Sensory Bin Round Up

As a mom with three special needs children I am always looking for activities to encourage fine-motor skills, imaginative play, exploration. Sensory bins offer this while offering an opportunity to explore different textures. This is great for both young children as well as special needs children. It’s important to note, though, that sensory bins are not intended to replace therapy, but they are a great activity to supplement it! In fact, our children’s Occupational Therapists gave us some of the best ideas for sensory bins!

The best thing about sensory bins is you can get as creative as you want! Sensory bins can be put together from items around the home or you can get creative with a theme! If you have children with special needs like ours you may need to take into account what their texture likes and dislikes are. Offer something that may challenge their senses without overwhelming them. Some of our favorite sensory bins start with simple objects like pompoms.

Some of my favorite bloggers have shared some amazing sensory bin ideas and resources! Here are a few!

Sensory Bin Round Up

Straight Lines Sensory Bin Golden Reflections Blog has shared an amazing pre-writing activity for kids with the straight lines sensory bin. I love this idea! This sensory bin includes a variety of straight tools like pencils (unsharpened), crayons, pipe cleaners, dowel sticks, uncooked noodles, and more! This is a great bin for little learners to introduce them to straight lines and pre-writing skills. Check out the full details below!

Sensory Bins for Beginners Are you new to sensory bins? Simply Vicki has shares sensory bins for beginners. She shares her apprehensions and why and how she got started as well as a link to ideas, Pinterest boards, materials, and more!
Alphabet Sensory Bin Adventures in Mindful Living has shared a fun Alphabet Sensory Bin, which is perfect for little learners who are learning their letters! It is simple to make, and she has shared some great learning activities to go along with it!

Farm Theme Unit The Chaos and the Clutter has many great ideas for sensory bins. One of my favorites is the Farm Theme Unit. I love how she included a Sensory Bin in her unit study!

Sensory Bins

Sharla Kostelyk from The Chaos and the Clutter has written a great book – Sensory Bins: the What, the How, & the Why. Whether you are new to Sensory Bins or are looking for new ideas, at just $2.99 it’s a great resource for anyone wanting to use sensory bins! It includes idea lists, helpful recipes, storage and money saving tips, and even information on using sensory bins with Sensory Processing Disorder. As a mom with children with SPD (and someone who has SPD myself) I definitely appreciate this!

Are you new to sensory bins? Do you use sensory bins and have some great ideas to share? Please share in the comments!