Welcome To
Bins & Tubes!
Welcome to bins and tubes! Here are some ideas that you can easily replicate at home. Sensory bins & tubes are a great way for children to slow down and take the time to explore their contents. The possibilities are endless.
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Zoo Animal Bin
This bin is a great way to get your children talking about different types of zoo habitats and why animals live in each one.
Let your child place where they think each zoo animal should go and WHY.
You will need 2-3 different colours for each habitat that you want to create (sand and playdough work too), some greenery, sticks (popsicle sticks), zoo animals, and if you like you can add bigger rocks or natural pieces of wood.
Under the Sea Exploration
Let your little ones explore the ocean floor!
-> What you’ll need: Shells, pebbles, greenery, and fishy friends!
Expand upon their interests – my toddler loved the treasure chest and couldn’t stop talking about everything pirate related! From there, you can take this interest in pirates and build your own pirate ship out of popsicle sticks, toilet paper rolls, cardboard paper, or anything you have on hand at home.
Enjoy!
Valentine's Day Bin
Valentine’s Day bins are so much fun to make! Use muffin pans, silicone baking tins, red/pink spatulas, red/pink measuring scoops, loose parts (wooden hearts, pom poms, etc) and you’ve got hours of endless fun!
I don’t like to use vinegar when I dye my rice (just a personal preference)!
If you want bright, beautiful rice without using the vinegar technique, I recommend using acrylic paint!
Place your rice in a plastic bag (the bigger the better), pour in some paint, seal, and let your kids mix away!
Place the painted rice on to large tray with parchment paper (my son’s drawing paper from our huge Ikea paper roll works perfectly too) and let it dry overnight.
Place your rice in a bin and have fun!
Fall/Halloween Bin
Children love to see the leaves change colour and get ready for one of the most exciting times of the year – Halloween! My toddler is obsessed with anything and everything Halloween, so I made this sensory bin for him to discover different spooky Halloween themed shapes and colours!
Feel free to fill it with whatever you like! I found these adorable fall coloured leaves at my local dollar store. My son loves to bring these leaves to his construction cars/trucks and fill them up.
Winter Bin
Since the Halloween Bin was such a hit, I decided to create another colourful, seasonal sensory activity for my toddler!
Sensory bins are a great way to keep your little ones focused and can open up their vocabulary to new colours, textures, shapes, and seasons!
Dinosaur Bin
Water and Sand Play are both very important for children’s development. We have so many dinosaurs around the house and thought this would be a great type of Sand Play!
-> What you’ll need: Any type of sand (or my guy’s absolute favourite, Kinetic Sand! It’s mess free, never dries out, and sticks together so your children won’t carry any sand around the house after play time), some dinosaurs, some sand toys (shovels, small pails), an empty bin, and feel free to add some greenery/rocks/sticks too!
Ocean Tubes
Tubes or Sight Bottles are perfect calming activities for children!
There are so many fun colours, textures, animals, and more to discover!
-> What you’ll need: An empty plastic bottle (with lid), baby oil, blue/green food colouring, blue glitter, and some shells!
1) Fill your bottle with water, a small amount of baby oil, a touch of food colouring, glitter, and shells!
2) Use a hot glue gun on your bottle’s rim to seal your lid and to avoid any messes/choking hazards!