A snowman sensory bin is perfect for a winter theme in your preschool or pre-k classroom.
Snowballs by Lois Ehlert is an excellent book to read before introducing this sensory bin to your children. The addition of loose parts and fine motor tools creates a fun and engaging winter sensory experience your kids will love!
Snowman Sensory Bin
Here are the things I used in my snowman themed sensory bin, but you can use whatever you prefer or have on-hand.
- Instant Snow
- Pinecones
- Fabric Scraps
- Snowballs by Lois Ehlert
- Bottle Caps
- Straws
- Wooden Snowman Figures
- Mini Hat
- Scoops
- Handy Scoopers
Snow Sensory Activity
To introduce this sensory experience you can read any book about snowman aloud to your students. I chose the book Snowballs by Lois Ehlert because it always sparks imagination and creativity in my children.
The way the author uses loose parts and found objects to create the snowman in the story encourages children to think outside the box.
Instant Snow
Another great aspect of this sensory bin is that you can make the Instant Snow with your kids as a science experiment! They just love adding water to the powder and watching it transform into “snow.”
I used several things in this bin that I already had on-hand, such as straws, pinecones, fabric scraps, and bottle caps.
There were a few other things on deep discount at my local craft store that I just couldn’t resist. The mini hat and the wooden snowman figures were a big hit with the toddlers and preschoolers! I probably should have bought a few more of the hats because sharing just one was a bit of a struggle for some kids.
Adding things like Handy Scoopers and scoops to your sensory bins is a great way to get in some fine motor practice! The bubble tongs are perfect for exercising the small muscles in the hands that will be used for writing, as well as to transfer materials.
The Instant Snow doesn’t really take shape like real snow does, but the kids still enjoy scooping and pouring the snow. As they scoop and pour, they are exercising wrist muscles needed for developing muscles needed for writing.
Try a snowman sensory bin in your classroom for a super fun, hands-on learning experience!
