Instead of putting all of our toys where kids can reach them, we rotate the toys they have access to. In every rotation I try to include something to build with, make music with, a sensory component, books and stuffies.
For this rotation I added a new sensory bin; construction. If you live somewhere with long cold winters you're probably familiar with 'pothole season' which fell perfectly between Easter and it warming up enough to dive into our spring activities; so construction is our theme for now.
These black beans were on sale and are the perfect base for construction, gardening and some of our other favourite themes!
This construction set was $4 from Dollarama, and my feedback - it's very cute and made the bin look great. The feedback from the 3 year old - there's no digger. The cost of materials for this sensory bin came to $6 and it took about 2 minutes to set up.
Sensory bins get a lot of hate because they are messy, if this is you - I see you. They stress me out.
Some tips to keep bins from getting out of control:
• We keep a small dustpan and hand sized broom and make cleaning up part of the activity.
• Until kids are old enough to keep the base in (or near) the bin, I sit close enough that I can interupt if things get wild.
• Use a blanket, rug, mat or small table to designate as the "okay-to-get-kind-of-messy-area". I find it much easier to work clean up into the activity than absolutely prohibit any mess.
If you try a construction themed sensory bin, I would love to see it!!
Send in a photo on Instagram or tag me @PrairieMamasBlog so I can see 😊
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