Spring Sensory Bin

When those first hints of green touch the trees, and the daffodils start poking through, you know it’s spring. There’s something about the air in spring that smells a little sweeter. Spring is a feast for the senses, so celebrate spring with a spring sensory bin!

The smell of awakening earth, the sound of birdsong, the feel of soft breezes and sticky sap are all reminders of the newness of spring. It’s a riot of sights, sounds, smells and things to taste and feel. Spring is messy, noisy and wild.

Use this fun sensory bin to get the kids all excited about Spring! Such a fun and simple way to shake off winter and the cold weather and bring on the nicer temps!

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Spring Sensory Bin

The kids will love being able to dig their hands in this sensory bin.

And children love to indulge in sensory exploration. Here’s a quick, easy, and relatively clean way to let your kids explore spring, even if the weather outside doesn’t cooperate.

You can easily set this up almost anywhere that you want and let the kids dig around and play.

Recommended Spring Books for Kids

Start your spring exploration with a good story. Cuddle up with your kids and let them get into spring with some of our favorite spring stories and resources. Add a few of your own too!

Make certain that you take the time to sit down and read with your child. So many great memories are created by reading and these spring books are the perfect place to start.

I’m a big believer in the fact that reading is a huge building block to even more learning and communication skills.

Spring is Here! A Children’s Picture Book About Spring Lola Plants a Garden (Lola Reads)Spring is Here: A Bear and Mole Story Everything Spring (Picture the Seasons)And Then It’s Spring (Booklist Editor’s Choice. Books for Youth (Awards))Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

Your spring sensory bin doesn’t take a lot of things to create. All it takes a few flowers, bugs, some grass, and maybe a bird or two.

Of course, don’t use the real thing here. Some paper-based fake grass, such as the kind used in Easter baskets, will give you the base to your sensory bin. You could also use plastic, or if you like, dried grass. Though, if you do use dried grass, be careful. It will crumble easily, and may turn into dust — and that can cause an allergic reaction.

Put it all into your plastic container — preferably one with a resealable lid, so that you can save it for later.

Then decorate your grass with your flowers. Remove the flowers from their plastic stems, and sprinkle the flowers over the grass. Bright colors are best, but you don’t have to use just one color. Experiment with different colors.

sensory bin for spring with grass and flowers

Now you can add in your spring creatures. Use a variety of sizes and creatures, but don’t overwhelm your bin with too many different kinds. Think spring when choosing what you add.

I chose a bird, some dragonflies and butterflies. Other choices could be frogs, ladybugs, bumblebees and bunnies.

Recommended Spring Kits for Kids

Spring is a great time to do some colorful crafts. These spring kits are made for kids who want to explore in the garden or stay indoors, inspired to make another artwork.

Coola Spring Craft Kit for Kids – Art and Craft DIY Early Educational Toys Suitable for Girls & Boys Pack 6 Crayola Model Magic Spring Craft Kit, Chick, Easter Basket Stuffer, Gift for Kids Made By Me Build & Paint Your Own Wooden Bird House, DIY Birdhouse Making Kit 9 Pieces Spring Summer Suncatcher Kit, Butterfly Suncatchers Tissue Paper Butterfly Suncatchers Craft 3-Pack Bird Feeders for Kids Arts and Crafts Kit DIY Kids Crafts STEM Learning Outdoor Activities Crafts for Boys and Girls for 3 4 5 6 7 8 Innorock Kids Flower Planting Growing Kit – Kids Gardening Plant and Paint Arts Crafts Set

Consider the size of your bin when adding in your creatures. Make sure you give your children room to play! Also, try to choose animals and insects with different colors. I chose white butterflies and pink dragonflies to contrast with my yellow bird and flowers.

The last thing to do is to let your children play in their new sensory bin. Give them a magnifying glass to help them explore. They can rustle the grass to listen to the sound it makes, and feel the softness of the petals. And you can help them make their animals move.

Sensory bins can be so much fun! If your children beg for more sensory exploration, check out some of my other sensory bin tutorials below.

The kids are going to have so much fun with this Spring Sensory Bin!