Sensory bins are great fun for young children, they love to scoop, pour, dig and explore many different materials. But a successful sensory bin experience often includes engaging tools kids can use to explore the materials. Here are some of my favorite sensory bin tools to use in your sensory bin at home or in the preschool classroom.
What is a Sensory Bin?
A sensory bin can provide opportunities for children to stimulate some or all of the following senses:
- Visual (sight)
- Auditory (hearing)
- Tactile (touch)
- Olfactory (smell)
- Gustation (taste)
Why Use a Sensory Bin in Preschool?
Sensory play is open-ended, meaning there is no clearly defined outcome of playing with or exploring the materials inside the bin.
Children use their senses and creativity to explore the materials offered in a sensory bin on their own without the expectation of an end product.
To recap, sensory bin play is meaningful to young children and provides opportunities for open-ended play.
Open-Ended Exploration with a Sensory Bin
A sensory bin is not about keeping kids busy. Instead, sensory bins provide opportunities for children to be successful, regardless of their language or cognitive abilities.
A child who struggles to express himself with language, may touch play snow for the first time and attempt to communicate how it feels.
When the materials inside sensory bins are offered to children without an expectation of a finished product, children use their imaginations and creativity to make sense of the materials in the sensory bin.
Sensory Bin Tools For Preschoolers
The best place to find sensory bin tools is at the dollar store or in your recycling bin. That’s right, sensory bin tools don’t have to break the bank!
Sensory Play Tools for Pouring and Scooping
Pouring and scooping is an important part of sensory bin play. These items provide opportunities for children to dig, scoop, and pour which is not only fun, but also great for developing motor skills and math skills like measurement, volume, more and less, capacity etc.
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Scoops
- Funnels
Sensory Bin Tools for Fine Motor Development
There are many ways sensory bins can support fine motor development. Throw a few of these in your sensory bin for extra practice strengthening the muscles in the hands!
- Tongs
- Tweezers
- Turkey basters
Sensory Bin Tools from the Recycling Bin
Items that you may usually recycle make great tools for your sensory play. Things like scoops, spice containers, and laundry soap lids make fabulous sensory bin tools!
- Spice containers
- Coffee scoops
- Liquid detergent lids
- Powdered detergent scoops
- Empty dish soap containers (with squeeze top)
- Empty ketchup containers (plastic with squeeze top)
Sensory Play Tools from the Kitchen
The kitchen is another great place to find tools to use in your sensory bin. Look around in your cupboards and drawers, you’ll be surprised how many treasures you’ll find!
- Tongs
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Turkey basters
- Whisk (water)
- Colander (water)
- Sponge (water)
- Silicone Muffin Cups or trays
- Ice Cube Trays
- Rubber ducks
- Magnifying glass
- Plastic Easter eggs
More Sensory Play Tools
- Gator Grabbers
- Twisty Droppers
- Handy Scoopers
- Sand Wheel
- Water Beads
- Moon Sand
- Kinetic Sand
- Silicone Muffin Baking Cups
- ABC Sand Molds
- Insta Snow
