Have you noticed how young children love to open items, pour other items into them, close them, then open and dump out the contents? Over and over again? This was our thought when we put together our treasure chest St. Patrick’s Day sensory bin.
We’ve found that since pouring and dumping are inevitable with this age group, it’s important to give them a place where that is okay. If they start dumping out the contents of what seems like every bin in the house or classroom, you can have a place to direct them.
A place where pouring and dumping is okay.
I’ve shared similar activities such as our spring pom pom bin. Oh, and our foam ABC bin.
Create activities that allow them to explore.
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St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bin
What we used:
- Dried split peas
- Treasure chests
- Gold coins
- Shamrock confetti
In all the years that I have taught preschool, our young children have loved coins. They enjoy seeing how many can fit in their hands and into anything else. They love them so much, in fact, that many seem to disappear. Some of the children will confess and pull a handful out of their pockets, some will not and the coins go home.
There is something about those little treasure boxes with the hinged closure. We chose small boxes that can fit nicely in one hand so that the other hand can fill them.
I cannot tell you how many times a preschooler proudly called me over to the sensory bin.
“See how many coins I have?”
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about the gems we also added. These were leftover from another activity. The preschoolers were drawn to how shiny they were. They were a nice touch with the gold coins.
So there you have it. A St. Patrick’s sensory bin that encourages pouring and dumping.
And is simply fun.
If you are looking for more St. Patrick’s Day ideas, head on over to my pin board!
Wait, there’s more! Check out these fun ideas for young children:
