How to Make a Spring Sensory Bin
Spring Sensory Bin Ideas to Celebrate the Season
Spring is celebrated around the world in so many wonderful and creative ways. It’s such a great season to get back outside! The weather is warming, the sun is spending more time up, the leaves and flowers are slowly budding. There’s so much to experience and learn by just taking a walk with your little outside and exploring everything that’s coming back to life during spring. If you’re looking for a fun indoor spring sensory activity, sensory bins are always a great place to start. A spring sensory bin is the perfect way to entertain your little ones this season.
Spring sensory bins help children to improve fine motor skills development by touching objects with various textures, scooping and releasing, as well as pouring to practice volume control. Your little ones can create stories while they play, inviting them to use their imaginations. If your kids want to invite siblings, cousins, or friends to join them, then they are also actively engaging and improving their social skills. Sensory bins are so beneficial all year long as they promote your child’s development.
Here are a number of my favorite spring sensory bin ideas to support your family this season. If you’re looking specifically for Easter activities, check out my post, Easter Projects For Preschoolers.
Spring Sensory Bin Ideas
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Spring sensory bins are such a fun way for your littles to learn more about the season, as well as invent their very own spring sensory story. Begin making your sensory bin by ordering a clear plastic container with high sides. You little one will want to be able to see through the sides into the wonderful world you’ve created for them. Now it’s time to choose a sensory base. My post, Safe and Unsafe Sensory Materials for the Base of Your Bin, will provide a variety of ideas so you can choose which ones are best for you. A few spring sensory bin ideas for your base include any materials that mimic grass or the ground like split peas, green-colored or yellow cornmeal, chickpeas, rice, or even decaf coffee grounds! Once you have your bin and your base, you can begin to build your spring sensory bin with some of these fun themes.
Spring Garden Sensory Bin
A spring garden sensory bin is a great way to get your kiddo to learn all about the gardening process. Choose a base that looks like soil. Combine dyed garbanzo beans as seeds for different vegetable, fruit, plant, and flower types. Use colored sticks so your kiddo can organize the seeds in rows just like in a real garden! Assorted tools can be combined to allow your little to sort and sift through the included materials. Add planters and invite your child to learn all about volume. Fake flowers can be organized by color, type, or texture! Check out the Gardening Sensory Bin, which is included in the monthly sensory bin subscription, for more ideas.
A Butterflies & Bugs Sensory Bin
A butterflies and bugs spring sensory bin is another great spring sensory activity. Include a number of toy butterflies and bugs and teach your kids about the names, types, life cycles, and behaviors of each one. If your little one is older, they can practice spelling every word. Add other natural elements like fake flowers, rocks, and plants to create an environment where the butterflies and bugs can interact. Bases for this spring sensory bin can appear to be more realistic like soil or grass, or fun and imaginative like colored pasta. The Butterflies and Bugs Sensory Bin includes colored bowtie pasta that look like butterflies and penne pasta that reflects caterpillars!
A Farm Sensory Bin
Has your kiddo ever been to a zoo or a small farm where they can interact with real animals? If so, create a fun farm spring sensory bin at home so they can learn more about their new furry friends. A variety of farm animals can be added, as well as barns, pens, water stations, and food types. Then, your kiddo can practice using their imagination as they invent stories. They can also invite other kids to play with them, improving their social development. Take a look at Messy Play Farm Sensory Bin for ideas on exactly what creative materials to use.
A Forest Sensory Bin
Does your little one love to go hiking? To explore the whimsy and wonder of all the forest has to offer? If so, a forest spring sensory bin is a great way to bring the forest home. You and your kiddo can gather real leaves, pinecones, and sticks to include in this bin. Or, you can create a forest through other natural materials and toys. Oatmeal can be dirt, transparent blue beads look just like water, and felt can be cut into leaf and tree shapes. The Messy Play Forest Sensory Bin can give you some more ideas. Have your little practice saying the names of each object, as well as what it's made out of to improve language development during this spring sensory activity.
A Coral Reef Sensory Bin
Water is always a great base for your spring sensory bin! You can use water by itself or try blue-colored instant snow. If you're using water, you can choose a number of objects that either float or sink and teach your little ones about buoyancy and density. Your child can watch as the buoyant objects float and the dense objects sink! Toy fish, rubber ducks, fake coral, plants, and sand can all be added to this spring sensory activity for a wet and wild time! If your little one loves water, spring is a great season to go play outside too. Check out my Coral Reef Sensory Bin for inspiration!
A Picnic Sensory Bin
Does your child just love to pack up their favorite foods, eating supplies, and blankets and go outside for a picnic? If you don’t have time for this fun adventure, you can create a Picnic Sensory Bin right from home! I use split peas as a green base to reflect grass. Then I include insects, soft baskets, plates, and digging tools so your little one can go wild with their imaginations!
A River Sensory Bin
A River Sensory Bin is another great way to celebrate the spring season. With some water, toy rocks and plants, and animals you can find in streams, this spring sensory bin idea is sure to be a hit with your kids! But watch out for snakes! They might be hiding in plain sight.
How to Ensure Spring Sensory Bin Success
At Messy Play Kits, we want your littles and loved ones to succeed and have fun while practicing sensory play. If you’re new to these activities, check out my Tips & Tricks for Successful Messy Play post. If you’re worried about your kiddo making a big mess, purchase a Washable Drop Cloth to catch all of the materials that jump out of the bin during play. With a simple fold of the cloth, you can gather the materials and put them right back into the bin. You can also buy a Mess Maker Apron to keep their clothing clean.
Most sensory bins with dry bases can be sealed with airtight lids, placed on a shelf, and then pulled out whenever your child is ready to play with them. However, if you choose to use a wet base like cooked pasta or oobleck, then you can store your spring sensory bin with a sealed lid in the refrigerator for a few days before tossing it out. If you want a quick mini sensory experience, check out this recipe for spring sensory bin soup from The Chaos and The Clutter!
Monthly Sensory Bins to Your Doorstep
Sensory Bin Subscription
If you don’t want the hassle of building your own sensory bin yourself, and instead desire themed sensory bin materials to arrive at your doorstep every month, sign up for the Messy Play Sensory Bin Subscription. From pirate play to space exploration, dinosaur digs to sports games, your little one will just love the diverse sensory toys sent to them every month with this special subscription. All of the sensory bins in the Spring Sensory Activity section above are included in the subscription, like the Garden Sensory Bin, Butterflies & Bugs Sensory Bin, and Farm Sensory Bin. Whatever I make too much of, I also sell as individual sensory bins. So check out what I have in stock!
Another Spring Sensory Activity
My Spring Sensory Bottle Kits are another great spring sensory activity to celebrate the coming of more sunshine. Each kit comes with three bottles and are so easy to make. You just have your kiddo combine all of the included items, screw the lid on, and shake, shake, shake! This is such a fun way to play because these bottles can be returned to over and over again. You’ll end up with a relaxing glittery calm bottle, a butterfly and bugs bottle, and a gardening bottle! You can even add on the Easter Sensory Bottle with pastel rice and easter toys for extra fun!
Happy Spring!
Have such a wonderful season exploring all spring has to offer with your family. From hiking in the woods, to jumping in puddles after a sweet rain, to learning the names of flora and fauna, this is such a wonderful time for kids to step outside and get to know their natural environments. But on those days where your little one needs a sensory activity indoors and you need a break, spring sensory bins and bottles are a great way to provide you and your little one with what you both need. Have a great spring season and enjoy the mess!
