My older two will get their hands in just about anything. This oats and table salt sensory bin was easy to set up and fun for fine motor play. There are 40 Sensory bin fillers ideas for you too!

Playing with textures and getting their hands dirty is fun for tall of my kids. There is so much learning that takes place when children get hands-on with their environment.

A sensory bin is a great activity that allows that exploration to happen.

A sensory bin is just a container with a filler that allows for exploration using the senses. It is very simple.

You know me, simple is the way I do things. All you need for this bin are oats and salt.

I placed the oats and salt in their own containers and added a couple measuring spoons.

I wanted to provide a way to extend the play a little further so I provided some Dollar Store centipedes I had purchased without really knowing at the time how I was going to present them to the kids.

Oats and Table Salt Sensory Bin

Here is how we played:

On our trusty plastic table cloth, the kids began to feel the oats and salt. They added a couple of the centipede toys to pretend that they were crawling through the salt and oats.

It was not long before the oats and salt were poured into the larger plastic bin. Lots of mixing occurred.

I like that these two items provided a contrast of textures-that is why I chose to combine them. The kids used a sifter to shake out the salt from the oats so that they could see the difference in size.

Both kids used the scoops a little bit to transfer some of the filler back to the smaller containers. We counted each scoop back-and-forth and compared whether the same amount could fit in each scoop.

The children made the centipedes crawl in and around the container-reminds me of observing meal worms when I was in school!

Both kids had fun with a little pretend play moving the centipedes around the bin and through the oats and salt mixture. It is so easy to combine simple kitchen staples into great sensory bin fillers for kids.

Sensory bins are easy to put together and with a few ground rules to keeping the mess contained-if you like-they are a really fun addition to your time at home with your children.

A few tips for sensory play:

-Take the activity outdoors when possible.

-Establish ground rules if you want the sensory materials to stay in a specific area.

-Take the sensory activity to the bath tub. Your child can sit in the tub with the bin and play. Plug the tub and then sweep or vacuum out the sensory material when play is over.

-Use a cheap plastic table cloth like this one found on Amazon on the floor to catch the mess and then fold it up and shake any spilled material in the trash-or back in the bin to use again.

-Under bed storage bins make great sensory bins to fill for play.

-For little kids or when the weather is bad, these tips for playing with sensory bins indoors are helpful. 

Thanks to Sarah at Little Bins for Little Hands (the go-to blog for sensory bins) for organizing this 40 Days of Sensory Bin Fillers series. A few of my favorites are:

Sensory bin: Yarn from Teach Me Mommy

Spring Craft Sand Sensory Bin from Little Bins for Little Hands

{Lovely colors and a lot of ideas for items to place in the bin for pouring.}

Shaving Cream Sensory Play from P is for Preschooler

{It is lovely how children sometimes just like the simple ways to play!}

Looking for more sensory play activities? I have a whole board dedicated to the topic on Pinterest!

And, you have to check out the Kid Blogger Network board of Sensory play ideas-almost 150 bloggers pin to the board-PLUS a board for ALL sensory bottles, bins and bags here. You will not run out of ideas, I promise!

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