Valentine’s Day is all about love, fun, and of course—chocolate! What better way to bring that festive excitement to sensory play than with a Chocolate Factory Valentine’s Sensory Bin? With soft cocoa-scented sensory “dough,” pink beans, heart-shaped containers, and candy props, kids can scoop, mix, and create their own pretend chocolate treats. This chocolate factory bin is the perfect way to engage young learners in creative and sensory-rich play.
Materials
- Sensory bin
- Flour
- Vegetable oil
- Cocoa powder
- Mixing bowl and bowl
- Oats
- Heart shape cookie cutters
- Heart shaped containers
- Heart conversation candies
- Pink beans
- Pink rice (find instructions on how to make pink rice here)
- Mini marshmallows
- Scoopers
How to Set Up Chocolate Factory Valentine’s Sensory Bin
Make the Chocolate Sensory Dough & Chocolate Oats
- In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, ½ cup of cocoa powder, and ½ cup of vegetable oil.
- Stir until the mixture becomes a soft, moldable dough. It should feel like wet sand and hold its shape when pressed together.
- The mixture should look like moldable sand. Add a small amount of oil if its too dry and not moldable.
- In the same bowl, add two cups of oats and ½ of cocoa powder and mix.
Sensory Bin Set Up
- Fill the bin with the chocolate dough and chocolate oats.
- In the heart shaped containers add the mini marshmallows, pink rice and pink beans. To make pink beans you will need white beans, ziplock bags and pink paint. Take a cup of beans and put them into the bag, add several drops of pink paint, seal and mix until they are completely covered. Spread the beans over a sheet of parchment paper on a baking tray. Allow them to dry over night.
- Add heart-shaped cookie cutters, heart containers, and scoopers for pretend chocolate-making and conversation heart candies.
- Scatter some hearts for extra Valentine’s Day fun!
Let the Chocolate Factory Play Begin!
- Kids can scoop, mix, and mold chocolates using the sensory dough and cookie cutters.
- They can fill heart containers with “chocolates” and decorate them with oats or pink beans.
- Encourage pretend play by letting them “sell” or “deliver” chocolates to friends or stuffed animals.
Tips for Success
- Adjust the Texture – If the dough feels too dry, add more vegetable oil. If too wet, sprinkle in more flour.
- Extend the Play – Add small spoons, cupcake liners, or mini rolling pins for even more creativity.
- Make It a Learning Activity – Talk about chocolatiers, how chocolate is made, and even introduce simple measuring skills.
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
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 tha. t 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 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
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.
