Monkeying Around: Our First Sensory Bin

I have been researching sensory bins for quite some time, but really wasn't sure how it would go over with my little monkeys and their need for high energy activities.  Today I thought, why not? It definitely wasn't a well thought out plan. I had two shoe sized plastic bins with lids laying around, larger tubs would have been better, but this is what I had on hand.  I also had a bag of quick oats and since my one year old would be playing with it I thought that oats would be safest if he decided to eat some.  Next I grabbed some old kitchen utensils and two trucks.  Lastly, I laid down an old sheet that we normally use for play dough and finger painting. That was it! So easy and they were entertained for about thirty minutes.  They actually would have played longer, but it was getting close to my one year's morning nap.

The clean up was easy since I put the sheet down ahead of time.  Overall, it was a fun activity and surprisingly not too messy.  Next time I will plan more of a theme and we might try it with rice.