My preschool students, my babysitting kiddos, and Engineer all enjoyed this coffee and flower sensory bin! A sensory bin with flowers and pretend dirt isn’t a new concept by any means, but all of my kiddos enjoyed our little “twist” on it. To set up this sensory play experience, I set out play dough, fake flowers, and a tub of “dirt” (coffee beans mixed with black beans). All of these were materials I had on-hand — from previous play or my kitchen cabinets.
Both at home and at school, the children came right over to check out the sensory bin. A few asked me what I was doing, but most of them delved right in! I didn’t give an explanation beyond, “here are some things I thought you might like to play with”. I wanted to see what the children would do without any preconceived notions.
I rather enjoyed sitting back and just observing the kids as they played.
- I saw children just playing with the play dough, squishing it in their hands.
- Some of the children pushed the flowers directly into the play dough.
- A few children set about adding beans to the play dough in a detailed manner, one-by-one.
- Still others took lumps of play dough and rolled the play dough in the beans.
- Quite a few of the kiddos enjoyed placing their hands and arms in the bin of beans over and over again.
I definitely had fun listening to the children as they explored the materials, too.
- “I don’t like how this smells! It’s yucky!”
- “Why do these beans look different than the other beans?”
- “Oh, my mommy drinks coffee in the mornings.”
- “I’m making a giant flower in the play dough.”
- “Look, it’s an alligator!”
- “Hey, listen while I pour them all out!”
Even though this was an incredibly simple activity, I loved it for a variety of reasons. The kids all had fun with the coffee and flower bin, which is the most important reason to me. 🙂 Beyond that, it allowed them to explore using their eyes, their hands, their noses, and their ears. The bin included different textures, especially when comparing the play dough and the beans. What about you? Have you done something like this with your kids before? How did they like it?
If you’re interested in more flower ideas, please check out my Flowers & Plants Pinterest Board.
Shared at Empty Your Archive Party, Creative Learning, Link & Learn, The Kids Co-op, Crayon Freckles’ 60+ Sensory Bin Ideas for Preschoolers, Discover & Explore: Flowers
Oh this looks lovely!
I would love for you to link up this – and your other sensory play posts – at the Sensory Play link up on Empty Your Archive, Alice @ Mums Make Lists x
Hi Alice — thanks so much for the invite. I’ll be popping by shortly. We had a ton of fun with this one. I loved the smell of the coffee beans, while the kiddos seemed to enjoy the textures the best.
What fun! We’ve never done a bean based sensory bin before but I’d love to give one like this a try. Love the quotes from the kids. I’m always fascinated by what they say while discovering new things.
Thanks so much, Anna! I’ve done a variety of bean-based sensory bins both in the classroom and at home. Kiddos almost always seem to have a blast with them! 🙂 Even if it’s just putting their hands in the beans and feeling the textures. If you do any, I’d love to hear how it goes. 🙂
What a great idea! I wish we had that much coffee available ha ha I guess any other bean would do!
Oh Varya, you crack me up! Yes, I am sure any other bean would do. I just added the coffee for the scent. 🙂 I’m having fun reading up on your new site.
Made this this week!!! Thanks for the idea <3 Thanks for linking up at One Organic Mama! Hope to see you back on Thursday morning!
Oh, I love to hear back from others who have tried out ideas from Fun-A-Day! Thanks so much for leaving such a sweet comment, Kristin! Yes, I definitely plan on coming by the pin it party again this week. :0
i love this idea1 so bright and colorful. i bet it smelled good too! i’d love it if you linked it up to my sensory bin link-up! right now, there are over 60 great resources, i’d love for this to be one of them! http://www.crayonfreckles.com/2013/05/9-sensory-bin-ideas-for-preschoolers.html
Thanks — I would LOVE to link it up over there. Yes, it smelled yummy! I loved the way the browns of the beans set off the colors as well. We actually adapted it a little bit for my preschool class today — black beans, coffee beans, and hidden pompom flowers the kids had to find with chopsticks and tweezers. Can’t wait to check out the other bins, too!
I usually do mine with dirt, fake flowers, small flower pots and small shovels. I like your idea of using the beans though. It will be much easier to clean up.
I love using dirt, too. But I like taking the dirt bins outside if possible. The coffee beans are definitely easier for the kids to clean up!