25 Spring Sensory Bins for Toddlers and Preschoolers | Happy Toddler Club (2024)

This pretty spring garden sensory bin is the perfect way to introduce your little one to gardening. Practice digging holes and "planting" real or artificial flowers in the dirt. This sensory bin uses real dirt, so take this one outside on a pretty spring day!

The texture of water beads make them such a nice sensory base. Let your little one explore a pond habitat with this fun sensory bin! Have a toddler who still wants to eat water beads? Not to worry, you'll find a link in the post for how to make "edible" water beads!

The "taste safe dirt" used as the base in this sensory bin is pretty genius. It's easy to make, you likely have all the ingredients in your kitchen, AND while it is "safe" to taste, it's not going to taste good which will deter your toddler from eating it for lunch! Brilliant! It's crumbly enough to be used as dirt yet can still be molded and hold it's shape - perfect for some magical sensory play!

Toddlers love water play, and it makes for a super easy sensory bin set-up! I'm pretty sure everything needed to create the pond environment can be found at the Dollar Tree, including the rubber ducks. Depending on your child's age you could set up the bin for them, or allow them to create their own duck pond as part of the fun!

This baby bird feeding activity is so cute. I love the creative play element of this sensory bin! This game is great for building those important fine motor muscles used for writing and eating. The post includes ideas on how the sensory bin can be differentiated based on your child's age and level of fine motor skills.

If you weren't into the messy edible dirt base in the first insect bin, you might like the easy black bean base in this bin better! This insect bin also incorporates a variety of fine motor tools such as jumbo plastic tweezers and chopsticks. You can differentiate the tools depending on your child's age, or just have them practice the pincer grasp by grabbing insects with their fingers.

This colorful ice cream bin is perfect for warm Spring weather! The base is dyed rice, which looks just like rainbow sprinkles when mixed together! The post contains easy instructions for dying the rice. Dying rice isn't hard at all, but you will need to allow a couple hours for it to dry so keep that in mind. Otherwise you can just use plain white rice! This sensory bin incorporates lots of scooping, pouring, and transferring "ice cream" to cups and cones - all super important toddler skills that will keep those little hands busy!

This jumbo pasta sensory bin is probably the easiest one on this list as far as set-up. The simplicity of it allows so many opportunities for imaginative play! The pasta can be used as scooping tools so there's no need to add a ton of other items - just keep it simple and let them explore! Check out the post for some awesome tips on how to introduce sensory bins to your toddlers, as well as cute ideas for creative spring play with the pasta!

This Farm Animal Washing Bin would make a perfect outdoor sensory bin on a warm Spring day! All you need is some dirt, soapy water, and whatever toys or animals you want your kids to wash! The possibilities are really endless here - you could do a car wash, farm animal wash, whatever's easy and fun! Click "Read More" for the details on this super simple set-up that is sure to engage your kids! And if you're interested in a taste-safe version of this activity, keep reading to the end of this list!

I'm including yet another insect sensory bin because the filler idea for this one is awesome! Here's a hint, it only costs a few dollars and you can find it in the pet section of your local Walmart! This post also has some different ideas for what to use for the actual sensory bin, as well as where to buy those fun little bugs!

Another "less mess" sensory bin for when you don't actually feel like letting your kid play with dirt! This one uses pinto beans for the base, and the rest of the supplies come from the Dollar Tree and Target Dollar Spot. Cost effective and engaging sensory bins for the win!

This cute and easy Easter sensory bin is taste-safe and baby friendly! Feel free to try this sensory bin with your littlest ones (with full supervision, of course). The post contains several great ideas for introducing sensory play to babies and younger toddlers, as well as tips for keeping the mess to a minimum. Hit "Read More" to check it out!

Don't these brightly colored rainbow chickpeas just scream Spring? You'll have to check out the method for dying chickpeas - apparently it only takes a minute and they dry immediately! Like beans, chickpeas make a really nice sensory bin filler. They are have a nice weight to them and feel smooth and cool to the touch, plus they make a nice, soothing noise when you scoop and pour them - perfect for sensory play and fine motor development!

Playdough makes a super easy and engaging sensory bin filler. Add these FREE frog pond printables to create a playdough habitat! Super cute and easy to use time and time again.

This sand and rock sensory box would be a great one to try in a sand table or sand box, if you have one. If not, no worries! You can easily substitute a large plastic bin as shown in the photo. It turns out there are different types of sand that can be used for sensory play, so be sure to click over to the post to find out which one is best for you to use!

This pretty spring themed insect sensory bin uses dyed green rice as a base. Rice is one of my favorite sensory bin fillers to use! It always keeps my 21 month old entertained for so long just scooping and pouring it. Throwing in some cute little bugs will just add to her fun! Another bonus to using rice - if she spills, it can easily be vacuumed up in no time! Click "Read More" for the details on how to dye your rice green.

Not only is this dyed pasta pretty, each kind also represents a different stage of the butterfly life cycle! This post includes recommendations for butterfly life cycle books to read along with this sensory bin, as well as details on the life cycle of a butterfly. My little one is still too young to fully understand that concept, but I decided to add this bin to our list anyway because she'll love playing with the rainbow colored pasta and sorting it by type and color!

This fun Easter Egg sensory bin is SO easy to set up! My toddler loves using kitchen utensils in her sensory bins, so I know this one will keep her busy for awhile. And adding water to the equation is always a win, although you could definitely skip the water if you want to avoid potential spills.

This one might post a bit of a choking hazard for the younger crowd, but you could totally modify it by making cheerio and spaghetti worms instead of using beads! If your little one is ready for it, making the cute little beaded worms is a great fine motor activity! Once the worms are ready they can be used in the sensory bin for hiding, digging, sorting, and any other sorts of fun your child can imagine!

I just love all the taste-safe additions to this muddy animal wash sensory bin! Like using wheat cereal for little bales of hay - how cute is that? Click "Read More" for the details on how to prepare this base and all the fun edible things you can add!

These little playdough bird nests are the perfect creative springtime activity! This is one sensory bin that you might need to order a couple of supplies for. I normally stick to bins that can be made with household items, but I just thought this one was super cute! And all supplies can definitely be reused in future sensory play set-ups. This would also be a great sensory bin to pair with a book about birds' nests, like this one!

Another super easy-to-prepare sensory bin that will keep your tot entertained for hours! In this Easter sensory bin, the eggs themselves are used for scooping and pouring. The addition of recycled egg cartons adds another fun element of play. Click through to the post for an easy tutorial on how to make rainbow dyed rice that can be reused for years! If you are new to sensory bins and hesitant about the mess, there is also a link to an article on how to introduce sensory bins to your toddler.

This oh-so-cute spring sensory bin encourages creative play with real carrots and a few bunny toys added to the mix! The base is rice dyed brown. You could also use beans if you don't feel like dyeing anything. Your toddler will love "planting" the carrots and letting the bunny dig them up!

This fun color matching game is perfect for play dates or independent play! Just download the free colored bunny printable and cut them out. Add colored pom-poms and you're all set! An easy and fun spring themed sensory bin!

If you will be traveling this spring or Easter you'll want to check this bin out! Several cute ideas on how to make a traveling spring themed sensory bin! This post includes instructions for making dyed green rice as well as many different ideas for ways to play with this bin.