Valentine’s Sensory Bin

 

I have to admit, I had fun looking back on Valentine’s Day two years ago with little toddler E yesterday {check out where I wrote about what we did back then: Valentine’s Tree for Toddlers} – and I found another fun activity that I’d never posted about: This simple rice-based Valentine’s sensory bin! I included photos of E’s loved ones and cut them into hearts – she loved it! And there’s a super cute video of her you don’t want to miss!

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

(E was 2 years and 3 months old.)

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Materials for our Valentine’s Sensory Bin:

  • Pink rice.
  • Foam heart shapes.
  • Felt heart shapes.
  • Heart confetti.
  • Heart hair clips.
  • Glass hearts.
  • Real rose bud.
  • Pink plastic bowl.
  • Red ribbon.
  • Heart-shaped photos of family members {including cats 😉 }.
  • Melted beads hearts we made some time before. {Another thing from two years ago I should really write a post about one of these days 😉 }
  • Heart-shaped picture frame.
  • Cut-up red feather boa.
  • Heart-shaped chocolate container {saved from recycling}.
  • Assorted kitchen tools and containers.
  • Sensory bin.

 

 

 

I started this Valentine’s sensory bin with a layer of rice that I’d dyed pink, then arranged most of the other items on top.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

When everything was in place, I covered it all with a layer of red feathers from a cut-up feather boa.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

E immediately tipped the sensory bin over on its side {I don’t blame her, the sides were really too high for her} and started digging.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

She got a kick out of the hair clips and tried to put them into her hair.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

After trying for a while, she asked me to help her and proudly wore her heart hair clips the rest of the day 🙂

She spent a lot of time picking up hands full of rice and whatever else she happened to grab to drop it into her containers, or dig through it for goodies.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

She was honestly delighted with much of what she found.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

The chocolate container was really genius, she put rice in there, dumped it out again,

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

then put all the different kinds of hearts in there, took them out again, put them back, etc.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

But her favorite part were definitely the family photos.

Check out this to-die-for video of her checking out some of the photos and looking for one of of Opa <3 {To translate a bit: AMO = Oma/Grandma, APO = Opa/Grandpa, KA = cat}

 

 

This Valentine’s sensory bin activity got a bit messy because E ended up with most of the contents on the table and some of them on the floor – again, that was mostly my fault for using a sensory bin that was too high.

But hey, it gave her a chance to wear the sensory bin like a hat, which made her giggle 😉 

 Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

And in the end, we cleaned up together. The stuff on the table went back into the sensory bin, and the rice and feathers on the floor were vacuumed up easily.

 

Simple rice-based Valentine's sensory bin with photos of loved ones for toddlers!

 

 

 

Have your kids tried a Valentine’s sensory bin? What was their favorite part? Write a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

 

 

 

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