Super Mario Sensory Play Table

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Fullbloomcreativity

Do you have a Super Mario Bros. fan at home? If so, they will love this Super Mario sensory play table. I remember getting the first Nintendo game system when I was a little girl (that was a long time ago lol). I can still hear the theme song in my head. It’s definitely an earworm!

I really enjoyed creating this sensory bin, especially since my son and nephew helped me to design it. An added bonus was that it cost me less than $5 to create this activity. Granted, I did have to put in a little time and elbow grease to prep everything.

SUPPLIES FOR MARIO SENSORY PLAY BIN

Pasta (I used ditalini)

Wood Stars

Wood Mushrooms

Coins

Wood Blocks

Paper Towel and Toilet Paper Rolls

Paint and Paintbrush

Super Mario Figurines

Container or Sensory Table

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

I purchased the coins, wood stars, and wood mushrooms from my local Dollar Tree store. The wood stars and mushrooms came as natural raw wood. I already had the wood blocks and Mario figurine.

For this Mario sensory play activity, I used the FLISAT table and TROFAST bins from IKEA. However, you can use any container that you may already have on hand.

INSTRUCTIONS

I will warn you that there is some prep for this Super Mario sensory play activity. Since I was trying to stay on a budget, I painted everything myself.

1. Begin by painting the paper towel and toilet paper rolls green. These will be the tunnels from the game.

Upcycled Paper Towel and Toilet Paper Rolls

2. Next, paint the wooden stars a bright yellow. After they are dry, add eyes to one side. Do these look familiar to you?

3. Then, paint the mushrooms white with red tops. I added white dots to the tops of the mushrooms. These will be the mushrooms that make Mario grow.

4. Gather some wood blocks to use for building. I received these wood blocks at my baby shower. Everyone who attended decorated them. I selected the most plain ones to use for this sensory bin.

5. Assemble all of the loose parts including some gold coins. I like to use a bin like this and small plastic bowls.

Loose parts for Mario sensory play table

6. Now it is time to paint the pasta. I feel like pasta was the perfect choice for a Mario sensory play bin. I used ditalini noodles.

To color the pasta, add the noodles to a plastic ziplock bag. Then, add the desired paint color. You do not need to use a lot of paint, just a squirt or two. Next, seal the bag and mix the pasta with the paint. After they are completely coated, lay them out to dry on a piece of parchment paper.

7. Assemble your sensory bin. I made an “M” for Mario out of the red pasta and then filled in with the blue pasta and remaining red. If you do not want to do this, you can either use a single color for the pasta or mix the two colors.

INVITATION TO PLAY

I assembled the Super Mario sensory play table while my son was at school. Ben was so excited to see it when he got home. He said, “I’m so happy that you made this for me!” He got right to work playing with it. Of course, the first thing that he did was mix the pasta up.

He built a tower out of blocks for Mario to climb. At the top were gold coins for Mario to collect.

The green tunnels were a big hit. He loved putting everything through the tunnels.

I will have to say that I think that this Super Mario sensory play table was a big hit. I will leave it up throughout the week for Ben to play with.

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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.

Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Fullbloomcreativity

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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Space Sensory Tray with Stackable Astronauts

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Fullbloomcreativity

Is your child as space obsessed as mine?! Ben has been fascinated with any and everything space-related. Today, I am sharing a simple space sensory tray. He had a blast helping me setting it up and playing with it.

3, 2, 1, Blast Off!!!

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SUPPLIES FOR SPACE SENSORY TRAY

Tray

Black Beans

Star Confetti

Small Planets

Aluminum Foil

Stackable Astronauts

I found these stackable wooden astronauts in Bullseye’s Playground at Target.

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. Begin by assembling the space sensory bin. This could not get any easier. Ben loved helping to set this up. First, dump the dried black beans into a tray of your choice.

2. Next, tear small pieces of aluminum foil. Have your child help you scrunch them up into balls to make asteroids. Ben loved this step.

3. Finally, add everything else – stars, planets, asteroids, and astronauts. That’s it!

INVITATION TO PLAY

I love setting out activities such as this space-themed sensory bin and letting Ben discover it on his own. He had so much fun telling me all about the different planets. Ben will get into a heated debate about whether or not Pluto is a planet. He is a firm believer that it is, even though it is a dwarf planet.

His absolute favorite thing to do with this space sensory tray was stacking the wooden astronauts in different configurations. This kept him entertained for hours! He would stack them, then take a picture of them and show me. Then, he would do it all over again and again.

I absolutely love easy to put together sensory bins! This space sensory tray lead to hours of enjoyment, and only took a matter of minutes to assemble.

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How to Make Winter Pine Oobleck

Posted on January 7, 2021 by Fullbloomcreativity

I will start by saying that I have never made oobleck before. Therefore, I began by doing what everyone else does when looking for information and searched on Pinterest. As a result of my search for oobleck recipes, I came across the blog, Little Bins for Little Hands, and their post called, Evergreen Oobleck Science Winter Sensory Play.

Their oobleck was perfect! So, I decided to recreate it and add a few things of our own. If you haven’t checked out their blog yet, please do. They have lots of great ideas for STEM activities, especially slime.

In our household, we absolutely LOVE sensory play! I have been wanting to try oobleck before, but never have. Now was the perfect opportunity.

Making oobleck is a fun STEM science experiment. It is an object that is both solid and liquid. Have you played with oobleck before? If not, I highly recommend it.

Oobleck Recipe

1 cup of Cornstarch

1/2 cup of Water

The instructions are very simple. All you need to do is mix the cornstarch and water together. I used a pie pan for this activity.

SUPPLIES

Pine Branches

Pinecones

Cranberries

Pie Pan

Spoon

Optional: Beans and/or Wood Blocks

On Ben’s little craft table, I set out the pie pan with the oobleck along with the pine branches, a bowl of cranberries, and some pinecones.

INVITATION TO PLAY

At first, Ben just experimented with touching the oobleck. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. Then he started adding cranberries and pinecones.

He loved watching the cranberries sink into the goop. He also liked pushing the pinecones into the oobleck and pulling them out.

Next, he involved a spoon. He tried to scoop the cranberries out of the oobleck. He discovered that it was hard to do. I also encouraged him to put his hands into the goop.

He tried pushing on the oobleck with his fist and found out that he had resistance. Solid. He also scooped some up with his hand and watched it drizzle between his fingers. Liquid.

As with any open-ended sensory play, Ben decided that we needed more materials to experiment with. He started by adding some wood blocks.

He discovered that if he pushed the end of the wood blocks into the oobleck that it would help support them. Then the building commenced.

Last, but not least, he added black beans to the pie pan. He had a blast trying to get them out of the oobleck. This was great for his fine motor skills.

As you can see, Ben had a great time exploring his winter oobleck sensory play. For being the first time ever making oobleck, it was super easy and simple to make and led to lots of fun. I am encouraging you to try this activity with your little ones. Happy Exploring!

As I said before, please check out the blog, Little Bins for Little Hands. It is full of great content. I want to thank them for sharing this activity on Pinterest. We had so fun fun recreating it!

For another oobleck activity, check out my blog post “How to Make Muddy Oobleck for Dinosaur Sensory Play.” Comment below with your favorite way to play with oobleck.

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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 adult9 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.

Snowflake Sensory Bin Matching Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Fullbloomcreativity

For Christmas this year, I created three smaller sensory bins for our son, Ben. I picked up three clear 6 quart containers with latching lids from Target and filled them up with lots of fun items. Today, I am sharing the snowflake sensory bin that I created for Ben to practice his uppercase and lowercase letters.

Ben is fairly consistent with being able to identify all of the uppercase letters of the alphabet. Recently, the focus has turned more to identifying the lowercase letters. So, I thought that this would be a fun activity to bridge the gap.

Snowflake Sensory Bin Matching Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

SUPPLIES

Plastic Bin

Rice

Snowflakes

Glittery Styrofoam Balls

Recycled Water Bottle Caps

Paper

Markers

Optional: Scoops and/or Tweezers

I purchased most of the materials at our local Dollar Tree, which is one of my favorite places to shop for art supplies and sensory bin fillers.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Begin by assembling the snowflake sensory bin. This could not get any easier. First, dump a bag of rice into the clear container. Then, add the snowflakes and small glittery styrofoam balls.

2. Next, using a black permanent marker, write the uppercase letters of the alphabet on the recycled water bottle caps (one letter on each cap). After you have finished, add the bottle caps to the sensory bin.

3. Once the sensory bin has been assembled, it is time to draw snowflakes on the paper. The center of the snowflakes should be a circle that you can write the lowercase letters of the alphabet in the middle. I used three pieces of paper to get all 26 letters in snowflakes.

Matching Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

4. Finally, set everything out for your child. Explain how to find the bottle caps in the snowflake sensory bin and match the uppercase letter to the lowercase letter on the paper. Then let them take it from there. I also gave him a few different scoops to use in the sensory bin.

Snowflake Sensory Bin with Water Bottle Cap Letters

INVITATION TO PLAY AND LEARN

Ben absolutely loves sensory bins! He really enjoyed digging in to find the different letters. He did a great job matching the uppercase letters with the lowercase letters. However, he did need help with some of the harder lowercase letters.

Matching Uppercase and Lowercase Letters using Recycled Water Bottle Caps

This was such a fun activity. After Ben matched the letters, he continued to play with the snowflake sensory bin. He even built a maze out of blocks and had the styrofoam balls navigate their way through it.

Matching Uppercase and Lowercase Letters using Water Bottle Caps

I hope that you give this sensory bin a try with your little ones, since it is both educational and fun. Yay!

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Polar Express Small World Play with Fake Snow

Posted on December 22, 2020 by Fullbloomcreativity

Polar Express Small World Sensory Play with Fake Snow

I know that in most houses, ours included, reading The Polar Express is a holiday tradition. This wonderful book is written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. If you have not read this book, you definitely need to. Both you and your child will love it.

My four-year-old son, Ben, is train crazy. Every year at Christmastime, we ride on a steam engine at the Wilmington and Western Railroad where Santa Claus visits each of the children. Last year, my son picked out a wooden Polar Express train set from the gift shop as his souvenir.

This year, my sister gave my son the little figurines from The Polar Express. This got my wheels turning…. So, I decided to make a Polar Express Small World Play with fake snow. First, we read the book and then he got to play with this set up.

Fake Snow Recipe

2 1/2 cups Pure Baking Soda

1/2 cup White Hair Conditioner

This instructions are very simple. All you need to do is mix the baking soda and hair conditioner together until combined. That’s it!

Safety Information About Fake Snow

WARNING: Children should be supervised by an adult while playing with the fake snow. Keep the pretend snow away from their mouths and eyes as it can irritate their eyes and is not safe for consumption.

Immediately wash your child’s hands after using this pretend snow to avoid getting any residue in their eyes should they touch their face or rub their eyes.

Storing Fake Snow

The pretend snow should be stored in an air tight container and stored in a cool area. Accordingly, it should last up to five days. Out of personal preference, I discard the snow after its been used.

SUPPLIES

Wooden Train Tracks

Polar Express Wooden Train

Silver Bells

The Polar Express Figurines

Fake Pine Trees

Fake Snow

Plastic Platter

How to Assemble the Polar Express Small World

First, I set up some wooden train tracks into a circle and added my son’s Polar Express wooden train set.

Next, I sat a shallow plastic serving dish into the middle of the tracks. I made the pretend snow in this container.

Then, I added a small building, trees, silver bells, and figurines on top of the snow. This created a little vignette for Ben.

Invitation to Play

Finally, I invited Ben to play. He took over from there.

The snow is moldable. It it cool to the touch and somewhat wet feeling. This makes pretend snow great for sensory play.

I let Ben have free rein with his play during this activity. At first, he started by playing with the train. Then, he played with the people by having them interact and making up conversations.

After awhile, Ben started to really dig in and explore with the pretend snow. He made mountains and buried things in the snow.

After that, he brought in more trains and cars to play with.

Next thing you know, monster trucks were running over everything, and snow was piled onto the train tracks.

And here’s the aftermath! Ben played with this small world set up for hours.

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How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds

Posted on November 20, 2020 by Fullbloomcreativity

My husband has always loved to carve a pumpkin for Halloween. Typically, we throw away the seeds and pulp. What do you like to do with the pumpkin seeds after you carve your jack-o-lantern?

This year, I decided to keep the pumpkin seeds to use for sensory activities. And considering that my son is currently obsessed with rainbows, I wanted to dye the seeds. Since I wanted to use these pumpkin seeds for fall activities, I opted to color them red, orange, yellow and green.

SUPPLIES

Pumpkin Seeds

Food Coloring

Plastic Zip Top Bags

Aluminum Foil

Baking Sheet

INSTRUCTIONS

1. First, you need to clean and dry your pumpkin seeds. You want to get as much of the pulp off of them as possible.

2. Next, spread the seeds out on a baking sheet in a single layer.

3. Bake in the oven at 200° F for approximately 2 hours.

4. After the pumpkin seeds are cool to touch, separate them into plastic zip top bags.

5. Add the desired food coloring to each bag. Then, close the bag and mix the food coloring with the pumpkin seeds until they are fully coated.

6. Finally, lay the colored pumpkin seeds onto a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Allow them to dry. I recommend allowing them to air dry overnight. You will want them to be completely dry before using them.

If you want to speed up the process, you put them back in the oven for a little while. Just note that this may alter their color.

Once the pumpkin seeds are completely dry, you can use them in different projects such as sensory bins, play dough kits, games, and crafts. I loved how intense and bright the colors turned out. I cannot wait to share these with Ben!

How would you use them? I would love to hear from you. Have fun!

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Fall Sensory Bin with Oatmeal

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Fullbloomcreativity

In our household, we absolutely love sensory bins! Ben especially loved this Fall themed sensory bin. Who else loves the cool, crisp weather this time of year? The oatmeal added the perfect texture for the season. Even better, he played with it for at least two weeks.

SUPPLIES

Oatmeal (rolled oats)

Fall Leaves

Fall Colored Pompoms

Acorns

Scoops, Cups, and Bowls

Clear Rubbermaid Bin (or a similar container)

During one of our hikes, Ben collected these acorns. The remainder of the sensory items were purchased at our local Dollar Tree. For something that was so quick and easy to assemble, it brought hours upon hours of play and enjoyment.

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

Such a simple set-up, all you need to do is dump the oatmeal into a large container. Then add the leaves, acorns, and pompoms on top. Finally, set out the tools in or near the sensory bin.

Now it’s time to play!

INVITATION TO PLAY

I love setting out activities such as this Fall 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.

If you would like to make this Fall sensory bin more educational, you could pair it with the CVC word activity that I will be posting later this week. I will add a link once it it posted. Stay tuned!

Ben did not disappoint me with his imagination. He pretended to make and drink milkshakes and shared them with Mommy. Then, he made soup. In addition, he loved filling the cups and bowl and stacking them.

Ben even use the scoop and cups as a drum set and sang a song that he made up. There are just so many possibilities!

With Ben’s developmental delays, one area that he needed to work on was pretend play. To see him today pretending and using his imagination, makes this Mom very proud.

We will definitely be repeating this Fall sensory bin! Ben had countless hours of fun with it. It was his preferred toy for over a week. We hope that you try this activity with your little ones.

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Tag Archives: sensory bin

Super Mario Sensory Play Table

SUPPLIES FOR MARIO SENSORY PLAY BIN

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

Valentine’s Day Sensory Bin

SUPPLIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY SENSORY BIN

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

Space Sensory Tray with Stackable Astronauts

SUPPLIES FOR SPACE SENSORY TRAY

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

How to Make Winter Pine Oobleck

Oobleck Recipe

SUPPLIES

INVITATION TO PLAY

Snowflake Sensory Bin Matching Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

SUPPLIES

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY AND LEARN

Polar Express Small World Play with Fake Snow

Fake Snow Recipe

Safety Information About Fake Snow

Storing Fake Snow

SUPPLIES

How to Assemble the Polar Express Small World

Invitation to Play

How to Dye Pumpkin Seeds

SUPPLIES

INSTRUCTIONS

Fall Sensory Bin with Oatmeal

SUPPLIES

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

SUPPLIES FOR MARIO SENSORY PLAY BIN

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

SUPPLIES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY SENSORY BIN

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

SUPPLIES FOR SPACE SENSORY TRAY

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

Oobleck Recipe

SUPPLIES

INVITATION TO PLAY

SUPPLIES

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY AND LEARN

Fake Snow Recipe

Safety Information About Fake Snow

Storing Fake Snow

SUPPLIES

How to Assemble the Polar Express Small World

Invitation to Play

SUPPLIES

INSTRUCTIONS

SUPPLIES

INSTRUCTIONS

INVITATION TO PLAY

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