Sensory bins are hands-on play experiences that involve a variety of materials, textures, and colors, allowing children to explore their world through touch, sight, and sound.
Now, we’re excited to share Easy Sensory Bin Activities for 1 2 Year Olds.
These activities are not only fun and interactive but also provide numerous benefits for your little one’s cognitive, physical, and emotional development.
From exploring rainbow rice to diving into an ocean-themed sensory adventure, these sensory bin activities will keep your child entertained while fostering their sensory exploration, fine motor skills, and imaginative play.
Rainbow Rice Bin:
Creating a rainbow rice bin is a simple yet captivating sensory activity for 1-2-year-olds. Start by dyeing rice in different vibrant colors using food coloring and vinegar. Once the rice is dry, fill a large container with the colorful rice and let your child dive in! They will love the feel of the rice between their fingers as they scoop, pour, and explore. Encourage them to practice their fine motor skills by using small cups or scoops to transfer the rice from one container to another. This activity not only engages their senses but also introduces basic color recognition and hand-eye coordination.
Shaving Cream Sensory Play:
Shaving cream sensory play is a wonderful way to engage your child’s sense of touch and encourage their creativity. Simply squirt some shaving cream onto a tray or table and let your little one go wild! They can squish, smear, and explore the fluffy texture of the shaving cream with their hands. For added fun, you can add a few drops of food coloring to create vibrant swirls or let them draw shapes and patterns in the cream. Not only does this activity provide sensory stimulation, but it also promotes the development of fine motor skills and hand strength.
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Water Beads Sensory Bin:
Water beads are a fantastic sensory material that can provide hours of exploration for young children. Start by soaking the small water-absorbing beads in water until they expand and become soft and squishy. Place them in a shallow container and let your child dive into a sea of tactile wonder. They can squeeze the beads, scoop them up with their hands, or transfer them between different containers using cups or spoons. The sensation of the beads slipping through their fingers and the visual appeal of the vibrant colors will captivate their attention while improving their sensory awareness and fine motor skills.
Pom-Pom Color Sorting:
Color sorting activities are not only engaging but also help develop early cognitive skills. For this activity, prepare a sensory bin filled with an assortment of pom-poms in different colors. Encourage your child to explore the bin, pick up the pom-poms, and sort them by color. You can provide small bowls or cups for them to place the matching pom-poms in or simply let them sort them on a clean surface. This activity helps enhance color recognition, hand-eye coordination, and the development of fine motor skills as they grasp and manipulate the soft pom-poms.
Related: 20 Simple Calming Activities for Preschool Kids
Cloud Dough Exploration:
Cloud dough, made by mixing flour and baby oil, is a sensory material that has a soft, moldable texture. Simply combine the two ingredients in a large container, and your sensory bin is ready. Your child can dive their hands into the cloud dough, squeeze it, and experiment with shaping it into different forms. They can also use molds or small toys to create imprints in the dough. This activity engages their tactile senses, encourages creativity, and develops their fine motor skills as they manipulate and mold the cloud dough. Plus, the heavenly scent of baby oil adds an extra sensory dimension to the experience.
Ocean Sensory Bin:
Take your little one on an exciting underwater adventure with an ocean-themed sensory bin. Fill a large container with blue water and add sea animal toys such as fish, dolphins, and seashells. Let your child explore the water, splash their hands, and play with the floating toys. They can even create waves by gently swirling the water with their hands. This sensory activity not only provides a calming and immersive experience but also promotes sensory integration, imaginative play, and vocabulary development as you talk about different sea creatures.
Sand Sensory Play:
Bring the beach indoors with a sand sensory bin! Fill a shallow container with play sand and provide child-friendly shovels, molds, and cups for your little one to dig, scoop, and build sandcastles. They can feel the grains of sand running through their fingers, develop hand-eye coordination as they manipulate the tools, and engage in imaginative play as they create sand structures. You can even add small toy vehicles or figurines to enhance their storytelling and pretend play. Just make sure to use child-safe sand and supervise your child during playtime.
Sensory Exploration with Fabric Scraps:
Gather a collection of fabric scraps in various textures, colors, and patterns, such as silk, velvet, cotton, and fleece. Place them in a sensory bin or basket and let your child explore the different fabrics. They can feel the softness, crinkle the noisy ones, and observe the differences in colors and patterns. This activity stimulates their sense of touch, promotes sensory discrimination, and encourages language development as you describe the different textures and ask questions about how they feel.
Ice Cube Melting:
This sensory activity combines science and sensory play. Fill an ice cube tray with water and add a drop of food coloring to each cube. Freeze them until solid, and then transfer the colorful ice cubes into a container. Provide a shallow tray or a larger container where your child can experiment with melting the ice cubes. They can touch the cold ice, observe the colors mixing as they melt, and even use small droppers or brushes to add warm water and speed up the melting process. This activity promotes sensory exploration, and fine motor skills, and introduces basic science concepts.
Nature Sensory Bin:
Take a nature walk with your child and gather natural materials such as leaves, pinecones, small branches, and smooth stones. Create a nature-themed sensory bin by arranging these items in a shallow container. Encourage your child to explore the different textures, smells, and colors of the natural materials. They can sort leaves by size, stack stones, or create mini habitats for toy animals. This activity connects your child with nature, enhances their sensory awareness, and sparks their curiosity about the natural world around them.
Farm Animal Sensory Bin:
Introduce your little one to farm animals through a farm animal sensory bin. Fill a container with dried corn kernels or hay to create a textured base. Add plastic farm animal toys such as cows, pigs, and chickens. Your child can explore the sensory bin, scoop the corn or hay with their hands, and interact with the animal figures. Encourage them to make animal sounds and engage in imaginative play as they create their own farm scenes. This activity promotes tactile exploration, animal recognition, and imaginative storytelling.
Jello Sensory Play:
Prepare a batch of colorful, edible Jello and let it set in a shallow container. Once the Jello is firm, cut it into different shapes or use cookie cutters to create interesting forms. Place the Jello shapes in a sensory bin and let your child dive in. They can squish, squeeze, and explore the jiggly texture of the Jello. This activity stimulates their tactile senses, and hand-eye coordination, and introduces different shapes and colors. Just ensure that your child is old enough to handle and taste the Jello safely.
Sensory Bin with Textured Balls:
Gather a collection of small balls with various textures such as bumpy, spiky, soft, and smooth. Place them in a sensory bin or basket and let your child feel and manipulate the different balls. They can roll them, bounce them, or even toss them into containers. This activity promotes sensory exploration, enhances tactile discrimination, and improves their gross motor skills as they engage in physical play with the balls. You can also encourage language development by describing the textures and asking questions about how they feel.
Construction Site Sensory Bin:
Transform a sensory bin into a mini construction site by filling it with kinetic sand or regular sand, toy construction vehicles, and small construction tools. Your child can dig, scoop, and mold the sand, creating their own construction scenes. They can drive the vehicles through the sand, load them up with sand using the tools, and engage in imaginative play as they pretend to build and construct. This activity encourages fine motor skills, sensory exploration, and imaginative storytelling as they bring their construction site to life.
Sensory Bin with Kitchen Utensils:
Create a sensory bin using various kitchen utensils such as whisks, spoons, spatulas, and measuring cups. Place them in a container filled with rice, pasta, or dried beans. Your child can explore the different textures and sounds as they run their fingers through the grains or scoop and pour them using utensils. This activity promotes sensory integration, fine motor skills, and imaginative play as they engage in cooking or pretend kitchen play. Just make sure to choose child-safe utensils and supervise your child during playtime.
Sensory Bin with Feathers:
Gather a collection of colorful feathers and place them in a sensory bin or basket. Encourage your child to explore the softness and lightness of the feathers as they touch and feel them. They can arrange the feathers, sort them by color or size, or even use them for pretend play, imagining they are birds or fairy wings. This sensory activity stimulates tactile senses, promotes fine motor skills, and sparks imaginative play and creativity.
Sensory Bin with Pom-Pom Balls and Tubes:
Set up a sensory bin with an assortment of pom-pom balls and cardboard tubes of various sizes. Your child can drop the pom-pom balls into the tubes, watching them roll and fall through. They can experiment with different sizes of tubes to see how it affects the pom-pom’s movement. This activity promotes hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and cause-and-effect understanding as they observe the outcome of their actions.
Sensory Bin with Scented Playdough:
Prepare scented playdough in different colors using food extracts or essential oils. Place the playdough in a sensory bin along with various tools such as cookie cutters, rolling pins, and plastic utensils. Your child can squeeze, mold, and manipulate the playdough, enjoying the added sensory experience of pleasant scents. This activity enhances fine motor skills, and sensory exploration, and stimulates the sense of smell.
Sensory Bin with Textured Fabrics and Ribbons:
Fill a sensory bin with an assortment of textured fabrics, ribbons, and lace. Include different materials like velvet, satin, bumpy fabric, and fuzzy fleece. Your child can explore the various textures by touching and feeling the fabrics. They can also practice their fine motor skills by tying and untying ribbons, making bows, or arranging the fabrics in different patterns. This activity promotes tactile stimulation, sensory discrimination, and fine motor development.
Sensory Bin with Magnetic Letters:
Introduce early literacy skills in a sensory way by creating a bin filled with magnetic letters. Provide a shallow container filled with sand, rice, or sensory materials of your choice. Add magnetic letters to the bin and encourage your child to explore, touch, and play with them. They can stick the letters onto a magnetic surface or even match them with corresponding pictures or objects. This activity promotes letter recognition, fine motor skills, and early language development.
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