Exploring Sensory Bins

I've been trying a new idea this summer in preparation for our upcoming school year.  I've been reading about sensory bins and how they are good for fine motor development, language development, open-ended play, and stimulating the senses.  I have some kinesthetic learners around here who have lots of energy and learn best when all their senses are engaged and their hands are busy.  I also have some younger kiddos who need some entertainment or breaks from bookwork-style learning.

So this summer I've been collecting a few items to make sensory bins and have allowed the children a couple of sneak peeks at what's in store.

The boys especially loved the construction set.  I used some rocks, some colored glass marbles (like you would put in a fish bowl), some small construction equipment, and a cheapo (from the Dollar Tree) travel Jenga game (to use as pieces of wood).

They loved it.  They arranged the marbles into a pool one time, pushed the rocks around with the equipment, dumped rocks from the dump truck, built towers and buildings with the pieces of wood, and just generally had a good time.

I let them play with it once together, and another time they each got a 30-minute block of time to play in it alone.  As you can see, they thoroughly enjoyed it.  They beg to play with it again, but I told them it's for school time and they have to wait.

Another bin I put together and let them have a trial run with I call a "spring bin".  This bin has grass-like stuff in it, flower pots, small toy birds, butterflies, snakes, and insects, silk flowers, rocks, sticks, pieces of bark, etc.

I spread a shower curtain on the floor, set the bin in the middle of the shower curtain, and they let their imaginations flow.  You can see here that Tyrell "planted" flowers, and Easton made a bird nest.

I let them try out a water bin filled with fish, frozen ice balls, scratchy loofas, cups, funnels, etc also, but I guess I didn't get any pictures from that one.  I've seen so many ideas out there, even down to making a sensory bin to reinforce a unit study, book, holiday, colors. . .I think we're limited only by our imaginations!  (and time, and money, and energy. . .)

I'm looking forward to implementing this idea in our school year.  I think it will help keep little hands busy while I'm working one on one with one of the children on phonics or math, or it will serve as a reward for industrious work, or it will confine play (and mess) to a small area if needed.

As a sidenote, I thought it interesting that country schools apparently used this idea as well.  I recently read Little Heathens:  Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression.  (review to come)  Imagine my surprise as I read her description of their classroom:  "Across from the bench, on the opposite side of the door, was--wonder of wonders--a shallow, strudy box on wooden legs, about five feet long, three feet wide, and eight inches deep, filled with clean, fine sand.  When you had successfully finished your spelling and your arithmetic lessons you were rewarded with some stand-up time to play in the sand.  How good could life get?" (170).

Hopefully my children will be as excited as this little girl was.