Sensory bin ideas are one of the most shared items in our Facebook Group and today I've put together some of our favorite ones! These sensory bins are perfect for 1,2 and 3 year olds, although older children always love them too!
Sensory Bin Ideas for 1,2 and 3 Year Olds.
If you're new to sensory bins you might like to start with our guide to simple sensory bins. A lot of people find the thought of a sensory bin overwhelming but it's amazing how much fun a toddler will have with a few toys thrown into a tub of rice! Keep it simple and don't overthink it.
These ideas have all been shared in our My Bored Toddler Facebook Group and made by members of the group. Why not join too as this group is very active and there are so many great toddler activity ideas being shared daily.
What do I need for a sensory bin?
There's always a lot of discussion about what you need for a sensory bin and what table is the best. Honesty, any container that you can hold items in works fine. I always recommend THESE under the bed storage containers as you can put a lid on them and store them easily. Other people prefer the traditional sand and water tables like THESE ones.
I've shared a list of my favorite sensory bin tools and resources HERE.
Sensory Bin Ideas
Florence shared this fun weather themed sensory bin ideas. She used cotton balls and some fine motor scoopers (these are great and available HERE)
Hanneke made this great arctic sensory bin using cornflour, ice and water. When the ice melts the cornflour becomes gloop. Adding toys to a sensory bin is a great idea and you can find some sea animals like these HERE.
Melissa kept her sensory bin simple with rice and natural items.
Kathryn used black beans on one side and oats on the other to make this fabulous construction themed sensory bin - love it! If your toddler loves construction then they'll love our other fun toddler construction activity ideas.
Cornflakes and toy dinosaurs are a winning combination for this toddler sensory bin from @just_jska If you don't already have dinosaurs these ones from Safari Ltd are great.
Homemade Moon Sand and Colored Rice from Joella
Holly shared this fun snowplow sensory bin for those lucky enough to have real snow. This sensory bin idea is based on the fabulous book The Little SnowPlow which you can get HERE on Amazon.
Allie made a colorful sensory bin with My Little Pony theme!
Carly made a colored rice sensory bin tray (don't expect it to stay so neat!) and added some fine motor tools. She used collanders and items from our favorite fine motor resource set.
Claudia made a farm sensory bin
Danielle hid wooden letters in her sensory bin - she used alphabet pasta but if you can't find any regular rice or pasta will work well too.
Kathryn used shaving cream and food coloring in this easy to make sensory bin.
Loh made a colorful foam sensory bin - these are always fun. Add some toys in there too! See how to make the foam HERE.
Kerrie shows us that you can just pull random items from the kitchen and craft area and the kids will still have just as much fun!
These Two Little Hands made salt dough dinosaur fossils! See how they made them HERE.
Mariah made a feed the farm sensory bin! Cute!
Melika made a fun rabbit themed sensory bin using foam stickers.
Hui from The Cheeky Barns made this magic cloud dough. Get the full details HERE.
Stephanie colored some shaving cream (add a few drops of food coloring to shaving cream) and froze it for a very different sensory play experience!
Scott made colored spaghetti - this one is always lots of fun! Find out how to color spaghetti HERE.
If you enjoyed these sensory bin ideas why not join our Facebook Group for more fun toddler activity ideas and follow us on Instagram - follow @myboredtoddler and use #myboredtoddler.
Some more fun activities for toddlers:
Fine Motor Activities for Toddlers
