We are so excited to share our first Spring activity of the year! This winter has been a loooong one! (and with it still being frigidly cold out side with inches of snow on the ground…the actual first signs of Spring seem a long way off!)
This Spring Sensory Water Bin is part of the All Things Kids bloggers Spring Sensory Play Date Activities series during the month of March. We put this water bin together to celebrate Spring and friends. What better way to kick off warmth and sunshine with a playdate with friends. When you get a few toddler or preschool-aged friends together, what better way to play than with sensory play activities?
Spring Sensory Water Bin
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RELATED READ: Simple Spring Sensory
We are big fans of water bins for play and this one was no different! We started with a bin of water scented with Pomegranate Body Scrub
. Just a little bit of the bath salts were all we needed to scent the water with a nice Spring fresh scent. Any scented bath salts (or body wash/bubble bath) would work. We just wanted to get a fresh scent and the rose colored water.
. Just a little bit of the bath salts were all we needed to scent the water with a nice Spring fresh scent. Any scented bath salts (or body wash/bubble bath) would work. We just wanted to get a fresh scent and the rose colored water.
You’ll want to watch smaller children who are playing with this water bin very closely. You don’t want any tastes of the scented water, and especially if salts are being used! Use your best judgment and if there is a concern, eliminate the scented portion of this activity. Regular water would work fin, or even a few drops of food coloring, if you want to achieve the colored part of the water bin.
I added a few foam butterfly crafting sheets
and foam tulip crafting sheets to the water bin and a handful of foam Spring stickers
. When these foam sheets and stickers get wet, they can stick to the foam and plastic plates very easily. They can be removed and placed again and again without difficulty.
and foam tulip crafting sheets to the water bin and a handful of foam Spring stickers
. When these foam sheets and stickers get wet, they can stick to the foam and plastic plates very easily. They can be removed and placed again and again without difficulty.
Placing these foam stickers on the large foam sheets is a great way to practice tip to tip grasp and fine motor skills. baby Girl had a hard time understanding that the sticker’s backs would not peel off once they were wet, but she got the hang of just placing the foam shapes in different places once I showed her.
Scooping up the floating shapes from the scented water was so much fun and a great way to practice visual scanning and eye-hand coordination, too. We didn’t add any scoops to this activity, but a few kitchen utensils like large spoons or an ice cream scoop would be a fun way to further extend this sensory water bin.
Baby Girl just enjoyed getting her hands in the water and grabbing up the shapes. Sensory play at it’s finest!
We used our plastic plates
to sort and play with the foam stickers. The wet stickers stuck nicely to the plastic plates, too.
to sort and play with the foam stickers. The wet stickers stuck nicely to the plastic plates, too.
What is water play without a little scooping and transferring? A couple of small bowls and a turkey baster were perfect for more fine motor play in our Spring water bin.
Using the turkey baster to transfer scented water not only stimulates the senses, but works on gross hand grasp. What a great fine motor strengthening tool the turkey baster is!
Hopefully this is inspiration for your next play date. If you’re worried about the mess, you could set this up in a small baby pool or in a bath tub. If you’re in warmer climates than we are, take it outside. I know we will be re-doing this activity once the weather turns and we can get outside!
Let us know if you do this Spring Sensory Water bin or something like it. We would love to hear about it or see pictures. Just stop by our Facebook page and share your fun with us!
Be sure to catch all of the other Spring Sensory Play Date Activities being posted this week over at our bloggy friend’s sites:
Do you have a Spring Sensory activity to share? Link it up all month long below. we will be pinning to the All Things Kids Pinterest board and creating a round-up of fun Spring Sensory Play Date Activities at the end of the month. We would love to feature YOU!
