Amazing Sensory Bins for Summer - Happy Toddler Playtime

Get ready to engage your child’s senses and make a splash with sensory bins for summer! In this blog post, we’ll dive into a world of sensory play ideas that are perfect for the sunny season. From exploring the textures of sand and water to discovering the sights, sounds, and scents of summer, these sensory bins will provide hours of educational and sensory-rich fun. Let’s create memorable summer experiences with sensory play!

Simple is Best

When it comes to sensory bins in the summer, keeping things simple can be a wise approach. The warm weather and outdoor environment already provide a wealth of sensory experiences for children to explore. Opt for uncomplicated sensory bins that incorporate natural elements like sand, water, or a mix of both. Consider adding a few scoops, funnels, and containers for pouring and transferring activities. Keeping the materials minimal allows children to focus on the textures, sounds, and movements of the natural elements, fostering a deep connection with the summer season. By embracing simplicity, children can fully immerse themselves in the sensory play and enjoy the simplicity and beauty of the sensory experiences the summer brings.

Use What They Like

When creating a summer sensory bin for your child, it’s important to tailor it to their unique interests and preferences. By incorporating elements that they enjoy, you can create a sensory experience that truly captures their attention and engages their imagination. Consider their favorite themes, such as ocean creatures, pirates, or camping, and incorporate related props and materials. For example, if your child loves animals, you can include small plastic figurines of their favorite creatures, along with sand or water to create a habitat for imaginative play. By customizing the sensory bin to their interests, you create a personalized and meaningful experience that will keep them engaged and excited about exploring the sensory materials. So, whether it’s dinosaurs, princesses, or superheroes, infusing their favorite themes into the sensory bin will ensure a summer of sensory play that’s tailored to their joy and delight.

Learning Opportunities

Sensory bins have been amazing for my daughter’s vocabulary development. As time went by she started to do the same. So even now when she plays she will talk about what she is doing. When we first started doing them when she was about 18 months old, I would describe everything in the bin such as how something looked, felt or smelt to how we were playing with it.

Water Tables and Sensory Play

Water tables are a fantastic sensory tool for summer play and exploration. Setting up a water table in your backyard or outdoor space opens up a world of sensory activities for children. From splashing and pouring to experimenting with floating and sinking objects, water tables provide endless opportunities for tactile and visual stimulation. Children can use their hands, cups, and water toys to engage in pouring, scooping, and transferring activities, enhancing their fine motor skills. The soothing sound of water and the refreshing feeling of splashing around also contribute to a calming sensory experience. Water tables offer a safe and controlled environment for children to explore the properties of water, develop their creativity, and engage in imaginative play. Whether they are creating miniature oceans, washing toy animals, or experimenting with water flow, water tables are a fantastic addition to summer sensory play, providing hours of fun and learning in the sun.

The most important thing is that sensory bins should be fun and stress free for you. And don’t worry if they don’t play with it for more than 10 minutes. My mother told me once nothing with little Kids is going to last long. So don’t make it complicated for you!

Here is a the list of simple but fun sensory bins for your toddler or preschooler!

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Summer Sensory Bins for Kids

Easy Pool Noodle Soup: Summer Sensory Bin

This easy pool noodle soup is a great sensory play idea for toddlers and preschoolers. A fun way to play and learn with pool noodles this summer.

Ice Kitchen Water Table

Ice Kitchen Water Table is a great way to beat the heat this summer and to get the most use out of your water table with your toddler or preschooler!

Fizzy Sun Sensory Bin: Summer STEAM

Fizzy Sun: Summer STEAM Activity is an easy toddler and preschooler activity. Create a sun using baking soda!

Awesome Fizzy Ice Cream Shop Sensory Bin

Create this super fun and engaging Fizzy Ice Cream Shop Sensory Bin for your kids this summer using common household ingredients!

Super Easy Outer Space Water Table Activity

With the weather heating up, keep your child engaged with their water table with this easy to set up Outer Space Water Table activity.

LEGO Car Wash Sensory Bin

LEGO Car Wash Sensory Bin is a fun and easy sensory bin that your toddler or preschooler will love! Build a car wash to wash trucks and cars!

Muddy Zoo Sensory Bin

Muddy Zoo Sensory Bin is a fun sensory zoo themed activity for toddlers & preschoolers. It’s the perfect sensory bin to take outside this spring or summer!

Rainbow Pouring Station Sensory Bin for Kids

Rainbow Pouring Station is one of those amazing sensory bins that your kids will love. Easy to set up and great for indoor or outdoor play!

Easy Dandelion Water Table Activity

Dandelion Water Table Activity is the perfect answer to a warm afternoon. If you have a child that loves to pick dandelions try this!

Bubble Foam Sensory Bin for Toddlers

Here’s an easy way to make a bubble foam sensory bin for your toddler using just a few common ingredients you probably already have at home

Amazing Water Bead Water Table Activity

Make your water table the most played with toy this summer with this fun and easy water table activity idea: Water Bead Water Table!

Mermaid Sensory Bin

Cork Boat Sensory Bin

Nature Soup Sensory Bin

Shaving Cream and Water Sensory Bin

Pony Beads and Water Sensory Bin

Shapes Sensory Soup

Outer Space Sensory Bin

Water and Funnels Sensory Bin

Alphabet Soup Sensory Bin

Bug Soup Sensory Bin (good for younger toddlers)

Frozen Caps

Ice Rocks

Icy Letters

Pom Pom Water Sensory Bin

Frozen Lego

C aps Kitchen

Tea Bag Sensory Bin

W ater Table & Pom Poms

Number Dig , Wash & Match

Popsicle Colour Mixing Sensory Bin

The Easiest Toddler Water Activity That Strengthens Fine Motor Skills by Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds

Shaving Cream Foam Sand by One Little Project

Stone Washing

Flower Sensory Bin for Kids by Adventure in a Box

P aint Sensory Bin

Simple Edible Sensory Play with Frozen Veggies by Hands On as We Grow

Pom Pom Scoop

Water Beads in Mud

Megablok Washing

Birdseed Kitchen Sensory Bin

Age Suitability

This craft is good for toddlers aged children 2 years old and up.

Mess Level

The mess level for this craft is low.

Difficulty to Create

Low.

Skills Developed

Language development, shape recognition, color recognition, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, imaginative play, creativity.

Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!

Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers

There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!

But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.

Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.

Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!

These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!

Click here for more information: Play2Learn

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids

Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.

Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.

Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.

Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids

Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.

Find out more and grab your copy here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids

Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles that show them how to think outside the box.

350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.

Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!

Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.

TV Show: Curious Crafting

I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 airs in the summer of 2023! We were also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.

Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.

In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.

Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.

This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.