Desert Sensory Bin

Sensory Bins are just all the rage around here right now.  The boys LOVE them, they practice so many skills while playing with them, and they’re fun for me to put together!  As an added bonus, they’re forced to share a small space which helps them practice that ever-so-difficult task of learning to share and work together!

Our latest bin was a desert themed sensory bin.  We’re able to see the desert close up and I wanted to bring that experience into our home.  There’s nothing like being able to see and feel the real thing, but with the abundance of real cacti, I wanted to give them someplace to play without the risk of getting prickled!

Here’s what’s in our bin:

Brown rice for the base
Amber colored gems and marble from JoAnns
White Funnels (Dollar Tree)
Cardboard tube
Plastic Scoop (from baby formula can perhaps?)
Green plastic shot glasses (grocery store)
Desert Animal Toob (JoAnns)

Here’s how I laid it out for them.  I tried to hide some of the animals in the rice to act as camouflage, just as the animals really would hide!!  The green shot glasses are meant to represent a cactus.

I spread the beads out evenly…

The first thing they did was spread the cacti all out and explore the different animals.

They did a lot of scooping and pouring, and even separated all of the beads into the plastic shot glasses, and the animals onto one side!

This bin was definitely a hit!  It’s still our current bin, so I’m sure there will be much more play going on with it!