Rainbow Sorting Sensory Bin

 This rainbow sorting bin is so much fun for little ones. It has a variety of textures, shapes and colors for sorting on a rainy day, or anytime! This is perfect for kids who are learning colors, or just need some busy work!

My daughter loves rainbows, and she loves busy work, so this rainbow sorting bin was the perfect rainy day activity for her. We had dyed oats in our craft supplies, and with that, an idea was born to make this activity. Dying oats is so easy, and they are awesome to play with. 

I grabbed a 3 pack of mini pots at the dollar store  and painted them with Kwik Stix but you could use any type of small container, like a baby food jar, a food storage container or whatever for this bin. you just need something that your toddler or preschooler can place the beads in.

Supplies:

Dyed Oats  * instructions here*

Small containers

A plastic storage bin with a lid

Clothespins

Small spoons

Foam beads

Buttons or larger beads

After dying your oatmeal start layering it into the storage bin.

Place the pots or containers for sorting into the bin.

Add beads to the bin, or buttons. I like to offer a variety of textures in the beads. This bin has foam, wooden and standard crafting beads in it.

Add a few small spoons, clothespins and other items for sorting, pinching and measuring. Tongs and slotted spoons are great additions!

I added a clear plastic ornament to the bin too because I wanted to challenge Harper to place the items in a smaller opening.

Offer your child the bin. Ask your child to identify colors as they are picking them up. Encourage your child to sort the colors. This bin is fun to play in, and it is visually appealing too. The variety of textures is engaging. The use of clothespins and or tongs uses the small muscles of the hand. 

This bin has so many developmental benefits and it is a lot of fun too!

Harper loved this bin. She is a big fan of rainbows and busy work, so this rainbow sorting bin engaged her for a while on a rainy afternoon. When she was finished we snapped the lid on the storage bin and stashed it away for another day.

You can find more sensory play ideas here

Rainbow Disc Bag

Rainbow Rice Sensory Bin

Feeding Sharks Sensory Bag

This shark feeding sensory bag is tons of fun  for little hands! Made with super simple supplies, this sensory bag is perfect for shark week, or anytime your kids need some fin flipping fun!

I have quite a collection of blue, gray and blue gray paint samples in my kitchen junk drawer.  I love to paint. Walls, cabinets, boards, trim. Anything that requires no real thought nor detail is my jam so I am always grabbing samples of my preferred colors in hopes of finding a new project.

I finally found good use of some of the paint samples with this feeding sharks sensory bag. It wasn't too complicated to put together and my kids thought it was awesome. I hope your kids do too!

This post contains affiliate links.

Supplies:

Hair gel

Glitter

Scissors

Paint samples

A zipper seal sandwich bag

Water Beads

Directions:

Cut a shark from a grayish blue paint sample. Make sure the shark has an open mouth!

Cut a few assorted sized fish from any other color paint samples.

Fill a zipper seal sandwich bag with hair gel.

Add a generous amount of glitter to the bag.

Add a few water beads to the bag. 

Add the shark to the bag, and the fish too.

Close the bag and offer it to your child. Encourage the child to feed the shark the fish.

This is a fun quiet time activity for toddlers and preschoolers. If your kids don't have "nice hands" you can reinforce the edges with duct tape to prevent any accidental bag busting that could occur.

You can find more of my sensory bag ideas here

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Poppy Snot Slime

If your kids love Trolls and slime, they are going to go wild for this easy to make and visually appealing Poppy Snot Slime!

We love hands on activities, and we love all things Trolls! This Poppy Snot Slime is so easy to make and it is so much fun to play with. It has so much stretch to it that it is hard to resist stretching it thin and peeking through the clear slime!

Ingredients:

Clear Elmer’s School Glue

Sta Flo Laundry Starch

Water

Chunky Confetti Style Glitter (I got mine at Target in the dollar spot)

Poppy Slime Directions:

Mix water and clear glue.

Add as much pink chunky glitter as you desire!

Slowly begin adding liquid starch, add about 1/4 cup to start with.

Right away your slime will begin to pull away from the sides of the container you are mixing in.

Keep stirring until you have a blob of slime that has no liquid.

Dribble just a drop of starch on your hands. Now begin kneading the slime until it is no longer stringy.

This was my first time using starch to make slime and I was super impressed. It was easy enough for the kids to handle and it was so much fun for all of us! Hands on science is irresistible when it involves slime.

You can find all of my hands on kids activities here
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Rainbow Disc Sensory Bag

Give kids a fun way to sort colors while getting a little sensory play in with this rainbow disc sensory bag.

We love sensory play. From bins to bags, and even bottles; anyway you present sensory play we are in!

With the kids being out of school for so long I have been really busy coming up with activities to engage them, challenge them, and keep them entertained. We made this easy sensory bag to practice our color sorting and pattern making skills. It is perfect for adding some color to the day.

Supplies:

Hand Sanitizer or Hair Gel

Rainbow Counting Chips

Zipper Seal Bag

Sharpies

Directions:

Draw a rainbow on a zipper seal sandwich bag with Sharpies.

Add several squirts of hand sanitizer or hair gel (about a tablespoon or two of gel is ideal).

Drop transparent colored counting chips (or bingo markers) in the colors of the rainbow into the bag.

Seal well. If your child has 'rough hands' you might want to reinforce the sides with tape to prevent the sides from busting. (This is a good idea for toddlers, but can be skipped for older kids!)

If your child has 'gentle hands' you can skip the reinforcement with tape.

Invite your child to glide the discs thru the gel and place them on the color they match.

When finished, check the seal to be sure it is closed and store for another day when a quiet activity is needed.

You can find all of my sensory play ideas here:

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Sensory party in a bag

Birthday Cake Sensory Bin

Bed Time Sensory Bag

This easy bedtime sensory bag is perfect for squishing and unwinding before bed for little ones. 

We are big fans of all things sensory. As the kids have grown they have maintained their love of sensory bins and hands on play. They have also not outgrown the bedtime struggle. They need a drink, a snack, a story and a million other little things to delay the inevitable. 

So,I made this super easy and fun to squish bag for them. Giving them a few minutes to squish and squeeze has made a slight difference in the bed time battles. I used what I had and came up with something simple and cute.

Supplies:

Lavender scented baby oil gel

Gold and silver confetti stars

A zipper seal bag.

Squirt about 2 tablespoons worth of baby oil gel in a zipper seal bag.

Add stars.

Hand it over to eager little hands! To squish, squeeze and play!

While lavender scented baby oil isn't necessary, you can use anything from baby oil gel to hair gel, I liked the light purple color in contrast with the shiny stars.

We always have the most fun with the most basic of supplies, this bedtime sensory bag is no exception!
Find all of our easy ideas for sensory play here.
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Lemonade Sensory Bin

This hands on activity is perfect for engaging the senses while serving up an awesome opportunity dramatic play for preschoolers.

Harper and I both love lemons. We like the way they smell and taste. The last time I sliced up a few lemons for my eating pleasures (yes, I eat lemons like oranges!) Harp was intrigued by the seeds. She sweetly demanded  asked to pick out all of the seeds. 

There are worse things a girl of her age could be interested in doing, and an idea was born. I knew we could throw together a really easy lemonade bin that would keep her happy all afternoon. 

Supplies:
A Knife
Clear Plastic Bin
Water
Ice
Lemons
Serving Spoons
Cups
Dishes

Directions:

Pour several cups of ice and water into the plastic bin.

Slice a lemon or two and float the slices in the water.

Add spoons, tongs, cups and bowls for instant fun.

Invite your little ones to make lemonade.
They will want to touch, maybe taste and definitely smell things in here!

This is the perfect way to spend a hot day. Let the kids splash, squeeze and dish up cool spring refreshment!

If you liked this sensory play idea, keep scrolling babe, cause I have so many fun ideas for sensory play!

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Cat in the Hat Pattern Making Sensory Bin

This year in honor of Dr.  Seuss's birthday we made this easy and fun Cat in the Hat Pattern Making sensory bin. This is a fun way to put your puffle to good use and work on pattern making skills which later help kids grasp math concepts.

This post contains affiliate links. 

We love sensory bins, bags and play! Both of my kids still get excited when they see I have a new bin ready to explore. This one was a huge hit because they had been itching to get their hands into pluffle. This is such a fun squishy foam! It is a must have for sensory play!

Supplies:

Pluffel

Assorted red and white items.We used cotton balls, feathers, legos, mini clothespins and glittery Christmas scatter

Measuring spoons, tongs and other fun items to pick up the items in the bin with.

A large tray or a plastic storage bin.

Directions:

Pour pluffle on to a tray or into a storage bin.

Make sure you take a moment to squeeze, form and otherwise take in the pluffle; it is a great sensory play option and adults will enjoy the texture too.

Next, offer your child an assortment of red and white items.

We used tiny clothespins, legos in red and white, feathers, cotton balls, and Christmas scatter that was glittery and red.

Encourage your child to recreate the stripes of the Cat in the Hat's hat.

This is a great opportunity to use fine motor skills with the spoons and tongs. Encourage your child to try placing the items with those tools as well as their fingers.

When play time is over, you can snap a lid on the bin, or put it all back in the pluffle container for future play sessions. Pluffle never dries out!

You can find all of my sensory ideas here.

Favorites include:
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Squishy Eye Sensory Bag

Squishy, silly, sensory play with a spooky feel just in time for Halloween!

We love sensory play! Bins, bag and sensory activities are always a hit with my kids!

I made this easy but oh so fun  spooky eyes sensory bag for Harper. It is perfect for Halloween and can be used in several ways. 

This bag makes a great stress reliever for little hands. Kids feel stress too, and squishing this bag helps them to relieve some of it. But, this spooky eye sensory bag is also a fun way to practice sorting skills.

This post contains affiliate links.

Supplies:
Hair gel
Zipper seal bag
Googly Eyes

Squeeze about 1/4 cup of hair gel into a zipper seal bag.

Add googly eyes.

Seal the bag.

If your child has a tendency to use rough hands or is a toddler, you might want to reinforce the sides of the bag with duct tape.

Invite your child to squish, squeeze and sort the spooky eyes sensory bag!

You might also like these  sensory activities.
Unicorn Fine Motor Play is a whimsical way to engage the senses.