Button Sensory Bag

Sensory Play doesn't have to be complicated or messy! This easy button sensory bag is perfect for keeping little hands busy and eager minds learning. Best of all, it comes together in just a few moments!

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Sensory play is awesome for kids. It is fun, and can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. I love to give my kids the tools they need to play, learn, and relax. This button sensory bag is easy to make and can serve several purposes.

The button sensory bag is perfect for quiet reflection time. I made this for Harper on one of those rough days when she needed a chance to unwind. As she got herself together we used this bag for sorting colors and shapes. Manipulating the buttons is awesome for fine motor practice.

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Supplies Needed:

A zipper seal sandwich bag

Hair gel

Buttons

Glitter

Directions:
Place aout 1/4 cup of hair gel in a zipper seal bag.

Add glitter to the hair gel. I thought blue was a nice touch, but you can use whatever color you like.

Add assorted buttons.

Seal. If your child is young or has "rough hands" You might want to reinforce the edges and opening with duct tape.

Invite your child to explore the bag. Squish it, sort colors, or sort by sizes.

You can find more sensory activities ideas here:
Birthday Cake Sensory Play is always a hit!
Flower Garden Sensory Bins are perfect for rainy days!

Sensory Party in a Bag

Sensory play doesn't have to be complicated or messy to be fun! This sensory party in a bag is the perfect way to engage little hands without a mess, or a lot of complicated supplies.

We love sensory play! When Rolfie was a little boy we discovered the world of sensory bins and have never looked back.

I used to think that sensory play had to be complicated to be fun. After about 7 years of making bins and finding way to engage the senses via play, I realized that sometimes less is more.

This sensory party in a bag is a great example. Sometimes when the kids are overwhelmed by their emotions I like to pull out some basic supplies and create an invitation to unwind.  Summer break can be rough, especially if you are stuck with your sibling all day long. After a day of arguing, I surveyed my craft cabinet and pulled out some simple supplies to create this easy sensory bag. It gave both kids a chance to take a break from each other and get their selves together.

Supplies:
Baby oil gel
A zipper seal bag
Dyed rice
Confetti

Directions:

Pour about 2 tablespoons of baby oil gel into a zipper seal bag.

Add a handful of dyed rice to the bag.

Add some confetti.

Seal.

*If your child has "rough hands" you might wish to reinforce the bag with duct tape along all 4 sides to keep it mess free.*

Invite your child to squish the bag and take a few moments to enjoy the cool sensation of the gel in the bag with the texture of the rice, as well as the visual appeal of the sensory party in a bag.

You can find all of my sensory play ideas here.

Reader favorites include:

Birthday Cake Sensory Bin

Sushi Bin

Easy Dyed Rice

Dyed rice for sensory bins has never been easier! This 3 ingredient method dries super fast and provides vibrant results!

I love to make sensory bins, almost as much as the kids love to play in them! They still love the sushi sensory bin we made ages ago and it inspired me to try dying rice for more sensory fun. 

To make this dyed rice you will need:

• Rice
• Food Coloring
• Hand Sanitizer

 Place the uncooked white rice in a zipper seal baggie. I used 3/4 cup per color.
Add a tablespoon of hand sanitizer.

Add 3-5 drops of food coloring (I used the cheap stuff from dollar tree FYI).

Release the air from the baggie to avoid popping it. The shake it, squish it, wiggle the rice around until it is coated completely. The pour the rice on a paper plate and let it dry for about 45 minutes.

Repeat with additional colors as desired.

Naturally, we did all of the colors of the rainbow!

You can find all of our sensory play ideas here

Stars and Stripes Bin

Bring a touch of patriotic flair to your sensory activities with this easy to set up Stars and Stripes Bin.

It is fun to play in and gives little hands a chance to design the flag. Make it for the 4th of July, or anytime for hands on play.

A few weeks ago I ran across a bag of white sand in my craft supplies and I wanted to use it before it spilled all over my craft room. I had visions of our rascally kitten Richard finding it and using it like a mini litter box. 

I kept poking around in my supplies and found a bag of glow in the dark starts. Inspiration was born.

This was an easy bin to assemble and both of my kids enjoyed playing in this bin. 

Supplies:

Popcorn kernels

Hand sanitizer

Blue food color

White craft sand

Red paper

Star Confetti

Small glow in the dark stars

Paint brush

Plastic bin with lid

Scissors

Zipper seal storage bag.

Directions:

To make blue dyed popcorn:

Place about a 1/2 a cup of unpopped popcorn kernels, 2 generous drops of hand sanitizer and several drops of blue food coloring in a zipper seal food storage bag. 

Shake well.

You can allow the kernels to dry in the bag overnight, or place them on a paper towel to dry for several hours.

To assemble the bin:

Cut a sheet of red paper to fit inside of the bin you plan to use.

Pour white craft sand over the red paper.

In the upper left section, pour the blue dyed popcorn kernels.

Add a paint brush and an assortment of stars.

Invite your child to brush sand away to create the stripes.

Encourage your child to add the stars to the popcorn kernels.

When not in use, replace the lid on the bin for easy storage for future play!

Find more sensory bin ideas here.

Reader favorites include:

Birthday Cake Bin

Flower Garden Sensory Bin

veggie garden sensory bin

This veggie garden sensory bin comes together so easily to give little ones a chance to play and get excited about their vegetables while working on fine motor skills.

We have a weekly routine in the summer; every Tuesday and Saturday we head to the farmers market. We buy all of the fresh food we will eat that week, plus a little extra to freeze. I love how the offerings change throughout the season. The kids love the sights, the smells and the baked goods. While they might spend most of their visit to the market pleading for cookies, they always jump in the line for our favorite farmer. Who gets to hold the basket and who gets to pick the produce? We always work it out.

Last week while we were in line for our peppers, onions and radishes, the kids were bickering about the basket and the picking job and inspiration hit. I knew right away that I was going to recreate a garden scene for their enjoyment. If they argued about who got to play first, I will never tell.

Supplies:

• Plastic box with clip lid
• One pound of dried black beans
• ½ cup of whole coffee beans
• Leaves from artificial flowers
• Assorted play food; tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, strawberries etc
• Plastic serving tongs
• Sandbox tools

Directions:

Layer the dry black beans in the box.

Add coffee beans to the mix for a fragrant experience.

Nestle the leaves into the beans (I simply removed the leaves from a few stems of
artificial flowers).

Place the fruits and vegetables in the beans and on the leaves.

Add plastic serving tongs and plastic shovels.

Invite your child to harvest the veggies, to explore the beans and to work on fine motor skills
by picking the veggies and beans up with the tools.

This was so much fun for the kids. Even too cool, 9 year old Rolf got involved and explored this veggie garden sensory bin.

This was fun to smell and touch and it gave Harp a chance to work on her fine motor skills.

When you are all finished playing, you can snap the lid on the bin and store it for playtime in the future.

You can find all of my sensory content here.
Birthday Cake Sensory Bin

How to Dye Oatmeal without Water for Sensory Play

Dyed oats are perfect for sensory bins! You won't believe how easy it is to dye them without any water!

I have made a ton of sensory bins for my kids over the years. We have explored rice, beans, sand and even straws as fillers. I knew I wanted to try something different, and inspiration was as close as my pantry. I pulled out some oatmeal and got busy experimenting.

First, I tried soaking the oats in dyed water. That was a fail. They clumped together and formed a soggy mess. I couldn't dry them out. 

Next, I thought about how we dyed rice, and decided to try that method on oats. The results were perfect. The oats didn't clump together and they are so soft!

To dye oats you will need:

• One cup of oats 
• Food coloring of your choice
• Hand sanitizer
• One Ziploc bag

Directions:

• Pour the oats into the bag.
• Add 7 to 10 drops of food coloring.
• Add a generous dollop of hand sanitizer to the bag.
• Seal the bag and shake until all of the oats are coated.
• Pour the oats on a paper towel or paper plate to dry.

Dyed oats are perfect for sensory play. Stay tuned for bins that use dyed oats.

You can find all of my sensory content here

Flower Garden Sensory Bin

Birthday Cake Sensory Bin

Glowing Night Lights (No Electric!)

These glow in the dark jars are a fun diy to make with the kids. They are perfect for a night light that comes together in one minute or less, with only 2 supplies!

 My son Rolf is 9 now. He is so curious and eager to learn. One night last week it was storming and he was worried about losing power, and how he could sleep in the dark. So we took to the kitchen to whip up some super simple glowing jars which were perfect for a night light!

This post contains affiliate or sponsored links.

I used tonic water and glow in the dark powder to create this jar. It couldn't be easier to make!

If you have a black light fixture, you can skip the glow in the dark powder as tonic water naturally glows under a black light. 

Tonic water contains quinine which absorbs ultraviolet light, causing it to glow.

Directions:

Fill a mason jar with tonic water

Add 1 teaspoon of glow in the dark powder

Stir

Replace the lid.

Allow to charge under a light for a moment and watch it glow!

Find more cool DIY Ideas here

You might also like this easy glow in the dark necklace.

Super Soft Playdough

This super soft playdough recipe is so easy to make. It requires no cooking and is made with a unique ingredient for squishable soft results.

Rolf and Harp are both crazy for play doh. They go through several cans a week on average. I tried making a scented play dough when they were smaller, but we found that it molded really fast. That was enough to make me not want to make it again for YEARS.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase I earn a small advertising fee at no additional cost to you.

Last week they needed play dough and the idea of going to the store for playdough to keep my sanity, because like I said, they NEEDED it (ie the little one was whining for it. Anyone ever see that old movie the Creepshow? Recall the old man chanting for cake? Harp was kinda like that but she was making a fuss for PLAY-DOH) made me feel a little overwhelmed.

Going to any store with a tired, demanding child sounds like the worst idea ever. So, I decided to just make it again and hope for better results.

I made this playdough with a bottle of cheap hair gel, because doesn't everyone have hair gel as a craft supply? The results are super soft and squishable.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of clear hair gel; the cheap stuff from the dollar store will work just fine!

1/4 cup of water

Neon Food Coloring

1- 1.5 cups of flour 

Directions

Place 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup of clear hair gel in medium size bowl.

Add 5 drops of neon food coloring to the liquid mixture.

Stir until well combined.

Add 1 cup of flour to the liquid.

Begin stirring until the contents begin to clump.

At this point, you will decide if you need to add additional flour. If the mixture feels sticky, add an additional 1/4 cup of flour, and continue to stir.

When the flour has been incorporated, test for stickiness. 

Add additional flour if needed

When the playdough is not sticky, it is ready to play with!

Store in an airtight container when not in use.

Find more crafts here:

10 Cute Tulip Projects

Glittery Sunscreen Playdough

 Mermaid Tail Craft