Buddy has always loved sensory bins, and it had been awhile since we’ve done one. So when I saw the idea for a sensory bin with animals and letters on Happy Toddler Playtime’s blog, I was excited to do it. I was especially excited that I already had all of the necessary materials: black beans, animals, and magnetic letters.
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I started by pulling out some of Buddy’s small animals. Some of them were from this Jungle Animal Toob, and some were from a farm set from the dollar store. Once I had pulled out the animals I wanted to use, I found the capital and lowercase letter for each animal. My letters are from this magnetic letter set. I decided to use upper and lowercase letters to give Buddy a chance to match both types of letters.
When I made the sensory bin, I buried all the animals and letters in black beans. This activity would have also been great in a rice bin, but I think black beans are easier to clean up. I told Buddy he had to find all of the animals and feed them with both the upper and lowercase letter that matches the first letter of the animal’s name.
Buddy had a great time digging in the beans and finding the letters. He didn’t have any trouble figuring out which letter each animal needed to eat. Buddy did have a little difficulty with the difference between C and S and lowercase p, b, and d. I was glad to give him a chance to practice these letters in a fun way.
After we finished with the letters and animals, Buddy asked me to pull out his mini construction trucks. Two years later, the construction sensory bin remains his favorite! (Read more about it here.) He did add a couple of the animals to help him drive the trucks.
Buddy played in the animal alphabet sensory bin and then the construction bin for almost two hours!! And then, he only stopped because it was time for dinner. It was a really great way to practice letters and have a lot of fun.
Do you have any other fun sensory bin ideas? Please share in the comments.
