Sensory Bin

Wheat Pasta

Dry Beans

Dry Beans

Dry Rice

Grant has his own sensory bin! My teaching side has come out and I am so glad that it is working and Grant loves it. Sensory bins are so good for children in a multitude of ways. Here are just a few: gripping a utensil, fine motor, scooping, dumping, measuring, hand eye coordination, focus time, concentration, and keeping things inside an object while still managing to play. I am so impressed with Grant for many reasons, but one I am so very proud of is his clean up skills. When something falls outside of the bin Grant knows he needs to 'Pick it up and put it in'. Literally any time something falls out he automatically picks it up and puts it back, even without Lance or I asking him to. I am happy about this because clearly I do not want a huge mess, but also it is teaching him to clean up and put things away. Currently, his favorite item in the bin is the dry beans. He has a designated spoon for mommy, which is so funny. I never asked for the spoon, but he always gave me the biggest measuring spoon. Even when he has 2 spoons in his hands he will look at them both, locate the big one, and give it to me. He cracks me up. They are all so much smarter than we give them credit for.
We are missing a picture of one other thing we put in the bin, and there is good reason for that. I thought it would be such a great idea to try marshmallows in the bin. Grant is no fool. He started eating them! By the hand fulls! He knew it was food and there was no telling him not to eat it. He knew better, and so instead of going to battle, I just took them away. Why would he play with food that tastes good?
I am so glad I started Grant with his own sensory bin. He can play with it for a good 20 minutes without getting up! It is quickly becoming a favorite activity of his.