This is about the time of year that I start to get a little bit stir crazy. I don’t think our temperature has even hit 10 degrees today! Not only am I stir crazy, but I’m having to keep my little guy entertained as well. Luckily, we have an unfinished basement that we spend a lot of time in during these cold months. We’ve also moved his water/sensory table that we made, into the basement during the winter months. Up to this point, we’ve mostly played with water as he loved to mouth most anything else. C has played with some other sensory table safely, so we’ve decided to step it up around here.
Simple Sensory Bin
I made the decision to start with rice in his sensory table as he’s enjoyed it so much in his toddler class. I was able to buy a cheap rice in bulk at Costco, so I didn’t break the bank on it. I thought about dying the rice colors but after making one batch I decided against it for now. His attention span when it comes to playing with anything isn’t huge yet. I opted to make it a simple sensory bin, yet fun, as I realized he may only play with it for a minute or two at a time.
Inside the bin is our favorite plastic balls (affiliate). We’ve used them for so many different things. I also threw in a few pool noodles that I had cut up last summer for sensory play. I added some measuring cups and a bucket.
It was a hit, and as I suspected it is played with in short bouts of time. I was happy I started simple!
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Love the color in this sensory bin and its simplicity. I am not a huge fan of rice though in sensory bins – so hard to clean it all up. I always put a blanket down but some reason it goes everyone. I prefer beans. They seem not to fly as far off the blanket. I like the white color of the rice though compared to the colorful balls.
Smart choice on not coloring the rice. That is nice for projects but a lot of work for a sensory bin. Dried pasta might work well too in the bin.