Sensory Bins

[TwinMama]

I'm creating some sensory bins.

So far I think I'm going to do:

Sand
Water/suds/bubbles
Ribbons and streamers

Do you have any others that you'd suggest that the kids love?

[kitkat]

Rice
Oatmeal oats
Fake snow (3 cups baking soda and 1/2 cup hair conditioner; makes a very small batch, but the kids LOVE it)
Potting soil (I don't know who posted that on here, but my ds loves it and can't wait for spring to play in it again...outside only)

[AmyKidsCo]

I know some people don't like to use food, or aren't able to, but I don't mind and am able to. Plus I have a little one who eats EVERYTHING no matter how closely she's watched, so edibles are safer for her.

Here's what I've done:
Black beans and red lentils - October
Dried corn kernels - November
Ice cream salt - January
Red, pink, white colored rice (food coloring) - February
Next month I think I'm doing green/white rice.
Flaxseed
Oatmeal
Orzo (small pasta)

Non-edibles:
Red paper shreds, gift bows - December (they didn't like this one much)
Water beads
Aquarium gravel

[Heidi]

For FCCER's or QRIS, food is frowned upon.

I've done bird seed (it't not PEOPLE food, I guess), and puzzle pieces. Just go to Goodwill and buy a bunch of 500 piece puzzles no one wants, and use those. That was actually a good one, and not messy when spilled. I just used some old puzzles we had that were missing pieces...free!

[BabyMonkeys]

We just put our sensory bins away. I mixed different shapes + colors of dried pasta and gave them assorted measuring cups, spoons, mini muffin tins, etc. They loved it, but one of the 14m was determined to put it in his mouth.

[AmyKidsCo]

For FCCER's or QRIS, food is frowned upon.

Yes, but I've declined to participate in YoungStar.

[Michael]

More threads on Sensory Bins: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=sensory+bins

[Josiegirl]

A couple I set up that were kind of different:
Mardi Gras with sparkly necklaces and masks, gold coins, anything I could find at the dollar store(or in my Christmas decorations LOL) that was shiny.
Numbers: all I did for that one was dig through all my stuff, everything that was number related went into the box. Clock puzzle pieces, playing cards, extra large dice, number stickers, I had paper numbers, things they could count.
Can't remember what else but I'm sure that gives you an idea.
What about using pipe cleaners with things they could thread, such as large beads and/or buttons, straws, t.p. tubes, etc.
For fall, I've used the fake leaves you can get at the $ store, and lots of wide autumn colored ribbons, cinnamon sticks, pine cones, small fake gourds.

[Unregistered]

Last week we've done colored rice and pasta with Dino's and eggs a couple dishes and spoons. Foam and cars face clothes, spoons and dishes and waterbeads with spoons and dishes my littles lov to scoop things

[permanentvacation]

Here's an idea for Easter.

http://extraordinaryordinarylife.blogspot.com/2012/03/easter-or-spring-sensory-bin.html

[permanentvacation]

I've made 4 bins in the past couple of days. I didn't do themed play bins, I made more of a 'buried treasure' type sensory bins. I am trying to think of things that are non-food items that I can make once and use over and over. One bin I I made has different colored yarn cut into various lengths and buried plastic shapes throughout the yarn.

In that bin, there are:

4 different colors of soft, fuzzy yarn
A variety of lengths of yarn (we can discuss short, long, longest, get a ruler
and measure them, etc.)
3 different colors of hard, smooth, plastic shapes
(the colors of the shapes are different than the colors of the yarn for a
total of 7 different colors in the box)
5 different shapes (4 of each shape which allows us to count, add, and
subtract them)

[Sunshine74]

A couple I set up that were kind of different:
Mardi Gras with sparkly necklaces and masks, gold coins, anything I could find at the dollar store(or in my Christmas decorations LOL) that was shiny.
Numbers: all I did for that one was dig through all my stuff, everything that was number related went into the box. Clock puzzle pieces, playing cards, extra large dice, number stickers, I had paper numbers, things they could count.
Can't remember what else but I'm sure that gives you an idea.
What about using pipe cleaners with things they could thread, such as large beads and/or buttons, straws, t.p. tubes, etc.
For fall, I've used the fake leaves you can get at the $ store, and lots of wide autumn colored ribbons, cinnamon sticks, pine cones, small fake gourds.

Right now we have the necklaces in ours, and paper towel tubes, and occasionally old spice containers (like garlic and cinnamon, not like Old Spice... ) that we have in our play kitchen. Those beaded necklaces are so much fun to pour.

[GigglesGalore]

I love these ideas. For Valentines Day we had kinetic sand with plastic hearts foam glitter hearts pom poms and bead necklaces. Everything was pink red and white. After we were done we used the glitter hearts to make valentines.