Pumpkin Rice Sensory Bin for Kids

The essence of fall captured in a sensory bin – that’s the magic of the Pumpkin Rice Sensory Bin! Imagine the vibrant shades of orange rice, contrasted with the autumnal hues of leaves, and sprinkled with cute little pumpkin containers. If you’re looking to create a delightful, hands-on activity for your kids that’s as educational as it is entertaining, you’ve found it.

Skills Fostered During Sensory Play

Sensory bins, especially ones as lively as this, do more than just entertain. They offer:

• Fine Motor Development: Picking up rice grains, leaves, or handling the scoopers strengthens those little fingers.
• Cognitive Growth: Sorting, transferring, and the act of scooping and pouring enhances problem-solving and logical thinking.
• Sensory Exploration: The varied textures and colors stimulate tactile and visual senses, fostering a deeper connection and understanding of the world around them.
• Creativity: From imaginative play to storytelling possibilities with the mini pumpkins, creativity knows no bounds.

WILL YOU MAKE PUMPKIN RICE SENSORY BIN WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!

Materials Needed for the Pumpkin Rice Sensory Bin

• Sensory bin
• Orange rice (instructions on the blog)
• Mini pumpkin buckets
• Green pipe cleaners
• Leaves (real or artificial)
• Small bowls and scoopers

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Prepare the Pumpkin Stems:

Take your green pipe cleaners, fold and cut them in half and wrap them around a pencil to give them a curly, stem-like appearance. Once they’ve taken shape, slide them off and set them aside.

2. Setting up the Sensory Bin:

Fill the sensory bin with the prepared orange rice, ensuring it’s spread out evenly as your base. Learn how to make coloured rice easily here.

3. Adding the Fall Flair:

Scatter your leaves, whether they’re real or artificial, throughout the bin. The varied textures between the rice and leaves will provide an enriched sensory experience.

4. Creating Mini Pumpkins:

Place your mini pumpkin containers in the bin.

5. Incorporate Bowls and Scoopers:

Add the small bowls and scoopers into the bin. These will be fantastic tools for kids to explore, transfer, and play with the rice and other elements.

Ways to Play

1. Counting Games: How many scoops does it take to fill a mini pumpkin container?
2. Story Time: Use the mini pumpkins and leaves to create a fall-themed story.
3. Sorting: Separate the leaves from the rice, or sort based on size or color.
4. Hide and Seek: Bury a few surprise items under the rice for an added discovery element.

Tips to Contain the Mess

• Play Area: Set up the sensory bin in an area that’s easy to clean, like hardwood floors or atop a plastic tablecloth.
• Boundary Setting: Establish rules about keeping the materials inside the bin.
• Cleanup Crew: Have a small handheld vacuum or broom and dustpan nearby for quick and efficient cleanup.

Dive into the festive season with this Pumpkin Rice Sensory Bin, which beautifully blends play with learning. It’s the kind of activity that might just make kids wish every day was a fall day! Happy exploring!

Age Suitability

This activity is good for toddlers aged children 18 months old and up with adult assistance.

Mess Level

The mess level for this activity is medium.

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 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. 

The Best Sensory Play Kits for Kids

Play is at the core of learning during the early years and it can take many forms. One of the most important of these is sensory play because it engages all of a child’s senses (taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing) and has a enoumous positive impact on brain development.

Our Sensory Play Kits are some fun and easy ways to keep your child engaged while at the same time using sensory play to nurture their mind!

Shop our ready made play kits here.

Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.

WILL YOU MAKE PUMPKIN RICE SENSORY BIN WITH YOUR CHILD? PIN IT FOR LATER!