10 Sensory Bin Ideas Our Toddler Loves

So before we begin...

What is a sensory bin?

A sensory bin is a large plastic container filled with some material that will stimulate your toddler’s senses (sense of touch, sight, and sound especially) as they kind of dig through and touch and feel the material. With the addition of cups, pitchers, spoons, or funnels to the sensory bin, your little one can fine-tune their motor skills and build their hand-eye coordination as they practice pouring and scooping. 

Sensory bins can be filled with nearly anything which actually makes it overwhelming to get started. So here are ten sensory bin ideas that you can quickly pull together with materials from your pantry or local grocery store! 

1. Rainbow Rice

Colorful and so Pinterest-worthy, Rainbow Rice is surprisingly easy to make at home, but it does need to be left overnight to dry, so you need to plan ahead. 

To make Rainbow Rice, simply combine 1 cup dry uncooked white rice with 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of color coloring in a resealable bag. Mix up the rice until the food color is evenly distributed. Spread your damp Rainbow Rice onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet to dry overnight. 

Word of caution: As much as I love putting my own hands in the Rainbow Rice, it is a total pain to clean up-- I still find blue rice grains all over the apartment months later. I would recommend trying out Rainbow Rice with older toddlers who may be able to resist the urge to throw the rice everywhere. 

2. Dry Pasta

An easy starter sensory bin: dry large shaped pasta (think rotelle, fusilli, or rigatoni). The larger shapes are easier to clean up if your little one is newer to sensory bins. You can also dye the pasta the same as Rainbow Rice-- or simply purchase tri-colored pasta to save yourself the effort and still have some fun colorful pasta.

3. Garlic Bulbs

This one we stumbled upon by accident after Lee was rooting around in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table. He was very focused on peeling away the garlic skin and breaking apart the cloves. 

4. Cranberries + Water

Perhaps Lee’s favorite sensory bin is cranberries floating in water. He loves scooping out the bobbing cranberries with a tablespoon and transferring them from one container to another. With this sensory bin, Lee will focus for upwards of 15 minutes with minimal intervention from me, mainly to keep him from eating one of the sour cranberries.

5. Moon Sand

Another great sensory bin that parents will also enjoy is Moon Sand. You can quickly make Moon Sand with an 8:1 ratio of flour to vegetable or baby oil; I made a small batch with four cups of flour with ½ cup of vegetable oil. Drop the flour and oil into a giant resealable bag and mix it up until you get a soft but lumpy and oh-so-squeezable texture. 

Even though squishy Moon Sand seems so harmless, raw flour can contain E. coli which causes food poisoning. If your little one is still in the phase in which everything is immediately put in their mouth, hold off on Moon Sand until they’re a little older and can resist the temptation to sample it.

6. Nuts in the Shell

We incorporated nuts into one of Lee’s autumnally themed sensory bins: a mix of pine cones, leaves, and larger nuts in their shells like walnuts, pecans, and Brazil nuts. As an early STEM activity, we practiced grouping similar nuts together.

7. Dried Beans

Used for counting and pouring practice as well as sensory bins, dried beans are a staple Montessori material. I picked some speckled cranberry beans and red kidney beans just for the color, but I plan on introducing larger varieties (like large lima beans) in his next bin. 

8. Corn Kernels 

Similar to rice and dried beans, dried corn kernels are a quick-and-easy sensory bin filler for slightly older toddlers.

9. Fabric Scraps

Fabric swatches with textures (like soft velvet, smooth satin, or nubby knits) are fascinating to younger toddlers. We also gave Lee some Velcro and he was in awe of the crunching sound from opening and closing the Velcro strips. 

10. Tissue Paper

Tissue paper is a fascinating sensory material for little ones under one year old. Even at a young age, Lee loved ripping apart tissue paper, crumbling it up, and throwing it all around.

Do you have more sensory bin ideas? What captivates your toddler? Send your sensory bin suggestions to parentingstyleblog@gmail.com as we’re always looking for materials to try!