Looking for a fun and engaging activity to keep the kids cool and entertained this summer? A funnels sensory bin is the perfect solution!
This simple setup combines water play with the fascination of funnels, allowing kids to explore pouring, measuring, and the flow of water in a hands-on way.
It’s a great way to beat the heat while encouraging sensory exploration and fine motor skills.
More Summer Sensory Bins
Easy Pool Noodle Soup: Summer Sensory Bin
Lemon Sensory Bin
Ice Kitchen Water Table: Summer Sensory Bin
Why You’ll Love This Activity
You’ll love this funnels sensory bin activity because it’s easy to set up and provides endless entertainment. Perfect for multiple age groups from toddler to kindergartner.
Kids are naturally curious about how things work, and funnels offer a fantastic way for them to explore the concepts of flow and gravity.
Plus, it’s a wonderful sensory experience that involves touch, sight, and even sound as the water splashes and trickles through the funnels.
Materials Needed
- Water table or sensory bin
- Different funnels
- Dish rack
- Water
- Jugs for pouring
- Bowls and cups collecting
What Type of Sensory Bin to Use
For this activity, you can use either a water table or a large sensory bin. A water table is great for multiple kids to play at once and provides ample space for pouring and experimenting.
If you don’t have a water table, a large, shallow plastic bin works just as well.
Make sure the bin is sturdy and big enough to hold a good amount of water and the various funnels and jugs.
How to Set Up
- Prepare the Sensory Bin: Fill your water table or sensory bin with enough water to allow for easy pouring but not so much that it will overflow when the kids start playing.
- Gather Your Funnels: Collect a variety of funnels in different sizes and shapes. This adds an element of discovery as kids see how each funnel handles the flow of water differently.
- Set Up the Dish Rack: Place a dish rack in the bin. This will serve as a stand for the funnels and make it easier for kids to pour water through them.
- Provide Pouring Jugs: Give the kids a few jugs or pitchers or bowls filled with water. These will be used to pour water through the funnels. You can also add cups or bowls or smaller containers for more precise pouring and even collecting the water as it flows through the funnels.
- Let the Fun Begin: Show the kids how to pour water through the funnels and let them explore on their own. Encourage them to experiment with different funnel sizes and see how the water flows differently through each one.
My Books
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.
