Are you looking for a quick and easy sensory bin your preschoolers will love? This hands-on cranberry sensory bin is the perfect addition to your Thanksgiving or fall theme.
Your little learners will love this budget friendly sensory experience using cranberries, water, and common kitchen utensils. You can even invite your kids to string the berries and hang them up in your classroom when you’re done.
Cranberry Sensory Bin for Preschool
In the fall, you can easily find fresh cranberries in your local grocery store to create an indoor cranberry sensory play experience in your classroom. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area that has cranberry bogs, you might even be able to take a field trip.
If you’re a newbie to the wonderful world of sensory bins, you can learn all about the fantastic benefits of sensory play here.
Open-ended exploration is the key to a successful sensory play experience. Young children learn best when they can touch and explore the items in a sensory bin with their hands. There are no set expectations for using the materials inside a sensory bin. Just invite your little learners to use their senses to explore the materials inside the sensory bin.
Cranberry Sensory Play for Toddlers
Setting up this sensory activity is super easy, and it lends itself well to all sorts of hands-on learning and skill development. To prepare your cranberry sensory bin you’ll need to gather your materials first. The list below is just a suggestion, you can use whichever items you prefer or have on-hand.
- Cranberries
- Turkey Basters or Eye Droppers
- Bowls
- Measuring Cups and Scoops
- Colanders or Sieves
- Water
- Book: Time for Cranberries, by Lisl H. Detlefsen
Check out this research-based, playful learning unit in our curriculum shop!
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If you’re worried about a potential mess, take your sensory bin outdoors and add some natural items like leaves, sticks, and twigs.
Thanksgiving Sensory Activity for Preschool
Here are some of the skills your preschool and Pre-K students will be developing with this sensory experience:
- Measuring: How many scoops or cups are necessary to fill the bowl with cranberries?
- Counting: How many cranberries fit in a measuring cup?
- More and Less: Which cup holds more? Which cup holds less?
- Science: Will the cranberries sink or float in the water?
- 5 Senses: How do the cranberries look, feel, or smell?
- Fine Motor Skills: Squeezing the turkey baster, scooping and pouring with the measuring tools – these actions will help develop the small muscles in the fingers, hands, and wrists necessary for holding a writing tool.
Easy Cranberry Sensory Play
Place some cranberries and a few of the kitchen utensils in a tray in preparation for introducing it to your children.
Then, read the book Time for Cranberries, by Lisl H. Detlefsen aloud during your whole group time.
Next, introduce the tray of items to your students after you’ve finished reading the book. Pass the tray around the group so each child can have a turn to touch and feel the materials and ask questions.
Ask your students questions about the items on the tray such as, “How does it feel?” or “What do you think you can use that for?”
Cranberry Scoop Sensory Bin
After you’ve read the book aloud and introduced the materials during your whole group time, show your little learners how they might use the materials in the shallow bin of water. Demonstrate how they can use the turkey baster to “wash” the berries, or scoop berries into the colander and pour water on top.
Don’t get discouraged if your kids just want to play in the water without counting the cranberries. They’ll still be getting lots of important fine motor practice just by “playing” with the utensils.
The most important thing about open-ended sensory play experiences is that your kids are learning through play while having fun!
