Sensory play is fun AND important for kids’ development. Here at the Artful Parent, we like to gather sensory bin ideas for every season and holiday and share them with you! Some ideas come from Instagram, and some come from our own experiences. Either way, these hands-on activities offer colorful, textured fun that engages kids’ senses and sparks creativity.

Springtime is a great time to bring the sensory play outside, to let kids get a little messy and to let them experience the full range of Spring senses. As they play, you can ask them what they are hearing, seeing, smelling, and feeling both outside and in their sensory bin.

Dive into these spring-themed ideas to create a sensory-rich learning experience for kids of all ages.

Spring Sensory Bins for Kids

1. Flower Soup from Little Mainer Art Studio

Sensory play doesn’t have to be complicated! Just a few drops of pink food coloring added to water and some blossoms picked from the garden make a gorgeous flower soup!

2. Bee Playdough from Process of Play

Did you know bubble wrap pressed into playdough looks like a beehive?! We didn’t either! This playdough set up is perfect for pollinator season.

3. Bunnies & Chicks Rice Bin from Find the Little Mind

We love how grassy this green rice looks. Throw a few little chicks and bunnies and you’ve got a spring-tastic sensory bin!

4. Flower Ice Play from Process of Play

After waiting all winter, we can finally bring the sensory play outside. Kids love to explore with ice and watch as it melts on a warm spring day. Plus, we love the pop of color these flower petals make in the frozen ice cubes.

5. Matcha Playdough from love.and.paperhearts

Why make plain playdough when you can make matcha playdough?! The vibrant green makes a lovely backdrop for spring poke-ins like sticks, blossoms, and leaves.

6. Plant a Garden from Find the Little Mind

If your kids want to get going on gardening early, set them up with a sweet set up like this. If you don’t have play dirt, you could easily use kinetic sand (or real dirt!) plus some toy shovels, pails, and flowers.

7. Easter Garden from Play at Home Teacher

You can use dried black beans in place of dirt, too! Kids will love scooping, pouring, and running their hands through the beans, plus planting pretend carrots!

9. Easter Fun Playdough from the Artful Parent

If you’ve got family coming over for Easter or springtime gatherings, set up a playdough table for the kids! Simply set out a few balls of brightly colored playdough, some plastic eggs, and whatever fun items you might find at the dollar store!

9. Planting Carrots from Find the Little Mind

Let your kids get a bit messy with a set up like this one. They can pretend to be a gardener planting carrots or a baker making dirt cupcakes!

10. Easter Egg Rainbow Rice from the Artful Parent

If you’ve got extra plastic eggs from the Easter Bunny, they make a great addition to any sensory bin! We love filling them up with rainbow rice and then watching as the rice pours out.

More Spring Activities for Kids

• 30 Spring Activities for Kids
• 7 Children’s Books for Spring (+ Creative Activities)
• 12 Spring Craft Ideas for Kids
• Garden Crafts for Kids
• Nature Art for Kids
• 21 Spring Crafts for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post 10 Spring Sensory Bins for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated April 2024

My kids LOVE foam painting. It’s fun, it’s fluffy and they like to paint their toys, cars, bodies and anything else in reach.

It’s easy to cleanup, I promise!

This is one of those art activities that we save for warmer weather. Then the mess is less stressful, and the kids can have all the fun they want. And cleanup is easy. Keep everything contained on a tray or hose the kids down with water afterwards.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, back to how much my kids love this art and play activity.

Foam Painting for Kids

We use our foam paint for sensory play mostly. I set out some animals, dinosaurs, or transportation vehicles and let my kids paint. (This usually leads to painting their whole bodies so I keep them minimally dressed for this project.)

To include the kids on the cleanup, I like to set out a tub of soapy water and extend the play. With sponges, they get to work with giving their toys a bath.

(If you’re looking to try foam paint on paper, see this post. You can use the same supplies with a totally different art experience!)

How to Make Foam Paint

MATERIALS

• shaving foam
• liquid watercolors
• paint brushes

I make foam paint with just two ingredients––shaving foam and liquid watercolors.

Mix together and whip to combine. Be sure there is no remaining unmixed paint (which can seriously stain clothing).

If you are looking for a ready-made paint, you might try this foam paint. It acts very similar to shaving foam, but smells like paint.

We guarantee your kids will love painting and playing with foam paint!

More Sensory Play for Kids

• What to Do with Foam Paint?
• How to Make Aquafaba for Kids
• How to Make Oobleck
• The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Play
• What is Sensory Play & Why It’s Important for Kids
• Shaving Cream Sensory Play Ideas for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post How to Do Foam Painting for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Rainbow rice is a fun and versatile sensory play material that can provide hours of entertainment and exploration for kids. This colorful rice is not only visually appealing but also offers a tactile experience that stimulates the senses and encourages creative play.

Making rainbow rice at home is simple and inexpensive. And it lasts forever. We’re still playing with the same batch we made about 5 years ago!

Here’s how to make rainbow rice and a few of our favorite play set ups using it.

How to Make Rainbow Rice

MATERIALS

• Rice (we used 1 to 1.5 cups per color)
• Liquid watercolors or food coloring
• Vinegar (optional)
• Gallon Ziploc bags
• Cookie sheets
• Parchment paper (optional)

That’s all there is to it! And like we said, one batch of rainbow rice will last you for years! Or you can make different colors for different seasons and holidays.

Ways to Play with Rainbow Rice

Looking for some inspiration for sensory set ups? Here are some of our favorite ways to play with rainbow rice.

• Exploring Bin: Fill a container with rice and add spoons and cups for scooping and pouring.
• Color Sorting: Use bowls to sort rice by color using tweezers or fingers.
• Treasure Hunt: Hide objects in the rice for kids to find by digging and searching.

More Sensory Play Ideas for Kids

• The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Bin Materials
• The Artful Parent’s Guide to Sensory Play
• How to Make Oobleck
• How to Make Cloud Dough
• How to Make Aquafaba for Kids
• 7 Sensory Bins for Toddlers

Pin It for Later

The post How to Make Rainbow Rice appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated March 2024

We’ve always been big fans of sensory play and sensory bins.

Young children, especially, learn about the world with their whole bodies. 

Sensory materials and experiences can be wonderfully engaging (and also calming and grounding, depending on how you use them).

Sensory play helps build both physical and mental abilities. It stimulates the five senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. It can provide a sense of calm and comfort for a child and can help them learn to regulate their behavior, which can ultimately also improve focus.

Want to learn more? See The Artful Parent’s Guide to Sensory Play for more information on how to manage sensory play.

You provide children with the opportunity to learn, play and encourage creativity with sensory rich materials. Without further ado, here are some of our favorites.

The Best Sensory Bin Materials for Kids

1. Cloud Dough

Recipe: 8 cups flour to 1 cup oil (baby oil or vegetable/canola oil). To color your cloud dough, mix oil based (candy) food coloring with oil first.

Watch our Youtube video on how to make cloud dough!

2. Oobleck

Oobleck, or sensory goop, is super easy to make. And there’s a surprising number of fun ways to learn while playing with this non-Newtonian liquid.

It looks messy, I know, but it’s simply cornstarch and water, making it easy to make and clean up.

3. Homemade Slime

Slime is also easy to make at home! Plus, it’s a great sensory material to hold, squeeze, stretch, and fiddle with. A super fun sensory material for big kids to mix up at home. And be sure to try out How to Make Slime Creations for Kids afterwards.

Here are a few of The Artful Parent’s favorite recipes:

1. How to Make Fluffy Slime!
2. How to Make Butter Slime without Borax
3. How to Make Glitter Slime

4. Shaving cream / foam painting

Shaving cream is always a favorite sensory and art material for kids. It’s fun to paint toys with, rub all over your body, or paint the window!

Here are lots of idea for using shaving cream for kids’ art, play, and learning, including shaving cream marbling, sensory table ideas, holiday crafts, and parties.

5. Kinetic sand

Kinetic sand is another favorite sensory material for kids to play with. There are lots of brands out there and, chances are, you’ve tried at least one of them. Kinetic sand both flows through the fingers and holds shapes remarkably well. Our kids love to play with this stuff!

6. Playdough

We might not usually think of playdough as a sensory bin material, but it totally is! Kids can knead and mold the dough, roll it into balls and snakes, poke their fingers into it, and squish it between their hands.

Playdough is a wonderful sensory material and can be made even more so with the addition of essential oils or textures.

• Here are our favorite No Cook Playdough Recipe and the BEST Cook Playdough Recipe
• Plus how to set up a playdough tray for creative play!

7. Water

Water is another fun sensory experience for children, especially in warm weather. Kids love to run through a sprinkler on a hot day, play with water balloons, splash in the creek or kiddie pool, take extra baths, and water the garden. You can also use water play tables for toddlers or make your own water wall. Making a water play set up is super easy with flowers, sea creatures, citrus and food coloring.

8. Aquafaba

Aquafaba is a newer sensory play material made using the liquid from a can of chickpeas. If you’ve never heard of it, be sure to check out our recipe and instructions on this fun taste safe material for babies on up!

9. Bubble Foam

This sensory activity also has what it takes to become a messy play experience. For this, all you need is a bit of water and a few squirts of dish soap. Once blended together, the mixture should become nice and thick.

You can pour the soap and water mixture onto a tray and let the kids play in it. Or add a couple of drops of food coloring to turn the foam into the kids’ favorite colors so they can create some foamy sensory art.

Recipe: Bubble foam is 1 part (tear free) bubble bath to 2 parts water.

10. Rainbow Rice

Rice bins present a calming and quiet opportunity for kids to explore sensory play. Dyed rice is easy to make with a teaspoon of vinegar and a squirt of food coloring or liquid watercolors added to a bag of rice. For multiple colors, add 3 cups of rice per Ziploc. Seal and shake to incorporate color into the rice. Let dry and rice will keep indefinitely.

Add pom poms, scoops and vessels or small plastic animals or construction vehicles for kids to play with.

11. Sand

Sand is a wonderfully tactile material and great for all kinds of sensory play and experiences. Here are a few ideas to try:

• Here’s a DIY Zen Garden Sand Tray for indoor sand play
• And, of course, there’s the backyard sand pit
• Or the beach

12. Dried Beans 

Dried beans of any kind (chickpeas, lima beans, kidney beans, black beans, lentils, etc.) are a great filler for a sensory bin. They are fun to scoop and pour, and if you are feeling extra fancy, you can dye light colored beans just like you would rice.

13. Water beads 

Water beads have long been a favorite in our house as they are soothing to touch and can be a relaxing way to start or end a day. Playing with them can help calm an upset child or soothe a high strung one.

Important Safety Note: Despite all that we love about water beads, they do pose a serious health risk if swallowed so be sure to closely supervise your child while playing with water beads.

If your child puts things in his/her mouth, we recommend exploring edible replacements for water beads such as tapioca balls or pearls.

14. Bubble Wrap

Use bubble wrap from a recent package and let your toddler turn it into an art piece. Place some different colors of paint on a tray and then show your toddler or preschooler how to press the bubble wrap into each paint color.

They can then transfer the bubble wrap to paper to create beautiful artwork. Bubble wrap makes for a good sensory material because the bubbles can be squished and popped. Even babies love it!

15. Finger Painting

Finger painting is one of the ultimate sensory art experiences for young children! Kids have permission to cover their hands with paint and slip, slide their fingers through gooey color.

This is the epitome of sensory art and, for young children, especially, sensory art is important for development and even helps them learn.

How about you? What are your family’s favorite sensory bin materials?

More Sensory Bin and Play Ideas

• The Artful Parent’s Guide to Sensory Play
• 7 Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers
• How to Do a Baking Soda Experiment with Kids
• How to Make Oobleck
• How to Make Cloud Dough for Kids
• How to Make Aquafaba (A Taste-Safe Sensory Play Material for Kids)

Pin It for Later

The post The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Bins appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated March 2024

Sensory play is something I was doing with my kiddos long before I even knew it had a name.

I first started setting up sensory play activities for them because I had finally found a way to keep them engaged in one activity for an extended period of time.

Little did I know that by creating these sensory play experiences, I was supporting their cognitive growth, language development, gross and fine motor skills, and social and emotional skills all at the same time!

Why is Sensory Play Important?

Benefits of Sensory Play

1. Sensory play stimulates multiple senses at the same time. This helps to build pathways (or connections) between nerves within the brain which then helps to lay a solid foundation for more complex tasks later down the road.

2. Connections are made: Children begin to identify and recognize particular properties of an object (liquid or solid) and can make connections to other objects with those same similarities.

3. Language development: when we discuss the different properties and elements of each, it introduces kids to new vocabulary which aids in language development.

4. Strengthens fine and gross motor skills: The physical act of mixing, scooping and sifting strengthens fine and gross motor skills.

Add in elements to sensory bins that encourage imaginary play because when kids have the opportunity to play with you and/or others, it enhances their social and emotional skills. 

Sensory Play Ideas

Although it may seem a little overwhelming at first, sensory play is actually very easy to incorporate at home. Having a few rules or guidelines for your children will help keep the sensory play contained and therefore, more likely to happen.

Rules for Sensory Play

1. A Designated Space: Begin by putting down a blanket, sheet or old shower curtain your kids can spill things on. It’s good to designate a ‘space’ for the sensory materials and remember to always encourage the materials to stay in the bin. This is something you’ll probably have to remind your kids about often.

2. Keep Materials in the Bin: At home I’ve found myself saying, “If you can’t keep it in the bin right now, I’m going to pack it up and we can try again later…”

It’s pretty much impossible for them not to spill at least a little, especially when they’re focusing so hard on building those fine and gross motor skills. But kids should know the materials are supposed to stay in the designated area. 

Now that you’ve decided on a space for your sensory bins, get a large but shallow bin and choose a filler.

Materials for Sensory Play

A great place to start is with a basic filler like:

• rice (which you can dye if you’re feeling ambitious)
• beans
• water (add food coloring or liquid watercolors and some essential oils for an extra wow factor)
• snow
• shredded paper

If you’re feeling extra adventurous you can mix up a batch of:

• oobleck
• slime
• cloud dough
• baking soda & vinegar

There are also some fantastic sensory fillers like Cloud Clay made by DSS or Instant Snow which you can find on Amazon. 

How to Encourage Sensory Play for Kids

Once you have a filler (which ideally should cover the entire bottom of the bin), you can add in all the goodies. Sensory bins are so great because you can stagger the materials you give your kids to extend their play (and learning).

Scooping, filling, sifting, and stirring are all excellent ways for kids to build their fine and gross motor skills. If you’re using a liquid base, think about adding in a baster or using droppers because the squeezing is a great way to strengthen their finger and hand muscles. 

At this point, let your child explore and experiment with the bin and the basic tools you’ve provided. Talk with your little one about what they notice, feel, smell, or hear.

• Does it remind them of anything?
• Have they felt anything like this before?
• Do they like the way it feels?

All of these questions are great ways to begin a conversation to enhance their language development.

Once they’ve had the chance to really explore and discover, you can start adding in some elements that will encourage imaginary play––small, plastic figurines are a favorite of mine. Plus, you’ve probably got a bunch of those lying around at home!

Do you have the whole Peppa Pig family? Throw them in your sensory bins. Cars work! Dinosaurs work! Little dolls work! My preference is something plastic that can be easily rinsed off, but truly whatever you’re comfortable with and your child enjoys playing with is great. 

When you’re done, put the lid on, store them away, and then bring them out at another time for more play. Or try changing the tools or the toys, and you may find kids spend just as much time with the bins as they did in the beginning!

You can even incorporate a book to enhance play. Read the book first, and then let your child play with the bin. Whatever the theme of your bin is, you are sure to find a book that could go with it. 

Check out my Makers Instagram or Facebook feed for some unique themed sensory bins, and I hope you will begin to love sensory bins as much as I do! 

More Sensory Play for Kids

• The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Bin Materials
• Making Oobleck & What to Do with It
• How to Make Cloud Dough for Kids
• How to Make Aquafaba
• How to Do a Baking Soda Experiment with Kids
• Art & Sensory Play for Toddlers

Pin It for Later

The post The Artful Parent’s Guide to Sensory Play appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated March 2024

At my toddler art classes, I always include a sensory play station in addition to the main art activity. The kids are drawn to that table and it’s so fun to watch the magic unfold.

And over the past year with my own kids, we’ve been trying lots of new sensory play setups. I’m learning from other teachers and parents how to engage my children’s natural curiosity and propensity for play this way.

Toddlers learn about the world around them through exploration and sensory play activities invite kids to do just that. Sensory play calms and focuses kids. It builds fine motor skills as they practice pouring, sifting, squeezing and scooping the materials. And it sparks imagination and excitement.

The combination of art and sensory play is especially appealing to toddlers in part, I think, because its very nature encourages young kids to touch it, squeeze it, sift it, and yes––even taste it.

With that in mind, this toddler sensory play list contains mostly materials that are taste safe, meaning totally non-toxic and ok if swallowed (with the exception of bubble foam & kinetic sand).

Ways to Reduce the Mess

How can we reduce the mess and stress surrounding sensory materials to fully embrace the beauty that these art/play experiences can give to our children?

It helps to have some ground rules. For our family, if I have our sensory table set up, there is usually an old sheet or tablecloth underneath it to make cleanup easy. Even with the best intentions, some materials will be spilled and at the end of the play session these can easily be poured off the sheet back into the bin.

Which brings me to the bin. This is what keeps the activity contained and I personally feel it’s a must have. You can use a big clear plastic bin or you might splurge and go for the IKEA FLISAT table with TROFAST bins.

The guideline in our house is the materials must stay in the bin, if they can’t, we’ll try the activity again later.

And finally, some sensory materials involve too much cleanup for me indoors (ahem, children covered in cloud dough). So, we save those for warmer weather outside.

Now on to my favorite sensory play recommendations for toddlers.

Sensory Bins for 2 Year Olds

1. Water play

This one is so simple but draws kids in every time. Add a few drops of food coloring, some flowers, toys or recycled lids. Kids love to strain materials.

2. Cloud dough

Kids love cloud dough and did you know, it’s super easy to make? Check out our simple recipe above! And cornmeal makes a fun flour-free substitute for cloud dough.

After a while the cloud dough might be ready for composting, but before that––let kids add water and cocoa powder (or food coloring) to create mud or cement. Add a few trucks to the mix and watch their creative play emerge.

3. Aquafaba

This play foam is taste safe making it the perfect toddler sensory material. It’s made from chickpea liquid and cream of tartar whipped together.

4. Bubble Foam

Take water play to a whole new level by mixing a squeeze of dish soap with water and beating it until some VERY foamy bubbles appear. (Use the biggest bowl you have for this one.)

Bubble foam is 1 part (tear free) bubble bath to 2 parts water.

This is great for car washes, baby doll baths, scrubbing dinosaurs or even scrubbing a pumpkin!

5. Rice Table

It’s easy to dye your own rice with liquid watercolors (or food coloring) and vinegar. I like to put expired rice in a ziploc bag, squirt in the dye and add a few drops of vinegar. Shake to incorporate the color well and open the bag wide to air dry. Or spread the rice out on a baking sheet to dry. When stored in a cool, dry place, colored rice will keep for years!

Add pom poms, scoopers, vessels and other fun additions to encourage creative play for kids.

6. Oobleck

Simply a mix of cornstarch and water, oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid and on its own is fascinating for children. Add construction vehicles, strainers, berry containers, colanders for exciting exploration of this sensory material.

7. Kinetic Sand

This one caught me by surprise. After buying kinetic sand for my preschooler, I found my daughter asking for it daily for a few weeks straight! It’s fun to play with on its own or add little toys and things to poke in it.

My kids enjoy rolling it out and pressing stamps or objects into the sand. But as I mentioned, the sand itself is so satisfying to touch and watch it move!

One final thought about playdough. It’s a great bridge between sensory play and art materials. So many kids absolutely love it.

In our home, it’s one of the most frequently used art materials, in part because of its wonderful sensory play aspect, but it also functions as an age-appropriate sculpture material.

More Art and Sensory Bins for 2 Year Olds

• The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Bin Materials
• When to Introduce Your Child to Art + Tips for Success
• The Artful Parent’s Guide to Sensory Play
• 7 Simple Arts and Crafts for Toddlers
• 5 Best Art Activities for Toddlers
• 5 Low-Mess Creative Activities for Kids

Pin It for Later

The post 7 Sensory Bins for Toddlers appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated December 2023

Sensory play is so much fun for kids AND an important part of brain development. We gathered together some amazing winter sensory bins that are great no matter what the weather is around you.

Most sensory play setups are simple to set up and keep kids engaged for a long time. Many of the ideas below include items you might already have in your pantry or back yard (think–snow!).

But if not, don’t hesitate to make substitutions. Let these ideas serve as a starting point to inspire your own family’s creative play this winter.

Winter Sensory Bins

1. Penguins in Frozen Eggs from Red Violet Studio

We love this combination of sensory play and science exploration for kids! Freeze penguins (or any wintry animal) in ice eggs and let your children use salt and water to try and free them.

We love this sensory table set up! Frozen water beads are perfect for scooping, dumping, and creating little homes for arctic animals.

3. Ice Pop Painting from The Joyful Learner

Make your own paints by freezing water mixed with food coloring or liquid watercolors. Your child can paint while observing what happens to ice when it melts.

4. Snowflakes at the Light Table from Scissortales_Schoolhouse

Create a DIY Light table and view materials in a whole new way! Try this invitation to create snowflakes using glass beads, sea glass, popsicle sticks and toothpicks.

7. Polar Playdough Invitation from the Artful Parent

We whipped up a batch of sparkly blue and white playdough and paired with some little polar animals. Our kids had a blast creating their own habitats using all the different parts.

8. Winter Construction Sensory Bin from Little Hands Therapy

This is the perfect sensory bin if your child loves to watch the plows go by on a snowy day. Let them get in on the action with their own diggers and see how much fun snow removal can be!

9. Salt Ice Melting Experiment from the Artful Parent

If you have a budding scientist at home, this is an absolute must-try! Freeze water into different shapes, add salt and liquid watercolors and watch what happens!

10. Penguin Sensory Bin with Rice and Snow from Fun In Cocoon

Your child can play pretend in Antarctica with this fun set up. Combine real snow with some colored rice, a few scoops and other wintry objects, and of course some penguins!

11. Instant Snow Sensory Play from the Artful Parent

Even if you live in a snowy climate, we find that the process and science of this fake snow is fun and engaging for a LONG time.

12. Let It Snow Sensory Bin from Moose and Friends

Coconut flakes are also a perfect stand in for snow! Little scoops and bowls provide some great sensory play and fine motor development.

More Sensory Bin Ideas for Kids

• The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Play
• Why Sensory Play is Important & 10 Sensory Bin Ideas for Kids
• 12 Christmas Sensory Play Ideas for Toddlers (+Big Kids Too!)
• 7 Sensory Bins for Toddlers
• How to Make Oobleck
• How to Make Aquafaba (A Taste-Safe Sensory Play Material for Kids)

Want even more creative ideas?

Check out our Winter Fun Creativity pack!

Cozy up with some of our favorite wintertime activities for creative kids! This pack has 40 pages of winter-themed art activities that will keep your kids busy even on the snowiest day!

SHOP NOW

Pin It for Later

The post 12 Winter Sensory Bins for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated November 2023

There are so many reasons to love sensory play! It is incredibly important for brain development in small children, as well as fine motor skills development. And it is so much fun for kids to dig in and play!

Here is a roundup of some of our favorite Christmas sensory play ideas for little kids. And we bet your big kids will have a blast exploring these play ideas, too!

Christmas Sensory Bins

1. Hot Chocolate Sensory Bin from Makers

This hot chocolate sensory bin is almost as cozy as a mug of the real thing! Kids will love scooping up ingredients and pretending to make their own warm drinks.

2. Winter Spice Bin from Makers

This sensory bin of oranges, cranberries and dried spices will not only be fun for toddlers to scoop, but it will also make your house smell wonderful all day long!

3. Playdough Christmas Tree from CreationSpace

Give your child a chance to decorate their own tree over and over again with some green playdough and lots of bright sparkly ornaments!

4. Playdough Gingerbread Family from CreationSpace

We think kids will love this open ended playdough invitation. Roll and cut out gingerbread cookies, add some spice––and don’t forget to decorate them too. Then, start all over again!

5. Reindeer Salad from U Ready, Teddy?

It’s not just Santa who needs a snack! We love this idea of making reindeer salad from all of the seasonal greens and berries found around this time of year.

6. Christmas Cloud Dough

Our kids love to use cloud dough for playing pretend bakery, so add some Christmas sprinkles and toy kitchen utensils for a festive baking sensory experience.

7. Christmas Train Sensory Setup from Red Violet Studio

We love this cozy winter scene and think kids will enjoy setting up and chugging trains through a wintry forest railroad in some baking soda “snow”!

8. Christmas Pom Poms and Diggers from CreationSpace

For the construction vehicle lovers out there! Load those diggers up with pom poms, beans, and little Christmas trees for fun work!

9. Christmas Playdough Set Up

By setting out a few festive items (think bottle brush trees and arctic animals) with playdough, you can invite your children to create a fun pretend play scene.

10. Cranberry, Orange, and Rosemary Water Table from Little Mainer Art Studio

If your child loves playing with water (what child doesn’t?!) then add some seasonal fruit and greens for a super easy and aromatic experience.

11. Christmas Tree Sensory Puzzle from Appley Ever After

Put all of those Amazon boxes to use with this sensory puzzle! Invite kids to fill in the different spaces with any festive items you have and make a beautiful mosaic-like design.

12. Christmas Lights Color Sorting from Appley Ever After

This colorful holiday sensory activity is perfect for children learning their colors. Scoop and match colored rice and beans into the matching Christmas lights!

We hope you are inspired to try some of these fabulous and festive ideas! Be sure to tag #theartfulparent with your Christmas sensory play ideas for kids!

More Sensory Bins for Kids

• The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Play
• The Best Sensory Bin Ideas for Kids
• 12 Winter Sensory Bins for Kids
• How to Make Oobleck
• How to Make Aquafaba for Kids
• 7 Sensory Bins for Toddlers

Want even more creative ideas?

Check out our Holiday Creativity pack!

Let’s celebrate the holidays with all things crafty! Here are 53 pages full of our favorite drawing prompts, creative play ideas, art activities, and more!

SHOP NOW

Pin It for Later

The post 12 Christmas Sensory Bins for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

Updated August 2023

It’s hard to believe, but fall is here! That means cooler nights, beautiful trees and lots of pumpkin muffins in my future. And don’t forget hot cider, pumpkin picking and decorating. There’s so much I love about fall, but today I wanted to share 10 fall sensory play activities that your kids are sure to love.

Many of these activities I set up at my kids’ art classes last fall. I like to have a sensory bin component to our classes that the kids can migrate to once they’ve wrapped up the art activity.

Most of these sensory play ideas are also taste safe making them a great fit babies and toddlers too.

You might be wondering, “Why set up sensory play opportunities for my kids?”. Here’s why sensory play is important for kids and worth encouraging.

So, let’s get started!

Fall Sensory Bins for Kids

1. Halloween Cloud Dough

Cloud dough is super simple to make.

For this Halloween version combine 8 parts flour to 1 part cooking oil. Then mix in cocoa powder to color it and make chocolate cloud dough. Finally, add in gourds, silicone cupcake liners, scoopers and candy corn (if you have baby/toddler you might choose to omit the candy).

2. Pumpkin Pie Oobleck

This stuff is so fun to touch and is a very satisfying material for young kids to explore.

It’s not drippy like regular oobleck which you may be familiar with. Mix 1 cup pumpkin puree with 1.5 cups cornstarch. Tweak to your liking depending how firm or squishy you’d like it. Add in plastic animals (or other seasonal toys) to make footprints!

3. Water Play with an Autumnal Spin

The setup for this sensory option is super quick, so it is especially great when you need time to make dinner or even just a few quiet minutes.

For this I used a big plastic bin and filled it a few inches with water. Then I added pumpkins, oranges and some strainers and cups/bowls.

We do this one every year and it evolves as my kids’ get older.

(Inspiration thanks to fantastischer_raum for this super simple, yet beautiful autumn sensory play idea.)

4. Halloween Aquafaba

In case you haven’t heard, aquafaba is AMAZING! It is a delightfully fluffy and taste safe making it perfect for even the littlest ones to play with. I like to make different versions for the holidays and seasons!

Add fun embellishments for pretend bakery fun for older kids or hide some bigger plastic animals in the foam for babies to discover.

Find out how to whip up chickpea juice into the best sensory play foam for kids.

5. Foamy Water Play with Pumpkins

Get out the hand mixer, a big bowl and some tear-free bubble bath. Add water and bubble bath in a 2-1 ratio and begin to whip.

I was astounded by how quickly the foam got out of control! We had a whole Strega Nona pasta pot situation on our hands. Consider yourself warned!

6. Apples & Oats Sensory Play Bin

This bin reminds me of cozy fall days and warm mulled cider. Pour some oats, throw in some apples, add a few cinnamon sticks (and star anise if you have it)… and ta-dah! Or add pumpkins and guords as an alternative.

Inspiration thanks to @makersri who also wrote an amazing post for The Artful Parent about the importance of sensory play for kids.

7. Autumn Playdough

I mixed up some no cook playdough (if you’ve never made your own, watch how to make homemade playdough over on Youtube!

For the fall scent and color I used a mixture of liquid watercolors and spices for the browns (coriander, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg). And did you know, pinecones make beautiful rose prints in playdough?

We also love to use Autumn-colored and -scented playdough to make turkeys!

8. Orange Oobleck & Bumpy Gourds

Here’s how to make oobleck, which is wonderfully drippy, yet firm. If you haven’t made this yet, you must try it! Add food coloring or liquid watercolors to color.

It’s a great sensory activity for babies to explore, especially with the addition of some bumpy gourds. I mean, look at that face!

9. Floating Leaf Water Play

This one is so simple that I almost didn’t mention it. Go on a nature walk and collect some beautiful leaves. Fill a baking sheet with enough water to allow the leaves to float.

That’s it! Babies will happily splish splash to their hearts content. The cutest!

10. Scrubbing Pumpkins & Gourds

This is a fun one for the pre-k crowd and older––kids really get into this activity! Gotta have a clean gourd, right?!

More Fall Arts & Crafts for Kids

• 30 Creative Fall Activities for Kids
• 15 Fall Children’s Books for Your Family
• 7 Halloween Sensory Bin Ideas for Kids
• 5 Pumpkin Painting Ideas for Kids
• 7 Slightly Spooky Halloween Children’s Books
• 31 Days of Halloween Activities for Kids

Want even more Fall fun?

Check out our Autumn Creativity Pack!

This 34-page printable eBook is full of Autumn-themed art activities, drawing prompts, creative play ideas, and more!

SHOP NOW

Pin It for Later

The post 10 Fall Sensory Bins for Kids appeared first on The Artful Parent.

We are finally jumping on the slime bandwagon here! After testing out our butter slime and fluffy slime recipes, we decided to try the glitter slime recipe from our Kids Art Spot.

The results? Super vibrant, super squishy, super fun slime!

Here’s how to make it!

How to Make Glitter Slime

MATERIALS

• 1 cup clear glue or glitter glue
• 1/4-1/2 cup room temperature water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp contact solution (Use contact solution that contains boric acid or sodium borite. If you don’t have this, you can make your own borax solution by mixing 1/2 teaspoon of borax into a cup of warm water)
• Food coloring or liquid watercolors
• Glitter

We had so much fun playing with this slime, stretching it out, letting it slide through our fingers, and sticking little toys into it.

We highly recommend this glitter slime recipe! And be sure to store it in an airtight container so it lasts for lots of play opportunities.

How to Make Glitter Slime

• Author: The Artful Parent

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Learn how to make glitter slime for kids! This sensory material is easy to make and lots of fun to play with!

---

Ingredients

• 1 cup clear glue or glitter glue
• 1/4–1/2 cup room temperature water
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 Tbsp contact solution (Use contact solution that contains boric acid or sodium borite. If you don’t have this, you can make your own borax solution by mixing 1/2 teaspoon of borax into a cup of warm water)
• Food coloring or liquid watercolors
• Glitter

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Pour the glue into a large bowl. Stir in the water.
2. Mix in a few drops of food coloring to create a color that you like (optional).
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and stir.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of contact solution to the slime mixture. Stir until the slime pulls away from the side of the bowl and creates a ball.
5. If it’s too sticky, add a little more contact solution.
6. Add glitter.
7. Remove the slime from the bowl. Knead it and stretch it with your hands.
8. Store in an airtight container.

---

More Slime Recipes for Kids

• How to Make Fluffy Slime for Kids
• How to Make Slime without Borax
• 5 Extra Fun Fluffy Slime Recipe Ideas
• Try These Fun Slime Ideas for Kids
• How to Make Oobleck
• Making Oobleck & What to Do with It

Pin It for Later

The post How to Make Glitter Slime appeared first on The Artful Parent.