Hands in, and hours of fun – my First Sensory Bin for Preschool

Sensory bins….preschool?! I might be a little crazy. Having young boys (5 and 3) and hating like truly hating making more of a mess – really deterred me from sensory bins in the first place.

Let me clarify – I like mess…I like it outside. Inside we take off are dirty clothes and get clean so sensory bins were always a no-go UNTIL the day of desperation.

Tired of staying indoors all winter, I jumped on board and could not be more excited that a fall preschool sensory bin was a success! I say fall sensory bin for preschool….keep reading!

What to put in a Sensory Bin

Sensory bin fillers preschool ideas are what I want to share. Sensory bin fillers vary but generally are items you’d fill the bin with as the “base”

• rice (can Dye rice for color) – I like rice for its longevity vs. some of the other fillers!
• Pasta (again can color!) – pasta again can stay much longer!
• aquarium rocks
• water beads
• sand
• Ice
• Beans
• Water (hello…..EASY!)

Introducing a sensory bin for preschool might sound messy (again…fear) but the benefits outweigh the fear TRUST ME!

After you have your sensory bin fillers for preschool – I always look for ones that can last the longest and be used for a month or two before moving on.

The next step in your first sensory bin is to know your goal – it can be just for fun, seasonal, tied to a skill (see below!). This helps you decide what to add in for the best experience.

Sensory Bin Filler Tools:

Must haves for any sensory bin preschool no matter the goal or content: digging tools, scoops, funnels, jars, fine motor grabbing items.

Fall Sensory Bin Preschool Ideas

Fall and back to school is the perfect time of year to start sensory bins. One of the best sensory bins ideas is to differentiate the learning.

This can happen easily with different prompts or ideas especially in a preschool or kindergarten sensory bin.

Fall sensory bins for preschool are great to focus on the foundation of letters and beginning sight words. We incorporated both in our first sensory bin and it was a HIT.

Sensory bin differentiation happened naturally when my younger son searched letters, worked on matching and naming them. My older son worked on finding tiny letter beads (with tweezers!) and building sight words.

Both boys lasted a long time with this task. If they did tire of their “work” they would play with all the sensory bin tools they had.

Try a new game – Say a letter that each has to find! Younger one gets the bigger letters and older son has to find a small one. Even if my older son finds it first the younger son still learns letter recognition!

It has been up over a week in our house and still gets played with daily for extensive amounts of time! Changing the toys to trucks, adding a different aspect/game, and just FEELING around take time and imagination. We plan to have more sensory bin preschool ideas coming with a new found love for them!