Winter is here! If you’re in the South like us, you might be finally getting some *cold* weather and need some fun indoor activities. OR you might just want to pretend you get real Winter weather. ha! Either way, these Winter sensory bin ideas are sure to keep your kiddos entertained all Winter long!
We have been simplifying our school time and supplies by only using 1 large sensory bin instead of lots of little ones. It’s worked out so well for us! So below I’ll detail our Winter sensory bin and all of the activities we’re using with it! I’ll also share lots of other fun fine motor skills activities for your little learners!
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Winter Sensory Bin
One of the easiest ways to add excitement and hands-on learning to your preschool week is with a themed sensory bin. So many of the activities in our Winter Preschool pack incorporate a sensory bin, so it’s best to knock out the preparation early on! Our Winter sensory bin is always a hit—it’s simple to put together and offers tons of playful learning opportunities! Here’s how I like to set ours up!
FIRST, gather your materials. I like to use a plastic storage bin with a lid so I can cover and store the bin once it’s prepared. Choose your filler, like the dry white beans we use in ours. Something about the beans really makes all the colors in our Winter sensory bin activities POP and gives children a very unique texture to experience. Once you’ve chosen your filler, fill your storage bin as much as you feel comfortable with (knowing each individual child can handle working with different amounts of materials).
NEXT, grab some extra Winter themed items like plastic snowflakes, puffy stickers, mini erasers, cotton balls for snow, colorful pompoms, etc. These items make the perfect backdrop for the printable items in our preschool Winter activities! Scatter them throughout your sensory bin filler and watch the theme really come to life!
FINALLY, choose a space that you feel comfortable using the sensory bin with your child. I tuck ours away in our homeschool room with the rest of our Preschool manipulatives, and keep our sensory bin blanket nearby for when it’s time to get to work. The rule with our bins – everything stays on the blanket! This makes clean up SO much easier.
READY, SET, PLAY!!! When your sensory bin is not being used for the printable activities in our Winter Preschool theme, allow children to explore freely! Watch them scoop, pour, dig, and more! I love taking our bin our when I need a little extra quiet time for homeschooling an older child, or honestly if I just need an extra minute to sip my hot coffee!
Frozen Themed Sensory Bin
This bin is so. much. fun. LG has been obsessed with it since I first put it together! We’re calling it our “Frozen” bin! It includes white beans, Winter (white, blue, purple) pompoms, Winter mini erasers from the Target Dollar Spot, puffy snowflake stickers from Hobby Lobby, clear snowflakes from Hobby Lobby, and Frozen 2 characters! We will also be using this sensory bin and its manipulatives to complete lots of our Winter Preschool Skills Sensory Bins activities!
CLICK HERE to learn more about these Frozen 2 characters.
Winter Toddler Bins
One of the very first sensory bin resources I created for LG were these handy little puzzles and matching mats. It was a great way for us to transition our free sensory bin play to academic practice! Using these mats LG practiced her fine motor skills while also working on matching, visual discrimination, and problem solving!
Puffy Sticker Sort
Every season, I stock up on seasonally-themed puffy stickers when they go on sale at Hobby Lobby. We use these stickers for SO many Winter sensory bin activities! They make such fun manipulatives and add so much seasonal spark to our sensory bins.
Some of the ways we use our puffy stickers include color sorting, image sorting, pattern making, counting, and more!
Winter Colors Sort
Color sorts are THE easiest way to turn your sensory bin into an academic activity for your littlest learners! Use sheets of construction paper, bowls, or even colorful circles drawn on a sheet of printer paper and help your kiddos sort their manipulatives by color!
Preschool Sensory Bins
If your little ones are ready to take their Winter sensory bin to the next level, try adding in academic activities like these sensory bin matching mats! LG loves to use these activities during our homeschool time. And I love being able to combine fine motor skills practice with our academic practice!
Free Counting Cards
Of course we had to bust out our FREE counting cards with our Winter sensory bin! LG loves getting to practice each month with a different manipulative. And I love that I can make a reused resource new and fun each time we use it!
Snowflake Life Cycle Study
Sensory bins and science? YES, please! Believe it or not, one of our favorite things to include with our sensory bin activities is a science lesson! For Winter, we love studying the life cycle of a snowflake. These matching mats are a perfect addition to your Winter sensory bin!
Let’s hang out!
I hope you and your kiddos enjoy these Winter sensory bin activities with your littles! I’d love to hear which ones you use! In the meantime, I’d love to chat and get to know you better! Come hang out with us in some of our favorite places!
SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER!
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