21+ Easy Spring Sensory Bins for Kids

Spring is in the air and sensory bins are a wonderful way to help your child adapt to the changing of the season, by exploring the change through their senses. We have pit together all our favourite spring-themed sensory bins that we know your child will enjoy.

What are Sensory Bins?

A sensory bin is a hands on learning experience that incorporates the senses. It usually takes the form of a shallow container that holds small toys, fine motor tools and a filler material. They are meant to allow your child to explore the items using their senses. Generally filler materials include things such as rice and sand but can varies widely. Tools include items such as spoons or measuring cups while the toys can be anything from dinosaurs to cars.

There are many benefits to using sensory play at Spring as well as through out the year. These include developing fine motor skills, academic learning, language skills, self-regulation, focus and concentration, sensory integration, imagination and social skills.

1. Sensory bins provide an opportunity to develop language skills as your little one explore new materials, sensations and tools.
2. The opportunity for your child’s imagination to take center stage in sensory play is immense. Whether they are exploring the materials or engaging in small world play, sensory bin are wonderful ways for your child to flex their imaginations.
3. Sensory bins can be used with multiple children to help foster cooperative play and to strengthen social skills.
4. Tactile learning and sensory integration is enhanced through the exploration or new textures, sound, sights and smells and occasionally tastes.
5. Sensory bins strengthening fine motor skills through scooping and pour, transferring and measuring.
6. Sensory bins can be modified to meet a wide range of learning outcomes, including learning colours, letters, and density and volume.

Ways to Contain the Mess

The mess created from sensory play is usually the number one reason why parents (myself included) don’t engage in sensory play as often as we would like. There are ways that you can help contain the mess from sensory bins as well as make the clean up process easier.

1. Take the sensory bin outside. If weather permits, set up you messy sensory play ideas outside.
2. Protect your floors with a kiddie pool, table clothes or plastic shower curtain.
3. Reduce the size of the sensory bin. The smaller the sensory bin the smaller the mess.
4. Choose a type of filler that is less messy and easier to clean up. Water is my favourite. Just place a towel under the bin and around the immediate play area for the easiest clean up.

Manage Your Expectations

It is only around the age 3 or 4 that my kids started to play with a sensory bin for 30 or more minutes, sometimes for hours. Before that, they would play with it for a few minutes, sometimes more sometimes less. So when you create a sensory bin, it is helpful to use a bin that has a lid so that you can close it off and set aside while they aren’t playing with it. When they comes home from school or wake up from a nap, you can pull it out again and let them naturally come back and engage with the material through out the day.

Spring Sensory Bins for Kids

Spring Bug Sensory Bin

This sensory bin captures the essence of spring with a bug-themed setup, inviting kids to explore various textures and miniatures that mimic the outdoor world of insects, enhancing their sensory and cognitive skills through interactive play.

Easter Chick Sensory Bin

This vibrant Easter-themed sensory bin captures the essence of spring with fluffy yellow chicks, colorful eggs, and soft, textured materials to mimic a chick’s natural environment. It’s a perfect hands-on activity that encourages fine motor skills development and imaginative play around the Easter holiday.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Sensory Bin

Inspired by the beloved children’s book, this sensory bin features elements that represent the various foods the caterpillar eats through, alongside a toy caterpillar and butterfly. It offers a tactile and visual storytelling experience, enhancing comprehension and retelling skills through sensory play.

Bug Sensory Bin for Kids

Dive into the tiny world of insects with a bug-themed sensory bin filled with faux grass, toy bugs, and natural elements like leaves and sticks. This engaging activity invites exploration and learning about different bugs, promoting curiosity and respect for nature.

Beautiful Birds Sensory Bin

Designed to enchant and educate, this sensory bin features elements inspired by birds, incorporating feathers, nests, and figurine toys, offering children a tactile and visual exploration of avian life.

Easy Dandelion Water Table Activity

A simple, yet captivating activity that utilizes a water table filled with floating dandelions, encouraging children to explore the properties of water and nature. This activity fosters fine motor skills and scientific curiosity, making it a delightful way to engage with the natural world.

Bug Sensory Bin with Taste-Safe Water Beads

This innovative sensory bin combines the fascination of bugs with the safe, squishy fun of taste-safe water beads, making it ideal for younger children. It encourages sensory exploration and learning about insects in a safe, interactive environment that little ones can even taste without risk.

Spring Sensory Bin

Filled with greenery, and spring-themed items, this sensory bin is tailored for toddlers, providing a safe and engaging environment for them to develop their fine motor skills and sensory awareness.

Bee Counting Sensory Bin

Get ready to create a bee counting sensory bin for kids aged 3 to 5 using vibrant colored rice, soft pom poms, and cardboard tubes. This delightful hands-on experience will not only engage your child’s senses but also provide valuable learning opportunities.

Tulip Sensory Bin for Spring

This vibrant sensory bin celebrates the beauty of tulips and springtime, using artificial tulips and colorful materials to create a visually stimulating and tactile play experience for children.

Garden Water Table Sensory Activity

Merging the concepts of gardening and water play, this sensory activity uses a water table to simulate a garden environment, encouraging kids to explore water dynamics and plant life through immersive play.

Pom Pom Seed Garden Sensory Bin

Imaginative and colorful, this sensory bin uses pom poms as seeds, inviting children to “plant” a garden, thereby fostering their creativity, fine motor skills, and understanding of how plants grow.

Spring Flower Fine Motor Threading

Focused on developing fine motor skills, this activity involves threading spring flowers, providing a fun and educational way for kids to improve their dexterity and hand-eye coordination.

Birdseed Kitchen Sensory Bin

Utilizing birdseed as a base material, this kitchen-themed sensory bin allows children to explore textures and engage in pretend play, simulating cooking and baking experiences in a unique sensory context.

Flour Frogs Sensory Bin

This creative sensory bin uses flour as a base to create a swampy environment for frog figurines, offering kids a tactile experience as they learn about amphibian habitats through sensory exploration.

Bumble Bee Sensory Bin

A delightful exploration of the world of bumblebees, this sensory bin incorporates yellow colored rice, bee figurines, and flowers, providing a multi-sensory experience that educates and entertains children about these vital pollinators.

WILL YOU TRY MAKING THESE SPRING SENSORY BINS FOR KIDS WITH YOUR KIDS? PIN IT FOR LATER.