I've shared a LOT about this topic on Instagram (you can see all my reels and stories about activity bins here), but I thought I would break everything down in a blog post I can direct people to when they have questions about activity bins or want to learn more about them.
HOW ACTIVITY BINS CAME TO BE
A few years ago, I was a full-time child care provider in my home to up to ten kids under age 5 for 50 hours a week. I loved creating sensory bins for the kids and learned very quickly how important and enriching sensory play was for them.
Fast forward to starting our homeschool journey. I had a first grader, 3 year old, and 1 year old when we started homeschooling. That first year went great, but the couple years after that when my 1 year old dropped her morning nap and was joining us for homeschool time quickly became very difficult.
She is the sweetest little thing, but she learned that during homeschool time Mama needed to focus on reading aloud and teaching and she quickly learned that she could really get my attention if she disrupted that time. I'm not going to lie, it was hard! I tried many, many things, but very often I was left frustrated and in tears because no matter what I tried, she would just push harder for negative attention. This isn't fun to share, but I know I'm not the only one who has dealt with this with toddlers/preschoolers as homeschool parents so I want to be vulnerable for the sake of helping others.
Last fall, I had already started giving her one-on-one time before homeschool time and getting activities out for her during that time. It did help, but we were still often at odds with one another. So, the idea for the activity bins popped into my head and honestly, ever since we started it's like I have a new kid during that time! She stopped trying to get my attention in negative ways, when she was craving attention (which was no longer the entire time anymore), I had more patience and could respond better since it wasn't the entire school time, and she was so engaged and having fun that she looked forward to school time! I figure if they worked that well for us instantly they can work for others!
WHAT ARE ACTIVITY BINS
Basically, every month or so, I grab my bins (I do 8 but mainly only because all 3 of my girls enjoy them and because I share about them online - even 1-2 would be great) and I empty them out. Then, I grab these two bins (below) that are filled with random sensory materials I've collected over the years and then go through some of our drawers and our craft cabinet and just grab random things for the bins. I haven't spend any money on the items for inside the bins since I started other than some special sensory items they got for Christmas last year.
When it's homeschool time or I'm doing something like cooking or making a phone call when I need my preschooler to play independently, I'll ask her which bin she wants and I'll get it down for her. I have found it key to keep them either on a rotation (so only a couple are available at one time) or to keep them out of reach so they have to ask for them so they seem them as special. We keep ours on top of our craft cabinet right outside our dining room (where they use them).
ACTIVITY BIN MATERIALS
The main items I use for the activity bins are the bins themselves (these inexpensive bins from Target), a wet-erase marker (they dry to the touch so they don't smudge until you want to erase them), and marker eraser spray (to change the labels when you switch out the contents of the bins). Note: This post contains some Amazon activity links. If you click and buy with any of my Amazon links, I make a small commission on the purchase. I appreciate all clicks and buys, but more than anything, I just appreciate you reading this post!
As far as getting started with these for the first time, I recommend spending some time shopping for sensory items like:
- Rice
- Beans (different shapes and colors)
- Pasta (differen shapes/types)
- Crinkle Paper
- Feathers
- Pom Poms
- Cotton Balls
- Kinetic Sand
You can buy colored pasta, beans, rice, etc. or make your own but you definitely don't have to - the natural colors are great, too!
Then, as far as sensory bin extras, I spent some time when I first started doing sensory bins years ago collecting items mainly at the Dollar Tree and Hobby Lobby. Things like table scatter, little mini decorations, tubes of animals, glass beads, and other items make great add-ons to a sensory bin.
I would go before each holiday and stock up on a few different things to include and then save them to use again and again over the years. I also collected items for a few different themes (underwater, outer space, farm, spring, fall, etc.) that I just keep in zip pouches in my two bins of sensory materials. None of this costs much money and can last for many, many years.
Other than sensory bins, I also just grab random things from around the house to add to other bins. Sometimes just by taking something out a drawer or its box and putting it in an activity bin makes the item become novel and fun in your child's eyes. I grab stickers, paper, glue, and other craft supplies for bins. Sometimes I'll mix things like magnetic tiles and some animals or little cupcakes with princesses to pair things they have never paired before.
For birthdays and Christmas/Easter, I will also occasionally add in some sensory add-ons or little kits such as:
These cost more but my kids have spent so many hours playing with these (plus the felt/wooden play sets can be sold or passed down through generations - they are beautiful).
ACTIVITY BIN EXAMPLES
Here are some examples of activity bins I've done (make sure to check out my Instagram highlight for all the activity bins I've made since I started doing this in fall 2023).
