Summer Sensory Bins

Time to bring the sensory fun outside in the sun! We have three simple bins below, and the best part is that you may have all or most of the materials needed inside your home. There’s even one that’s taste-safe for babies!

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Digging for Worms

Materials Needed:

Coffee grounds (or real dirt!)

Cooked spaghetti noodles

Shallow bin

Tongs or other tools to grab & dig for worms

Jar to place found worms in!

To Make & Play:

1. Cook spaghetti noodles
2. Once cooled, place in a bin with coffee grounds or real dirt from your back yard!
3. Mix the cooked noodles in well with the grounds/dirt to make them challenging to find!
4. Place found worms into a jar! Close jar tightly and use them again and again.

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Shell Letter Match

Materials Needed: 

At least 26 small shells that have semi-flat surfaces (you can often find a bag of these at the craft store, or if you are by an ocean or gulf, go shelling for them!)

Permanent marker

Sand

Bin

Printed sheet with all the letters of the alphabet, like this one

To Make & Play

1. Write each letter of the alphabet on the back of each shell.
2. You can do either lower case or upper case depending on what your child is learning. Or, if you have 52 shells, do both!
3. Put shells with letters on them in a bin with lots of sand.
4. Scatter the shells.
5. Each time your child picks a shell out, have them try to identify the letter. You can also ask them to make the letter sound!
6. Match each shell letter to the letter on the alphabet sheet.

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Pudding & Ice!

Materials Needed:

1 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix (or other flavor you think your child would like!)

Lots of ice cubes

Shallow tray

 

To Make & Play:

1. Prepare pudding according to box instructions
2. Once pudding is ready, cover the tray in a layer of it
3. Drop ice cubes onto the tray and let your child have fun exploring the slimy and cold textures, and staying cool in the summer heat!
4. This is a taste-safe activity that babies can also do.

Want to see more cool activities? Click here and follow along with the fun!