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You are here: Home / preschool / How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

January 6, 2018 by Sheryl Cooper

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Inside: This winter sensory bin is loaded with dyed rice, various sized snowflakes, small snowmen and scoops. But what makes it most fun are the flickering tea light candles! A great way to build fine motor skills during your winter theme.

While working my way down the aisles in my local grocery store, flicker tea light candles caught my eye.

I instantly remembered how much we loved them 5 or so years back, when I was given a huge stash of them from my mom for Christmas.

Because moms of teachers just know when something looks good for her daughter’s classroom, right?

Brilliant, I thought! I don’t think I would have ever thought to use flicker tea lights as part of our classroom activities!

Fast forward to this year, and I’m not sure what happened to those tea lights. I imagine the batteries eventually wore out and they were tossed.

So, when I saw them after Christmas in our grocery store, on sale (but of course!), I just knew I had to get them.

And the idea of a snowflake sensory bin – with flicker candles – was born.

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How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

Watch the video here:

Like with many of our sensory bin activities, I wanted to focus on building fine motor skills, too.

So I made sure to add small pieces, scoops, and little buckets to fill.

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

What we used:

  • Battery-operated flicker tea light candles
  • Plastic snowflakes of assorted sizes
  • Blue dyed rice (see video at the end of this post where I share how I make it)
  • White rice
  • Small snowman erasers
  • Snowflake buckets
  • Small containers
  • Scoops
  • Snowman ice cube tray


How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

Now really, you can easily substitute any wintery stuff you might have on hand.

These pieces are what I happened to find during an after-Christmas sale.

Because, sales!

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

Before I continue, I must once again tell you that if this winter sensory bin is for children younger than 3, do not include the small snowman erasers unless you know your children are not putting things in their mouths and you are supervising.

Always use your best judgement.

This goes with 3 year olds, too.

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

While observing our children using this bin, they at first just wanted to scoop rice with their hands.

They filled the small cups and then poured them out.

Only then did they pay attention to the flicker candles. They placed them in the cups and covered them with rice.

Sort of a hide-and-go-seek thing.

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

Then they scooped the snowmen, seeing how many would fit.

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

The rice was removed from the small cups and the snowmen were then added.

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

And then, some math took place!

The children took the snowman ice tray and placed one snowman eraser in each spot, counting while doing so.

1:1 correspondence happening!

My teacher heart was pretty happy.

Another example of how learning can – and does – happen all over the classroom in hands-on, playful ways.

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin

 

How to Build Fine Motor Skills with a Winter Sensory Bin


More ideas:

Polar Bear Masks for Toddlers

Toddler and Preschool Songs for Winter

Mitten Winter Art with Printable

 

❄️Toddler and Preschool Winter Lesson Plans❄️

We’ve done the work for you! We now have interactive thematic lesson plans for toddlers (18-35 months) AND preschoolers (3-5 years)!

Get ready for fun and learning with unit lesson plans for winter.

Explore a variety of themed hands-on activities!

Easy to follow lesson plans include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners.

For more information, click on the graphics below:

toddler winter lesson plans

preschool winter lesson plans

 

favorite winter classroom supplies

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Filed Under: Fine Motor, preschool, Preschool Fine Motor, Sensory Bins, Winter Activities Tagged With: fine motor, preschool, sensory, winter

About Sheryl Cooper

Sheryl Cooper is the founder of Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds, a website full of activities for toddlers and preschoolers. She has been teaching this age group for over 20 years and loves to share her passion with teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone with young children in their lives.

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