We've been exploring sensory bins a lot lately. I mentioned before that I'm a kinesthetic learner so I'm naturally drawn to this type of hands on hands on play/learning. I was pleased to find out that toddlers in general also learn a lot through this type of exploration. I recommend reading this post if you want to find out more.
When I watch the little guy playing with his bins, it looks like he's doing one big science experiment. It's almost like I can hear the questions he's asking, the hypotheses he's making and conclusions he's drawing from this type of play. I love watching him learn. And as an added bonus, sensory bins provide us with a lot of independent/focused play time for Chase. He can sometimes play with them independently for 30-45 minutes. This is a long time for him! He'll also often come back to them several times throughout the day.
The pictures above are of Chase exploring a sports themed sensory bin that we had out for the last couple of weeks. Lately, I've been into creating activities for Chase based on his current interests. These days, he's OBSESSED with sports so this bin got a lot of daily use.
Here's a closer look at our sports themed bin. It includes a basketball whistle, sports medal, miniature clapper, basketball felt, rubber basketball keychain and various sports themed miniature balls, slinkies, painted wooden circles, and erasers. I used pink beans as the filler.
Chase has been into bugs lately. When picking him up from day care the past couple of weeks, I find him and some of the other kids often playing around with rolly pollies outside. They have been fasciated with these critters. Chase is also into lady bugs and has been watching this and this lady bug video on You Tube.
The two bins above are of the same bug/critter themed sensory bin I put together this past Sunday. I first used split peas as the filler, but they were too hard to clean up so I switched them out for penne pasta. Aside from the filler, this bin includes various plastic bugs/critters, lady bug and bumble bee pencil tops, erasers, twigs, rocks and a magnifying glass. Most things from both the sports and bug/critter bins were purchased from Party City and Education Station.
This looks really neat. I think I'll try it this weekend with Isaac. How do keep Chase from throwing the beans/pasta/peas allover the room?
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ReplyDeleteOops...Isaac will love this Nat! I do have to remind Chase quite a bit not to throw the stuff. He's gotten better with this but it's a work in progress. a mat underneath helps to give him a visual border of where to contain his mess. Containers to scoop/throw things into also help. Let me know how Isaac likes it. :)
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