I got really excited to come up with new spring sensory bin ideas for my kindergarten students. Not only is it a fun creative outlet to plan unique sensory bins, but they love them!
I wanted to share with you some of the spring sensory bin ideas I came up with. As always, you can sub the materials and supplies for things you already have. Get creative and have fun with it.
Idea #1: The Easter Egg Hunt
For this spring sensory bin, I used several different tactile objects: colorful beans, mini-erasers, and easter eggs. What I love about this sensory bin is the various sizes of the objects and opportunities for students to practice “hunting” for items!
Here are a few ideas I thought of:
- Bury the mini-erasers in the beans or hide them inside the eggs. Have students practice digging and opening the eggs (great for fine motor skills).
- Ask your students to count different objects out loud in French.
- Have students sort the items by colour, shape, or size using French vocabulary.
Idea #2: Spring Flowers
Who doesn’t love some spring gardening? In this spring sensory bin craft, primary kiddos will get a chance to explore different textures and manipulate different objects. I recommend at least two bins for this activity. In one bin, include soil or brown sand. In the second bin, use fake grass or even moss. I also included several flower pots, fake flowers, and small gardening tools.
Here are some fun activities to apply to this spring sensory bin:
- Explore different textures by having your primary kids describe the different items in the bins using French adjectives (ie. dirt vs. grass vs. a pot).
- Continue practicing fine motor skills by scooping, moving, and dumping soil.
- Practice listening skills by giving students directions for planting a flower in French. Have them follow along with the items in the bin.
Idea #3: Over the Rainbow
This sensory bin is really simple to put together. To create this bin, I dyed dry pasta noodles in various colors. Then, I dumped white rice at the bottom of the bin, and arranged the noodles in a rainbow.
Here are some sensory bin activities to get the most of this bin:
- Mix up the noodles, and have students arrange them by colour.
- Have kids create various different line lengths when the noodles, and then use a ruler to measure the line. Have them tell the measurement in French.
- Give students a fairly simple French noun, and have them craft that noun with their noodles (such as chair or sun).
Idea #4: Explore Spring
Do you remember those games you could buy at the store as a kid where you search for objects? I decided to create my own version as a spring sensory bin. You need a clear water bottle, rice (mine is green), and various spring objects (erasers, small figurines, etc).
Here is how I like to use this sensory activity:
- Have students name the different spring related items they find in French.
- Give students an object in French and have them search for it in the bottle.
- Set a timer and have students list all the items they can find in a set time (like 1 minute). Then, have them write sentences in French with those words.
Want to learn more about creating sensory bins? You can also read my tips for building sensory bins (like how to dye sensory filler) through these blog posts. I’ve also created a guide to setting up sensory bins. It includes ideas, recipes, themes and discount codes to some Canadian sensory small businesses!
