.
Have fun the whole process is fun from the quality time out buying the items together to unpacking them and boxing them and to the magic of discovering a morning bin!
Enjoy let me know if you have tried sensory bins if there are any accessories you love!
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