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Writer's picturejillianstockert

8 Summer Sensory Bin Ideas

One of my favorite parts of doing sensory bins in the summer is that they can be done outside!! Meaning keeping the inside of your house a (little) less messy :)


Here is a list of some of sensory bin ideas we have tried so far this summer!


  1. Lemon Sensory Bin

  • This one is one of my favorites because it is an extremely easy activity to put together and it smells AMAZING!

  • All you need to do for this activity is fill up one or two bins with some water and add some sliced lemons!

  • Add a few tools to increase engagement and fine motor skills. We used citrus squeezers, tongs, and slotted spoons!

  • Feel free to mix up this activity with orange slices, limes, etc.






2. Sand + "Coral Reefs"

  • I saw "Inspire My Play" post a sensory bin like this and had to give it a try!

  • This ended up being so adorable, but did take some prep work.

  • To get this sensory bin ready, the boys and I dyed some noodles to make "coral reefs" with paint

  • We set up a sand side with the "coral reefs"

  • On the other side, we added water to the bin and added some blue gems along with some sea animals and a treasure chest

  • I gave them a little net and shovel to use as well!





To color noodles with paint:

  1. Add noodles to ziploc bag

  2. Add in a couple squirts of paint of choice

  3. Optional - add in a squirt or two of hand sanitizer

  4. Give a good shake to make sure all noodles are covered

  5. Lay out on parchment paper to let air dry!

You could totally use two little plastic bins for this activity. We used our outdoor sensory picnic table we found on amazon. It is perfect for the mama's who love to do sensory activities at home! Link ---> https://amzn.to/3WpPRyk

Sea animals ---> https://amzn.to/3Iykz2H

Bath fishing set ---> https://amzn.to/3olFajZ

Outdoor Sand --- > https://amzn.to/42WHXzd

Kinetic Sand ---> https://amzn.to/45oKROv



3. Bugs + Beans, Sand, Or Play dough

  • I ordered my boys a pack of bugs from Amazon because as soon as the warm weather arrived and they began to see bugs, they became obsessed!

  • They LOVE playing with their play bugs

  • To set up bug sensory bin is rather simple! Just choose a base (we've done beans, sand, and play dough), and throw in some bugs with a few tools!

  • If using sand or beans, I will give them some scoops. When using play dough it is fun to make little "fossils" by creating indentations in the play dough with the bugs

  • We found a little bug catching set at the dollar store that is a fun add in as well! It came with a little tweezer to catch the bugs and also a little net.



Bug catching Set (ours is from dollar store, but this one is SO cute!)



4. Frozen Ice Painting

  • I've seen this activity done a variety of ways, so we decided to give it a try!

  • Ice painting is a fun alternative to do with your little ones, especially on those warm summer days! We used our favorite Amazon kids' picnic table and did it as a morning sensory activity.

  • We used a coloring sheet we had at the house, but you could simply use a plain piece of paper or even some cardboard from a box!

  • Give your little one of the paint sticks and let them "color/paint" away!

  • Once our painting sticks started to melt a bit too much to continue painting, we filled a sensory bin with some water and grabbed some scoops and spoons to continue our sensory play.

To prep the ice painting sticks:

  1. Grab an ice cube tray of some sort, food coloring or paint, foil or Saran Wrap, and some popsicle sticks.

  2. Pour some water into the ice cube tray and squirt in some food coloring OR kids paint. Give a good mix.

  3. Place the Saran Wrap or foil over the top of the tray and cut slits in each ice cube spot, placing the popsicle sticks through the slits.

  4. Throw into the freezer and wait :)




5. Ice Cream with Shaving Cream

  • If you have little ones, you probably understand the excitement that arises in your house when you have an ice cream night!

  • This sensory bin is so much fun for your little ice cream loving kiddos.

  • Head to your local dollar store, Walmart, or Target and grab some shaving cream, food coloring, confetti, and small ice cream bowls or cones. We found some adorable little ice cream bowls at the dollar store in the party section!

  • Set up your sensory bin with a variety of ice cream "flavors" by making a couple different colors. Add a couple spoons to scoop the "ice cream" into the ice cream bowl or cone.

  • Give them a bowl of confetti or real sprinkles to add on top!

  • Let the creations begin! Just make sure they don't eat it :)

  • I added water to another bin so they could clean their bowls and spoons as they played. This ended up turning into a whole new activity!

  • PS. This was a messy one!





6. Frozen Toys + Water

  • We had some frozen Dinos in muffin tins that I grabbed the other day when I was cooking dinner and it kept my boys so distracted I was actually able to get dinner prepped and cooked without the house turning a little too chaotic!

  • To get your frozen toys ready:

  1. Grab a muffin tin and fill with water

  2. Add a couple drops of food coloring for extra fun

  3. Throw in some waterproof toys (Dinos, cars, animals, letters, etc.)

  4. Put in the freezer and save for a rainy (or sunny) day :)

  • I filled up their sensory table bins with water and dropped in the frozen toys

  • Give them spoons to scoop them or some tools to do a little "excavating". You could also give them a spray bottle with some warm water to speed up the melting process.





7. Ice + Water

  • Here is an easier alternative to the frozen toys + water

  • Keep it simple and just add water + some ice cubes to a bin

  • Give your littles a colander, slotted spoon, cups, ANY tools to engage fine motor skills and keep their little minds and hands interested

  • Add food coloring to mix it up!


8. "Gardening"

  • Set up a sensory bin with whatever base you have on hand (beans, lentils, dirt, kinetic or real sand, etc.)

  • Give your little some fake flowers that you can find from the dollar store as well as some little pots and shovels

  • Let them create their own mini flower pots!




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