One of my favorite ways to work on several skill areas at once is with a sensory bin. Today, I’ve got a really fun and creative sensory bin idea to use during the Fall months, perfect for your occupational therapy sessions. This apple pie sensory bin is not only a cute seasonal apple activity that is great for therapy, but it’s a fantastic tool for working on fine motor and sensory motor skills. The best part is that most of the materials can be found easily, and if not, you can substitute items with things you already have.
All you need is oats, red and green craft pom poms, and a few other materials to make this apple pie sensory bin.
Apple Pie Sensory Bin
How awesome does this apple pie sensory bin look? I bet you’re ready to dive in and play with it yourself!
Let’s explore why this sensory bin is such a great addition to therapy this Fall! Also be sure to check out our Fall occupational therapy activities for more ideas.
We like using silicone cupcake liners to pick up and sort sensory bin materials because it encourages a tripod grasp and intrinsic muscle strength in the hands when putting items into the small container size.
What is an Apple Pie Sensory Bin?
An apple pie sensory bin is a fun, Fall-themed sensory activity for kids. It’s a perfect pretend play opportunity where children can engage their senses while pretending to make an apple pie.
Our apple pie sensory bin incorporates the scents of cinnamon, and the visual appeal of red and green “apples” (pom poms), creating a fun and engaging activity for this time of year! I love this for sensory input with kids!
Benefits of Using an Apple Pie Sensory Bin in OT Sessions
This sensory bin is a fantastic way to bring Fall fun into therapy sessions. You can incorporate various textures, scents, and tools to support sensory processing and fine motor skill development. The apple pie theme can carry you through the Fall season from September through November!
I love using sensory bins because they allow for specific skill targeting. You can easily use this sensory bin with different kids on your caseload, and the materials are inexpensive.
Using oats as a base is a great option because they are affordable, easy to replace, and can be used across multiple sessions. You can add handwashing as an activity before and after therapy, integrating functional life skills into the activity. This sensory bin can even be used with small groups to encourage social interaction.
Sort the craft pom poms into the cupcake liner.
Why this Apple Pie Sensory Bin Works
Sensory bins are great for addressing a variety of skills. You can basically make the sensory bin work for the needs you need to target for the kids on your caseload.
- In this apple pie sensory bin, you can use tweezers or tongs to work on fine motor skills, hand strength and finger strengthening, and eye hand coordination. This type of activity is a great way to develop fine motor skills and hand strength through play!
- Scoops and spoons help practice life skills, like holding utensils and scooping or pouring.
- You can color sort the red and green pom poms (representing apples) to target visual motor skills.
- You can also hide objects in the oats to work on visual closure and visual figure ground skills. Kids love the hide and seek aspect of uncovering hidden objects in sensory bins. I love to use letter cards, too. We have apple letter and number cards in The OT Toolbox that are a great tool for this!
- Plus, there’s the sensory component. Oats offer a dry tactile experience, which can be either alerting or calming, depending on the child. Playing with this bin can support sensory needs impacting tactile defensiveness while also helping children become more comfortable with textures.
For kids who are sensitive to tactile input, this can be a helpful way to gradually introduce them to new textures. Some children may dive right into the oats, while others will need encouragement to touch them. This can be a wonderful opportunity to work on tactile discrimination and sensory tolerance.
Use tongs to pick up the cinnamon sticks and craft pom poms. Then, use the craft pom poms and felt strips to make a mini apple pie.
Fine Motor Skill Support- How to Use the Apple Pie Sensory Bin
One of the main goals of this apple pie sensory bin is to improve fine motor skills. The activity encourages scooping, pouring, and manipulating small objects like the pom poms and felt strips.
Oats are a great sensory material for practicing pouring, which is a functional life skill needed for tasks like pouring milk or cereal. The act of scooping oats and using tweezers to pick up pom poms is great for eye-hand coordination, too.
You can use the materials and challenge your kids to pick up a certain number of craft pom poms in a given time. Add a timer or roll a dice and ask them to use the tweezers to pick up that number of craft pom poms and place them into the silicone cupcake liner (affiliate link). There’s a lot of ways you can play with this one sensory bin.
Mindfulness in Sensory Play
Sensory bins like this one can also promote mindfulness. A sensory bin is a great self regulation strategy for supporting sensory needs.
When kids are focused on finding and manipulating items in the bin, they tend to calm down and focus. The sensory input helps regulate their bodies while keeping them engaged in play.
This apple pie sensory bin uses just a few materials.
Apple Pie Sensory Bin Materials
Here are the materials we used for our apple pie sensory bin:
- Oats
- Red and green craft pom poms– Amazon affiliate link (as “apples”) Here are more craft pom pom activities!
- Colored silicone cupcake liners (Amazon affiliate link) for sorting. Using the silicone cupcake liners are nice because they are more sturdy and you can reuse them over and over again.
- Cinnamon sticks (for scent)
- Tweezers or tongs
- Felt pieces cut into strips (for pretend pie crust)
- Low tray or container
Feel free to adapt or substitute materials to fit what you have on hand or to meet the specific needs of your clients.
I like using a low tray to hold the sensory bin materials because it allows kids to play while keeping the materials inside the bin.
How to Set Up the Apple Pie Sensory Bin
1. Prepare your tray or bin by pouring in the oats. (Kids can help to set this up and work on pouring and scooping skills, too!)
2. Add the red and green pom poms, cinnamon sticks, and felt strips.
3. Provide tools like tweezers or tongs for picking up the pom poms, and silicone cupcake liners (affiliate link) for sorting.
4. Let the children explore the materials, build their “apple pie,” and engage in pretend play.
The setup is simple, but the benefits are extensive!
This is such an easy sensory bin to make, and kids love it during the Fall months.
Tips for Supporting Fine Motor Skills
To target specific fine motor needs, you can adapt the sensory bin by adjusting the tools and materials. For example:
- Use different sizes of tweezers or tongs based on the child’s skill level.
- Provide smaller or larger pom poms for different levels of difficulty.
- Use a variety of scoops to adjust the challenge of picking up and pouring oats.
We like to use an apple pie sensory bin and use it over and over again throughout the Fall.
Variations for the Apple Pie Sensory Bin
You can easily modify this activity for various ages and abilities. For example, larger tweezers or scoops might be appropriate for younger children, while smaller tools could challenge older kids. You can even add letters or numbers hidden in the bin to encourage literacy skills.
Safety Tips when using an Apple Pie Sensory Bin in OT
Always consider the child’s safety and abilities when using a sensory bin. Some kids may try to put small items, like pom poms, in their mouths, or throw materials. For those children, you may need to modify the bin, such as using larger manipulatives or skipping small tools altogether. Supervision is key during sensory play, especially with small or scented items like cinnamon sticks.
Choking Hazard- This, and all sensory bins should be designed with the age of the children in mind. Many items typically used in sensory bins can pose a choking risk for babies and toddlers, and other ages of children who may put things in their mouth due to cognition or sensory need. For children under three and those individuals with cognition or sensory needs, be sure to use larger, safe items that don’t have small parts and are safe if mouthed or chewed on.
Allergies- Some children with allergies may also react to creams or products scented with nut oils. Additionally, children can have allergies to environmental materials like cinnamon, oats, or other common sensory materials like grass or leaves. To avoid any reactions, ensure that none of these allergens are included in your sensory bins. If using this apple sensory bin with your students, double and triple check allergies beforehand.
Apple Pie Sensory Bin FAQ
What age is this sensory bin appropriate for?
This sensory bin can be adapted for a wide range of ages, from toddlers to school-aged children, by modifying the materials and tools used.
How do you minimize the mess with this apple sensory bin?
You can minimize the mess by placing the sensory bin on a large plastic bag, shower curtain liner, or mat on a floor that’s easy to clean. Another option is to take the sensory bin outside. Shower curtain liners are an affordable option and can be found at the dollar store.
If you want to give this apple pie sensory bin a try, go ahead and have fun with it! You can use it as part of your Fall therapy toolkit to engage kids in sensory play and support their fine motor skills.
This sensory bin goes really well with our Apple Therapy Kit. You can use the items in the kit in the sensory bin. We also have many other apple themed activates inside The OT Toolbox Membership Club.
Click here to purchase a copy of The Apple Therapy Kit.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
