Sushi Sensory Bin

A few weeks ago while shopping at my Kroger I saw these adorable erasers- sushi style- in the clearance section. At 69 cents they were a steal. I couldn't pass them up! My husband said "What are you going to do with them?".

What am I going to do with them? Make a sensory bin of course! A Sushi themed sensory bin sounded like fun to me!

I picked up a bag of long grain white rice, one pound was on sale for $1.09. I used this as my base.

My son was intrigued. He couldn't wait to get his hands in the bin of rice!

Next we added our Sushi Erasers.

Again, Eager Hands were grasping to get involved. Not that I can blame him!

Finally, we finished the bin off with a pair of chopsticks.

And there you have our under $2 sensory bin! It was easy to make and fun for Roo to play with.

I liked that we could enjoy the feeling of rice when we touched the bin, the rice was fun for roo to dig around in. He likes the way it sounds when he picks up a handful and drops it in the bin. The chopsticks are great for his fine motor skill development.

When he grew tired of picking up the erasers with the chopsticks he fed rice to an assortment of dinosaurs. Then he decided to toss handfuls of rice into his barnyard toy for the other animals to eat... and yes, it got messy. But, I went with it! After all this was my big idea of fun and dried rice is pretty easy to sweep up.

Do you engage in sensory play with your kids? I would love to hear about your favorite sensory bins.

In The Sky Sensory Bin

Roo loves waking up to find a new sensory bin waiting on him! I love making something fun for him and knowing he will happily play with this new bin for a few hours. I got a great deal on a Toob from Safari LTD and I couldn't wait to make the In the Sky Sensory Bin.

I started with a base of Easter paper grass stuff and a few cotton balls.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

I pulled the cotton balls apart slightly to fluff them up a bit.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Gently pull your cotton ball apart until it looks like a fluffy cloud.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Next add a handful of planes and balloons- or a toob (In the Sky).

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

And you have a neat sensory bin for kids that incorporates fun with their senses. The paper Easter grass and the cotton ball clouds offer different textures to feel. The paper grass engages the sense of hearing as it crinkles when touched. The colorful blue base engages the sense of sight with a visually appealing color. The planes open the doors to imaginative play.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Roo liked this sensory bin. He was amazed at the planes inside and he caught on quickly that the bin was the sky. He excitedly showed me all of the clouds, several planes and the paper grass which he thought was pretty neat stuff. After about an hour of playing planes he smiled and picked out a few dudes and told me it was bubble bath time! The In the Sky Sensory Bin can double as a bubble bath sensory bin in the imagination of a child.

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear about your favorite sensory bin ideas.