Unleash your child’s inner baker and sensory explorer with a fun-filled cupcake sensory bin activity, blending cloud dough and colored rice for hours of imaginative play. Sensory bins are a fantastic way to engage little ones in exploratory play, and what could be more delightful than combining the sensory experience with the joy of ‘baking’? Enter the cupcake sensory bin, a playful, educational concoction made from cloud dough and colored rice. This activity not only sparks creativity but also enhances fine motor skills, sensory processing, and imaginative play. The best part? It’s incredibly easy to set up and promises hours of fun for your kids.
Creating this sensory bin requires just a handful of materials, most of which you likely already have at home. The base of the activity, cloud dough, is a silky, moldable substance that mimics the texture of wet sand, providing a unique tactile experience. Coupled with vibrant colored rice, this bin transforms into a delightful bakery scene, inviting little ones to mix, bake, and decorate to their hearts’ content.
Materials Needed:
- Flour
- Oil (vegetable or baby oil works great)
- Sensory bin or large container
- Colored rice (for instructions, visit this link) or rainbow sprinkles
- Toy baking items (think mini rolling pins, cookie cutters)
- Whisks, candles, bowls, spoons
- Silicone cupcake liners
- Buttons or pom poms for decoration
Step by Step Instructions:
- Make the Cloud Dough: Combine 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of oil in a large bowl. Mix well until the mixture becomes crumbly but moldable. This is your cloud dough base.
- Prepare the Colored Rice: Follow the instructions provided at the link above to dye your rice in various colors. This will be used for decorating the cupcakes.
- Set Up the Sensory Bin: Fill your sensory bin with the cloud dough. Next, sprinkle the colored rice over the top or keep it in separate bowls as toppings.
- Add Baking Tools and Decorations: Scatter toy baking items, whisks, silicone cupcake liners, and any other tools around the bin. Place buttons or pom poms in bowls as additional decorations for the ‘cupcakes’.
- Invite Your Kids to Play: Introduce your children to the bin and let their imagination take the lead!
How They Played:
My kids dove into this activity with gusto, immediately grabbing the spoons and bowls to start ‘mixing’ their ingredients. They filled the silicone liners with cloud dough, pressed the dough into shapes with their hands, and then topped their creations with colored rice and buttons. It was a joy to watch them role-play as bakers, deciding on which ‘flavors’ to make and serving their cupcakes to family members. The sensory bin became a bustling bakery, with each child taking on roles, from the chef to the customer.
Tips for Success:
- Supervise Young Children: Always keep an eye on little ones during play to prevent ingestion of small items or materials.
- Use a Mat or Outdoor Space: Cloud dough can get messy, so consider setting up the bin on a mat or play outside for easier cleanup.
- Encourage Creativity: There’s no right or wrong way to play with this bin. Encourage your kids to explore and use the materials in whatever way sparks their imagination.
Skills Learned:
This sensory bin activity is not just about fun; it’s a rich educational opportunity. Kids learn fine motor skills as they scoop, pour, and mold the dough. The act of mixing and decorating enhances hand-eye coordination. Choosing colors and decorations fosters color recognition and decision-making skills. Moreover, this play scenario encourages language development and social skills as children role-play and communicate with their peers or family members. It’s a comprehensive, engaging way to support developmental milestones through play.
So, there you have it—a simple, enjoyable activity that combines sensory exploration with creative baking fun. Dive into this sensory bin with your kids and watch them become little bakers, all while learning and growing through play.
Cupcake Sensory Bin
Materials
Instructions
- Make the Cloud Dough: Combine 8 cups of flour with 1 cup of oil in a large bowl. Mix well until the mixture becomes crumbly but moldable. This is your cloud dough base.
- Prepare the Colored Rice: Follow the instructions provided at the link above to dye your rice in various colors. This will be used for decorating the cupcakes.
- Set Up the Sensory Bin: Fill your sensory bin with the cloud dough. Next, sprinkle the colored rice over the top or keep it in separate bowls as toppings.
- Add Baking Tools and Decorations: Scatter toy baking items, whisks, silicone cupcake liners, and any other tools around the bin. Place buttons or pom poms in bowls as additional decorations for the 'cupcakes'.
- Invite Your Kids to Play: Introduce your children to the bin and let their imagination take the lead!
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.
