Spring Centers & Sensory Bins - Preschool, Kindergarten, & Toddlers (2024)

FAQs

Are sensory bins appropriate for kindergarten? ›

Sensory bins in Kindergarten are an amazing way to combine academic center activities and hands on play. But knowing where to start and how to use sensory bins effectively in Kindergarten can be overwhelming. I'll be the first to admit that I resisted using sensory bins in my kindergarten classroom for years.

At the toddler stage, from ages 2 to 3, kids are typically ready to engage with more toys. A great place to start are sensory bins—literally, a bin or box filled with various materials meant to stimulate the senses.

Spring sensory bins help children to improve fine motor skills development by touching objects with various textures, scooping and releasing, as well as pouring to practice volume control. Your little ones can create stories while they play, inviting them to use their imaginations.

Sensory bins provide children with the opportunity to explore and learn through hands-on tactile play that engages their senses. These bins encourage and support various types of development and are great activities to have in your home. Sensory bins can be themed for holidays, seasons and academic skills.

Sensory bins promote math skills.

This means that elementary-age kids can work on their addition and subtraction skills. You can also use measuring cups to introduce fractions. By adding some objects to the filler, your child can practice counting or sorting.

Sensory bin play activities allow children to know how different body parts like limbs, eyes, and ears relate. They also need self-regulation skills to control emotions and maintain a steady balance. For example, sensory play activities are calming and excellent for regulating a child's emotions.

Essentially, a sensory bin is a container filled with materials specifically chosen to stimulate the senses, allowing the child to explore and interact with the items as they choose. Sensory play is a great way to expose your child to a variety of textures, facilitate communication, and actively engage with your child.

Sensory bins are great fun for young children, they love to scoop, pour, dig and explore many different materials.

What Is a Sensory Bin? A sensory bin is a shallow container that combines filler material and various small odds and ends. You fill the bin with a filler material such as sand or rice, then add items from around the house such as spoons or measuring cups. Let your child explore the items and have fun playing.

The Bin Supplies: You can fill your bins a few inches deep with age-appropriate items like dried rice/beans/pastas, pom poms, wool balls, dirt, rocks, water, sand—whatever you like!

How do you keep a sensory bin clean? ›

Keep water beads separated from the sensory sand and wash them in a colander with warm soapy water (dish soap), rinse and drain after play; then store them in a separate resealable bag or container. For longer storage, consider drying your water beads fully. Accessories can be kept clean in the same fashion.

Sensory play is a lot of fun. It also offers many benefits for child development, including: Helping children understand how their actions affect what's around them. Supporting brain development, enhancing memory, complex tasks and problem solving.

Place 2-3 lbs of dry, uncooked rice into a 28qt under the bed storage container (like this one). You want space for kids to play and high sides. Add in a few measuring cups and some bowls. Kids need to see a visual boundary: put a big beach towel, flat sheet, or table cloth under the sensory bin.

One of the many sensory table benefits is that the tables help in developing cognitive skills. Kids will interact with the items on the table in ways that get them to count, organize, match, and label objects. It's easy to observe how cognitively engaging it is to them when they're given various tasks.

The basics of using a sensory bin

I wouldn't be as worried with a 6 year old, but if you are using them with younger children, you will need to teach them the expectations and how to play with the supplies in the bin instead of spilling/throwing/etc.

Sensory play is any activity that stimulates our senses – touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste. It helps children interact with and make sense of the world that surrounds them.

Sensory bins are a great way to allow children to explore multiple senses at the same time in a fun way. This includes touch, smell, sight, and even sound. Learning to engage with and stimulate several senses at once in a healthy way is incredibly beneficial and loads of fun!