The Easiest Sensory Bin You've Ever Made

While not technically Montessori, you can find sensory bins in many Montessori classrooms.
They're great for sensorial exploration and can be very calming for children.

They're also just a fun way to develop pouring skills, fine motor coordination, and creativity.

Sensory bins are typically just a plastic tub or a large container, filled with materials that will stimulate the senses. They can have a theme (like construction site or pond) or they may just include loose materials for scooping, pouring, and mixing.

I love them because they're fun and there's so many amazing benefits for children.

• Engage the senses - children develop their sense of touch, sight, sound and sometimes smell (depending on what’s in it).
  
  
• Develop and strengthen fine motor skills - exploring with their hands and/or tools
  
  
• Language skills - children may want to talk about their exploration and the different things they did, discovered, etc.
  
  
• Foster creativity and imagination
  
  
• Develop cognitive development - like problem-solving skills, classification, counting, etc.
  
  
• Help with self-regulation - for some children, sensory bins can be calming and help them to self-regulate, like fidgets

Bubbles Sensory Bin

This one is SO simple but great for young toddlers. If your child is older, see more ideas at the bottom.

Materials:

• Water
• Child-safe, non-toxic bubble bath
• Whisk
• Scoop
• Drying Cloth
• Food colouring (optional)

1. Add some warm water and bubble bath to the bin (warm water will create more bubbles). 
2. Whisk the two together a little to create suds.
3. Add a few drops of food colouring, if you’d like. 
4. Place the whisk, scoop and drying cloth next to the bin.

Show your child how to explore the sensory bin or simply put it in an area accessible to them and invite them to explore independently.

Notes

• Take the sensory bin outside on a warm day and let the sun take care of any spills.
• Only add as much water to the bin as you’re willing to clean up. Your child may show a lot of interest in exploring the water and bubbles with their hands which may result in some spills (but is excellent for sensorial exploration).

Extensions:

• Put some bubble bath in a small squeeze bottle for the child to add more if they’d like
• Add any tools, i.e. small containers, small jug, etc or plastic toys to enrich their exploration
• Add a second colour of food colouring to explore colour mixing

Looking for More Sensory Bin Ideas?