Polar Sensory Bin

Ooooooh YES, it’s messy!

(but so much fun, Mom!)

We couldn’t possibly do a polar unit study without a polar sensory bin, could we?

Above is a picture of the one I put together for my crew. I used Insta-Snow as the base material, and added metal and plastic spoons, colored flat marbles, a couple of animals from our Ocean TOOB , the globe from the top of the Toob packaging, some test tubes & mini petri dishes that we'd used before, and some small winter themed tubs.

So that was toobs, tubes, & tubs. Got it? ;)

The Insta-Snow is a bit messy, but with that comes some unique possibilities.
These southern boys got to make snowballs!

And scoop, and pour

And mold, and dig, & bury their fingers

and generally make….

  

a mess themselves smile!
Which makes this mama smile.

(The Insta-Snow actually does vacuum up really easily.)


Do you enjoy sensory bins in your home?
If so, what have been some of your favorites?

Planning on sharing this post at one or more of the following places:

Tot School @ 1+1+1=1, Tree Valley Academy

Hearts for Home Blog Hop, Learn & Play LinkUp, Littles Learning LinkUp
& Everything Early Childhood

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Space Themed Sensory & Pretend Play

After we completed our Making Moon Craters activity, I decided to keep rolling with the pretend play and turn it into more of a sensory experience. My son’s always been particular about tactile sensations, so I’m trying to provide him with frequent opportunities for sensory play.

 

It was nothing too fancy, but Dude played with it for quite awhile.

It basically consisted of:

A black piece of fabric

DIY moon sand & cake pan “Moon”

Rocks (asteroids)

Bouncy Balls (planets)

Some dollar store plastic and foam stars

Space TOOB (This has a great variety of figures, even a space monkey!)

 

I also put together a pretend Earth out of stuff we had on hand. The blue base is actually the boys old changing pad cover. (I liked the soft velvety texture of this.) I topped that with some green Easter grass and a plastic piece of “land” from another playset we have.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ….Blastoff!

There was lots of blasting off, flying around other planets, exploring the moon, making craters, and even fixing the Hubble telescope.

I just love watching little imaginations at work!


Sharing this post over at:
Preschool Corner

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Tot Trays - On The Go!

No, No, I didn't pack up Tot Trays and bring the materials with us while we're away from home, but after looking through the pictures on my camera, I've realized that the boys have done several Tot Tray(ish) activities since we've been away. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Tot Tray Activities for keeping little ones occupied! You'll notice a lot of them involve food, since that's the one thing you're guaranteed to have while traveling with kids!

Here's are some of the things my boys have been up to:

Dropping clothespins into an empty juice bottle

(a classic source of entertainment at this age)

Sorting Animal Crackers

Sweeping (I would have used a smaller broom for a tot tray)

Yes, he was sweeping plastic bugs and snakes from our May Sensory Bin out the door. This was his own idea. He also insisted that I step on them :)

 Cutting soft fruit

 

Pouring between a milk jug and applesauce containers.

As I often do these days, I also gave him the top of a water bottle to use as a funnel. He had an abundance of water in the jug, so had to make the effort to both start and stop pouring if he didn't want to spill it.

Putting straws into a milk jug

Taking biscuit dough out of a can, separating them, and arranging them on a pan

(also a great sensory activity)

 

And stacking & exploring empty applesauce containers. Both boys really enjoyed playing with these.

If you're looking for more Tot-Schooling on the go ideas you can also check out our Feelings & Rainbows weeks for more fun ideas that don't require an abundance of supplies!

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