Learning Through Play: 30 Awesome Sensory Bins

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One of the biggest hurdles that we have had with Nicholas is his aversion to different textures. Not only in his clothing as far as what he will and won’t wear, but in everything from what he will play with to what he will eat.

For the longest time, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get this child to eat anything other than solid, dry foods (i.e. plain toast, crackers, etc.). After we received his diagnosis of Sensory Process Disorder, it all started to make sense. He wouldn’t eat anything else because he didn’t like the texture. He didn’t like the feeling on his hands or in his mouth.

On of the suggestions given to me by his occupational therapist when he was diagnosed was to let him play with different textures. Let him explore at his own pace before we expected him to actually eat anything slimy or sticky.

Up to this point we had occasionally utilized sensory play but playing with the same thing day after day can get really boring, really fast.

And so started my obsessive search for new sensory bins!

We have found and tried so many and they have become a lifesaver for us! We’ve been using them for a while now and slowly but surely, he is starting to like the idea of trying new foods. he’s not afraid to touch these new items and every once in a while, they make it all the way to his mouth.

So, on the off chance that you’re here because you happen to be looking for a few new ideas yourself, I thought I’d round up some of our favorite sensory bins found around the web. (These are ones that we have tried and Nicholas has loved!)

**As with all toddler activities, you just need to make sure that they are supervised and that the majority of these items don’t find their way into little mouths.**