DIY Ocean Sensory Bin + Free Printables
DIY sensory bins are a great way to learn through play. This frugal and simple ocean-themed sensory bin is a great way to spend a day at the beach without ever leaving home! Use these step-by-step instructions to put together your own.
Don’t miss the free Beach and Ocean themed printable pack below!
DIY Sensory Bins
Whether you’re taking a Montessori approach to learning, creating a therapeutic sensory experience for your autistic or special needs child, or just want to add some hands-on fun to your day, you can easily make a low cost sensory bin your children will love.
Children learn through play, so giving them something to play with that engages all or most of the senses heightens the learning. It’s also great therapy for autism or sensory disorders, which is why I started making them for Lil Sis (5). She loves to examine each item visually, touch them, and find the patterns and connections within the themes I’ve created for her. Sensory bins can help with hand-eye coordination, pouring, sorting, and other basic toddler/preschool skills. They’re also a great rainy/cold day activity indoors.
We’ve had fun with several different kinds, but I’ll share just a few basic ideas here to get you started.
Click the image below to get your FREE printable Ocean Themed Activities.
Sensory Bin Supplies
Here are some of the basic sensory bin supplies you’ll need:
A bin of some type ~ this could be a shoebox or plastic storage container or tray Choose a reasonable size for filling and using at a child-sized desk or table. I have been able to find bins of all sizes, shapes, and even colors at Dollar Tree. These bins are a nice option on Amazon, available in rainbow colors or clear, and they have removable lids:
- Fits letter size paper, handouts and workbooks
- Bright colors are perfect for STEAM or STEM color coding
- Non-snap lid opens easily and makes stacking simple
- Fits letter size paper, handouts and workbooks
- Bright colors are perfect for STEAM or STEM color coding
- Nests together when not in use for compact storage
- Ocean animal toy, 46 Pack sea animal( no duplicated!!!) + 6 grass, beautifully detailed and made of 100% safety highest …
- Sea animal toy, approximately 2 inch, creature including Octopus,hippocampus, seahorse, jellyfish, turtle,clown fish, cr…
- Party favors, realistically detailed sea animal figurines inspire imaginative play and curiosity as learning toy, and ma…
The sensory medium~ this would be the sand, rice, cheerios, beans, flour, or whatever it may be that you fill the bin with. (Yes, this can get messy, but it’s worth it!) You can also check out this post for things to use that aren’t messy: 5 Reasons Every Homeschool Should Use Sensory Bins.
- BULK PLAY SAND: The container includes 11 Pounds of natural brown Sensory Sand. The sand is packed in 5 resealable bags …
- QUALITY PLAY SAND: Sensory Sand products are premium quality. Sensory Sand also sells sand in various colors such as: Wh…
- HANDFULS OF FUN: This container of 11 Pounds of brown sand can keep you and your toddler, children or even entire family…
Miscellaneous tools ~ these are optional and can include tongs for picking up items and transferring them
- GREAT FOR SENSORY BINS: 4 of our finest tools packaged together
- KIDS FINE MOTOR TOOLS: Builds fine-motor skills with these awesome fine motor skill tools
- STRENGTHEN HANDS: Strengthens hand muscles needed for writing
Step 1: Choose a theme.
I love to make connections within our homeschool lessons for sensory bins. The pictures I’ve included with this post show our ocean theme sensory bin. It coincided with our field trip to the aquarium.
Check out our book basket reading list to go along with this sensory bin: 10 Ocean Themed Books for Kids
Other themes include insects, farm animals, colors (include only objects of one certain color), numbers, shapes, letters, transportation (included some Matchbox cars), and horses/ponies.
Anything you can imagine can become a theme for a sensory bin. Consider your child’s interests for inspiration. Once you start thinking about it, I’m sure you’ll come up with lots of possibilities!
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| Ocean/aquarium themed toys from Dollar Tree |
Step 2: Gather your supplies.
Begin collecting small items related to your theme. Don’t forget to include things with different textures, sounds, and sizes. That is part of the sensory experience. For instance, my daughters especially love things that make an interesting sound when they pour them, so I look for things that make different sounds. Using glass decorative stones worked well for the ocean theme because they make a loud sound when pouring, but they’re also colorful, shiny, and smooth-textured. (Remember that children should be supervised with this activity, especially if your kiddos put things in their mouths so consider any choking hazards!) As I said, check the dollar stores for inexpensive items to include. I found those glass stones and some rocks at the Dollar Tree.
Grab this Beach printable set to go along with your sensory bin:
You can also raid your junk drawer and re-purpose some toys and stickers. Most homeschool families tend to have craft supplies available, so be sure to check your own inventory for things like craft foam, feathers, beads, sequins, and things of that sort.
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| Rocks and glass stones from Dollar Tree |
Step 3: Pour in the medium and arrange the items.
There are several ways to do this. You can fill the bin with the medium, then set the items on top of it. Another alternative is to start with a layer of medium, then a layer of objects, then another layer of medium to provide an “excavation” or “hide and seek” experience.
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| I chose a clear bin for this one so the blue stones would show up well, just like a real aquarium. |
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| This lid flips open, which makes it easy for little hands. |
Step 4: Prepare a mess-ready environment.
Depending on the medium and the items included, these can get messy. That’s all a part of the fun and learning, though, so be sure to have an area where messes can be easily cleaned up. Use newspapers, trash bags, or some type of splat mat under the bin. Take it outside if you must, but allow your child to explore and play without worrying about being messy for this activity. I’ve found that the more of these we do, the play becomes less messy and more focused.
Step 5: Explore and learn!
Let your child enjoy these for free play. After they’ve looked it over thoroughly, you can begin to ask questions, describe items, and guide their learning. If you’re feeling really ambitious, you can create matching cards to play an I Spy game!
Total cost for our ocean sensory bin: $7. That includes the bin itself and all contents. Everything in it can be re-used for other bins, too. I’ve actually made zero cost sensory bins just by using what I had around the house already.
I hope this gives you some ideas to get started on some sensory bins in your homeschool. Feel free to be creative and just have fun! I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you will/have tried these.
Click the image to get the free ocean and beach themed printables:
You might also like these ideas:
7 Ways to Encourage Summer Reading + Free Printable Color by Number Bookmarks
Joyful Summer Learning Activities
30 Summer Writing Prompts with Free Printable Journal
Plan a Simple Summer Unit Study
Studying Ocean Life with Delight-Directed Science
Ocean Animals Handwriting Workbook
Pin for later:
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Thank you for a step by step guide. I must make something like this for my youngest.
We used to make these often however since my kiddos are getting older we aren’t making them any more. I loved putting them together. The possibilities are endless!
What a fun sensory bin! Thanks for sharing at Share it Saturday!
We just wanted to let you know that we will be featuring this on tomorrow’s post for Share it Saturday 🙂
Thank you! I love Share it Saturday! There are always so many neat ideas there. Thanks for including me. =0)
Great post! I am starting up a shop called Linda’s Montessori Shop. selling all my 3,000 used books from 30 years of teaching Montessori, and later all my Montessori materials. It’s not open yet, but I have over 300 books on right now. If you sign up for e-mail messages (on the front page) i can let you know when we are launching! I thought that my Shop might be especially useful for Montessori Homeschoolers such as yourself. Thank you! Hope to see you there! http://www.LindasMontessori.com
I’ve been wanting to put a sensory bin together for my daughter…this looks like a great one! Thanks!!
I Love it!