One of the most versatile and enjoyable activities to support a toddler's development is through sensory play, and a sensory bin is one of the easiest and most effective tools for promoting sensory exploration.
Sensory bins are essentially containers (of any size!) filled with various materials that allow children to explore sights, textures, sounds, and sometimes even tastes and smells, all while developing motor and communication skills. Sensory bins are easy to set up with household items, and they can be adapted to suit your toddler's needs and interests.
In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of sensory bins and provide examples of easy-to-make sensory bins you can try at home.
Why Are Sensory Bins So Good for Toddlers?
1. Engage Multiple Senses Simultaneously
Sensory bins are designed to engage several senses at once—typically touch and sight, and sometimes smell, sound, and even taste (if using edible materials, such as crushed up "O" cereal to act as "sand"). For toddlers, experiencing the world through multiple senses helps to strengthen their sensory processing skills, allowing them to better understand and navigate their environment.
Tactile Stimulation: When toddlers explore and manipulate different materials (like rice, water, or fabric), they are engaging their sense of touch, which is essential for fine motor development.
Visual Stimulation: The colors and textures of the objects in the bin stimulate the sense of sight, which can facilitate development of visual motor and visual perceptual skills.
Auditory Stimulation: Some sensory bins, like those filled with dried beans or small objects, may create a soft sound when touched, providing auditory input that can be soothing for some children and alerting for others.
Engaging multiple senses simultaneously is critical for toddlers as it helps improve sensory integration—the ability of the brain to process and respond to different sensory stimuli.
2. Promote Fine Motor Skills
A sensory bin is a goldmine for developing fine motor skills, which involve the small muscles in the hands and fingers. Tasks like scooping, pouring, grabbing, and sorting all promote strength and coordination in these tiny muscles.
Scooping and Pouring: These actions help toddlers practice hand-eye coordination and refine the muscles needed for more complex tasks like holding a pencil or using utensils.
Grabbing and Sorting: Manipulating small objects within a bin strengthens grip and dexterity, which are important skills for writing, drawing, and other daily activities.
These activities help toddlers build the foundation they need for later skills like dressing themselves, buttoning shirts, and drawing shapes and letters.
3. Foster Cognitive and Language Development
When toddlers interact with various objects in a bin, they are learning about concepts such as size, shape, color, texture, and volume. They are also practicing problem-solving, as they figure out how to manipulate the objects or complete certain tasks within the bin.
Problem-Solving: Toddlers may work out how to fill containers with sand, transport objects from one place to another, or match items based on attributes like color or size.
Language Development: Sensory bins provide ample opportunities for language learning. As toddlers explore, they can be introduced to new words related to the objects, textures, and actions they’re experiencing. For example, "smooth," "rough," "pour," "scoop," "big," and "small" are all words toddlers may encounter during sensory play.
These interactions with the sensory bin allow toddlers to expand their vocabulary, develop an understanding of concepts, and practice their early communication skills. For children who are more verbally expressive, it’s a great opportunity for them to practice labeling and storytelling.
4. Enhance Social-Emotional Skills
While sensory bins can be a solo activity, they are also great for cooperative play with peers or caregivers. When toddlers play together, they can practice taking turns, sharing, and expressing their ideas. This builds essential social skills and physical & emotional regulation.
Turn-Taking and Sharing: As toddlers play with sensory materials, they might need to share tools or space in the bin, which can foster cooperative play and teach patience.
Self-Regulation: The calming nature of sensory bins can help toddlers self-soothe or manage their emotions. For some children, playing with materials that provide tactile input or rhythmic actions (like pouring or stirring) can help them calm down when feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated.
5. Provide a Calming and Regulating Effect
For toddlers who are easily overstimulated or who struggle with sensory processing, sensory bins can provide a much-needed way to self-regulate. As mentioned above, the repetitive, rhythmic motions of scooping, pouring, or squeezing can have a calming effect on a child’s nervous system, helping them feel more grounded. For these reasons, sensory bins are often particularly helpful for children with sensory processing difficulties, ADHD, or anxiety.
Examples of Toddler-Friendly Sensory Bins
Here are a few simple and engaging sensory bin ideas you can easily create at home. These FUNctional bins are ideal for toddlers, as they are designed to promote skill development.
SAFETY NOTE: Sensory bin play REQUIRES adult supervision! Stay vigilant to ensure that your child does not mouth small non-food objects or ingest toxic, inedible materials.
1. Rice and Beans Sensory Bin
Materials Needed:
Dried rice and/or beans (uncooked, non-toxic)
Small plastic scoops, spoons, or measuring cups
Small containers, bowls, or plastic animals
Why It’s Great:
Fine Motor Practice: Scooping, pouring, and pinching to pick up small pieces is a great way for toddlers to practice hand-eye coordination and strengthen the small muscles in their hands and fingers.
Language Development: Start by narrating what you're doing - "I'm scooping the rice with the red spoon. The dinosaur is eating beans from the big bowl. The lizard is eating rice from the small bowl." Be sure to pause frequently and play quietly alongside one another, too - when the adults take a break from talking, it gives children a chance to respond and come up with their own ideas.
2. Water Play Sensory Bin
Materials Needed:
Shallow container or basin
Water (fill halfway)
Plastic cups, spoons, sponges, and small bath toys (animals, boats)
Why It’s Great:
Fine Motor Practice: Pouring liquids is a useful functional skill that fosters greater independence with activities of living. Squeezing sponges strengthens those intrinsic muscles of the hands and fingers.
Language Development: You can introduce words (e.g. splash, drip, squeeze, wipe) and concepts (e.g. wet and dry, cold and warm). Target following directions by asking your child to find certain animals swimming in the water.
3. Shredded Paper Sensory Bin
Materials Needed:
Shredded paper or Easter grass
Small plastic toys (cars, animals, etc.)
Why It’s Great:
Fine Motor Practice: Shredded paper provides a soft, crinkly texture that toddlers can run their hands through, rip and tear, and manipulate. The pincer grasp is targeted by picking up individual strips of thin paper.
Language Development: Target size concepts by hiding a variety of small, big, long, and short items. Throw some prepositions in there by narrating, "I put the red car next to the blue car."
4. Play Dough Sensory Bin
Materials Needed:
Non-toxic play dough
Cookie cutters, plastic utensils, beads, small figurines
Why It’s Great:
Fine Motor Practice: Rolling, squeezing, and pinching play dough - you guessed it! - improves strength and dexterity. Hiding small beads encourages finger isolation. Using two hands together for these tasks develops bilateral coordination, which is essential for activities of daily living (e.g. manipulating clothing fasteners, cutting with scissors).
Language Development: When searching for beads hidden in the dough, note which items are the same or different, and why ("You found two purple beads!"). Play dough encourages open-ended, creative play as toddlers build towers and sculpting animals. You may need to first model these ideas (e.g. "Ohhh, I made a fence to keep the horses in") and then step back and see what your child does next!
5. Soft and Squishy Sensory Bin
Materials Needed:
Pom poms and/or cotton balls
Scoopers, containers, paper towel rolls, toilet paper tubes, small figurines
Why It’s Great:
Fine Motor Practice: Work on eye hand coordination by picking up small pom poms and putting them in the tubes.
Language Development: You can introduce qualitative concepts by talking about the features of different items (e.g. The zebra has stripes and the leopard has spots). Flex those pretend play muscles again by feeding the animals different fruits - maybe the blue pom poms are blueberries, and so on.
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