Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I decided to create an inexpensive sensory bin inspired by the holiday. We love sensory play in our household!

SUPPLIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY SENSORY BIN

Rice

Food Coloring

Scoops and Cups

Muffin Tin

Fun Valentine’s Day Fillers (gems, hearts, beads, etc.)

The great thing about this sensory bin is that all of the supplies, and I mean ALL, came from the Dollar Tree. I love to shop at the dollar store for sensory and craft supplies!

Just a reminder to use your judgment on what items are age appropriate for your child. Some of these items may be choking hazards.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Dye the rice seasonal colors, such as pink and purple, along with some plain rice. I use a little white vinegar and food coloring to dye my rice. I will be making a post about how to dye rice in the near future. Keep an eye out.

2. Fill your container with the rice. This is your base layer. I then added some heart shaped containers and little white buckets.

3. Next, I used a muffin tin to separate out different fillers. I used glittery hearts, beads, plastic diamonds, and red kiss and heart gems.

4. Finally, I set out additional scoops and silicone heart cupcake holders.

One of the best things about this sensory bin is that I can reuse all of the materials to recreate this sensory bin or make new ones. I love to keep and reuse my sensory bases and fillers. I store my rice in a sealed ziplock bag.

INVITATION TO PLAY

I love setting out activities such as this Valentine’s Day sensory bin and letting Ben discover it on his own. As you can see, he dove right in and started to play. For this particular sensory bin, I did not have a specific purpose, and I did not give any directions to Ben. Therefore, I left him in control of his play and allowed him to use his imagination.

Today, he pretended that he was working in a bakery. The different fillers and rice were used as the ingredients to make cakes. I love seeing where his imagination takes him!

When his cousin came over to play, they pretended that they were mining for diamonds in the rice. This shows you how sensory bins create opportunities for open-ended play.

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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child’s parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child’s pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.