Sensory bins are so great for young children. This is a Halloween themed sensory bin for the month of October!
Sensory play is so important for developing young children. It helps their fine motor skills, leads to more development in their language and social skills, and even allows them to make more connections in their brain development!
Sensory play is anything that you give to your child that involves their senses: touch, taste, smell, hear, see. Sensory play can also involve body movement development as well.
Setting up sensory bins is pretty simple. Just use items that are interesting to your child and a filler of rice, beans, etc. Some items you will probably have at your house!
This sensory bin I made is Halloween themed. Continue reading for what I used and how I made it! There is also a recipe and directions for how I dyed the rice!
Materials
- Rice (I chose to dye mine orange and black, directions below)
- Foam Halloween stickers
- Spiky Halloween balls
- Pumpkin pail
- Ice cream scoop
- Sensory bin or container
Colored rice
- 1 cup of rice
- 1/2 tsp vinegar
- Few drops of food coloring or food color gel
- Zip lock Bag or container with lid
- Wax paper
Put 1 cup of rice into a zip lock bag or container with lid. Add in vinegar and food color. Close container and shake until all the color is dispersed. Next, lay out rice on wax paper to dry for a few hours or overnight!
Directions
Put rice into a container or bin. Add in stickers, balls, or anything else Halloween themed. Next, give your child the pumpkin pail and ice cream scoop and let them play!
Play ideas
Let children explore the materials on their own. It’s best for them to take their time to feel all the materials. Let them pick it up and drop it to hear the sound it makes. Or crunch it in their hands. Letting children explore the sensory bin on their own is a great way to learn.
You can also facilitate their play by asking questions about the items or even identifying colors or textures for the children. Or even just play with them!
Another activity to do with a sensory bin is to give your child a shovel or spoon and a container to put it in. This is a great fine motor activity and my daughter loved scooping the rice into the pumpkin container. You can also have your child collect certain stickers or certain color balls into the pail for even more learning!
You can let your child explore the sensory bin sitting at a table or on the floor. Both experiences lead to a different type of play, which is great!
Warnings
Sensory bins can be messy, but it is part of learning! Just take that into consideration when setting up the sensory bin. I also let my daughter help clean up at the end and she loves picking up the items and putting them back. Plus, this adds to the fine motor experience!
Small items can be choking hazards! Make sure you are using materials that is appropriate for your child. If they still like to put things in their mouth, you may not want to give them little items.
Children need constant supervision when playing with sensory bins. Even if your child normally doesn’t put things in their mouth, you still need to watch them the entire time they are playing to make sure they are being safe with the materials.
I hope you enjoyed this Halloween sensory bin!
If you enjoyed this, check out our fall themed sensory bin here!
For even more early learning ideas, check out our fall themed file folder activities here.
Thank you for Continually Learning with us!
Kyle and Sarah
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