Chasing Cheerios

Friday, May 13, 2011

Flower Arranging Sensory Bin

The idea for this flower arranging sensory bin came to me the other day, and it was quick and easy to put together since I had everything I needed. I love it when that happens!

I filled a wooden box with dried black beans (leftover from our Halloween sensory bin). I put an empty flower pot, a metal scoop, a teaspoon/tablespoon, and fake flowers in the box. I showed E(1) how to fill the flower pot with the beans using the scoop. Then I showed her how to arrange the flowers in the pot. She LOVED this activity!




After she arranged the flowers a few times, E had fun just scooping and spooning the beans into the pot and into piles in the box. I had to watch her really closely because she put the beans in her mouth a couple of times.


O(4) was very excited to see this sensory bin when she got home from school. She loved playing with it, and I added another flower pot so both girls could work in it at the same time. Unfortunately, they went a little crazy and scattered beans all over the floor. However, that just provided them with more opportunities to practice their sweeping skills and to improve their pincer grasps!

11 comments:

  1. such a great idea!! way better than dirt...at least for an indoor sensory bin! :)

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  2. Beautiful! We'll be doing this as well as we already have all the supplies!

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  3. What a great idea! It gives a great encouragement to scoop and pour.

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  4. What a cool idea! I think I'll adapt it for my son, maybe make his with birds on stems since he is into birds these days. Thank you for posting.

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  5. I love your ability to take something that would frustrate me (beans all over the floor) and seeing the bright side of working on practical life skills! Love this sensory bin!!

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  6. Great idea and very pretty. I'm going to the store this week to purchase items. DD is 14mo so I will have to keep an eye on her with the beans. She still loves to put everything in her mouth. But listens when I remind her "no, no" followed by a celebratory "good girl, Ari".

    My goal is to not be afraid to say "no" when needed, but followed by affirmations:) I love being a mom.

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  7. I love the idea of learning to create flower displays.

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  8. Wonderful idea..kids luv messy things but with this mess they can help enviorment.I will try this with my little one

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  9. I just did this with my daughter today. Your blog has provided me with so many great ideas. Thanks for sharing!

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  10. I surfed over here from Mamapop and love your blog! My baby's not yet one so she doesn't need anything too complicated or directed, but we're still grateful to find fun activities that are age-appropriate. I haven't seen too many ideas appropriate for babies so I'm delighted to see what activities your 1 year old enjoys.

    I'm totally making those Mod Podge animal blocks this weekend.

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