INSIDE: Bug Sensory Bin is a fun and easy sensory bin activity for toddlers and preschoolers! Create a beautiful and enticing sensory bin complete with pretend grass and dirt!
Spring is in the Air!
Spring is definitely in the air! And we are already starting to do some fun activities and crafts to celebrate. One of my favourite activities to create for my twins is, of course, sensory bins! And I have recently started to incorporate more cardboard into my bins and the results are simple amazing!
How to set up the Bug Spring Garden Sensory Bin
How to Make the Grass
- Use scissors or box cutters to cut cardboard into the shape of blades of grass.
- Paint both sides of the cardboard grass with green tempera paint or use a paint stick. Use different shapes of green, if available.
- Seal the cardboard grass with Mod Podge a water based glue and sealer.
- If you don’t have bug and insect toys your can create them using the cardboard.
NOTE: Because the cloud dough oil based you should remove your cardboard grass from the cloud dough after play so that it does not get stained by the oil.
How to Make the Cloud Dough Dirt
Cloud dough is not edible. Raw flour should not be ingested. Adult supervision is required.
Makes about 8 cups amount (about 1.2 kg) cloud dough
- Large mixing bowl
- 8 cups (1 kg) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (55 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, or more as needed (optional, for brown cloud dough)
- 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil
- In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder (if using) and vegetable oil.
- Mix together until the cloud dough becomes moldable. Add more oil if it’s too dry or more flour if it’s too wet, as needed.
- Cloud dough is ready when you can shape it into a ball with your hands. Add more cocoa if you want to make the color of the cloud dough darker.
Putting the Sensory Bin Together
Add the cloud dough to one side of the bin and the grass to the other side. Include some grass in the cloud dough. Place your bug toys, snakes and other insects including butterflies in the sensory bin. Add bowls and spoons. Add a utensil drawer organizer for sorting.
How to Play with this Sensory Bin
This is a fun sensory bin to let your little one play and explore in. For toddlers, let them explore and play with the bugs, help them to name them and identify their colours and unique features. For preschoolers, have them sort the insects by those with and without wing; by colour; by type: insect or not insect; or by number of legs. Can they think of another way to sort?
Looking for more Fun Spring Crafts & Activities and more? Check out these fun ideas:
Supplies
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- Sensory Bin or Sensory Table
- Cardboard
- Cloud Dough (see recipe above)
- Box cutters or scissors
- Green paint sticks or Tempera Paint for Kids
- Toy Bugs, Toy Insects, Mini Butterflies and Toy Snakes and Toy Lizards
- Utensil Drawer Organizer
- Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer, Glue
WILL YOU TRY BUG SPRING GARDEN SENSORY BIN WITH YOUR TODDLER OR PRESCHOOLER? PIN IT FOR LATER!
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.
How long does cloud dough last?
It can last up to 6 months if stored in an air tight container. Keep it dry and it can last longer. Just check for mold before setting up a new sensory bin.