Frog Pond Sensory Bin

- April 18, 2019

I haven't written about sensory bins in a long time. They're one of my kids' favorite learning activity and the thing they ask for most often. Usually, we do something quick and don't even take pictures of them, so they never make it into a blog post or on social media. I'm trying to be better at both (wink).

Yesterday, I debuted Frog Letter Cards for use with a salt writing tray, but I also wanted to show how great they would be in a pond sensory bin! For this bin, I used a bunch of our dyed rice to make a colorful pond.

How to Dye Rice

To dye rice, add an amount of rice in a zip top bag. I use a sandwich size bag and add 1/4 cup to 1 cup of rice. To your rice, add a bit of food coloring, paint, or some other dye and a tiny bit of rubbing alcohol. Seal the bag and squish the contents around until the rice is colored. Dump the rice onto a cookie sheet in a thin layer to dry. After an hour or so, the rice should be safe to handle without dying your hands. Mix colors after their dried or leave the separate for the kids to mix. When they're done, store in a zip top bag.

I like to add interesting objects to my sensory bin to promote discovery and learning. I already mentioned how good the Lilypad Letter Cards are for encouraging spelling practice and pretend play. I also highly recommend the Safari Ltd Frog Life Cycle set of tadpole and frog figurines for exploring metamorphosis. It's also fun to add some tools like these scoopers, which also help train and strengthen hands for scissor work.

More Ideas for a Frog Pond Sensory Bin