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Blue Kinetic Sand, airplane figurines, and Cotton Ball Sensory Bin FIllers

Don’t Miss Out! 18 Spring Sensory Bins to Start Creating Now

One of my favorite days of the year is that first warm, sunny day after weeks of gray skies and chilly weather. Seeing daffodils pop up and lilac buds start to bloom fills me with hope for the sunny days ahead. I love capturing that joy with spring sensory bins! They offer endless opportunities for learning and play, but let’s be honest—setting them up with purpose can feel overwhelming in the busyness of life. So, I’ve done the hard part for you! These 18 spring sensory bin ideas come with everything you need—base ideas, fun add-ins, tools, ways to play, and even book pairings to bring the joy of spring to life.

Safety First

Safety and supervision are key when using sensory bins to create a fun and enriching experience for your child(ren). Always watch play closely, especially when small objects like beads, buttons, or pompoms are included, as they can pose choking hazards. Choose materials appropriate for your child’s age and developmental stage, avoiding anything that might cause allergies or skin irritation. Encourage hands-on exploration rather than mouthing items, and reinforce safe play habits. Use sensory bins at your discretion, considering individual needs and safety precautions, and always inspect materials for any sharp edges or damage before play.

Spring Sensory Bins and Child Development

If you’re new to my blog, welcome! I’d love to share how spring-themed sensory bins beautifully reflect the heart of Wild & Precious Learning. These hands-on experiences inspire curiosity, nurture early language skills, and playfully introduce concepts. They also reinforce my core belief that children learn best through joyful, engaging play. I hope you and your little ones find endless joy in purposeful play and discovery!

Before You Start with Spring Sensory Bins

When putting together your spring sensory bin, keep flexibility in mind! Use materials you already have or choose ones that fit your child’s interests. The lists below offer ideas for bases, add-ins, and tools—mix, match, or swap items as needed to create a customized experience.

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1. Flower Spring Sensory Bin

A flower spring sensory bin is a fun, hands-on activity that encourages creative exploration, imaginative play, and learning through sensory experiences. The possibilities are endless—from using a “dirt” base sprinkled with flowers to filling the bin entirely with blooms or even water with floating or frozen flower cubes.

Base Ideas:   

  • Commercial play dirt, real dirt. or DIY play dirt
  • Brown rice
  • Brown beans
  • Water

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Real or fake flowers (this could also be your base)
  • Flowers frozen in ice

Tool Ideas:  

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Children can role-play as flower shop owners or florists. Encourage pretend play by arranging flowers into vases. This is a great opportunity to practice social skills.
  2. This sensory bin provides all sorts of opportunities for imaginative play and creativity. Perhaps they are making “flower soup,” or freeing flowers from ice blocks to save the world from a never-ending winter (a la Frozen). 
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops, cups, and bowls to explore concepts of capacity, measurement, and volume as kids scoop and dump the dirt, water, or flowers.
  2. Explore the concept of cause and effect by using warm water to melt the ice around the frozen flowers.
  3. Examine the parts of flowers by cutting them apart or pulling petals from stems, enhancing their understanding of plant biology.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles using tweezers or tongs to pick up flowers. 
  2. Use safety scissors to cut flowers apart, refining hand-eye coordination and fine motor control.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce parts of a flower: stem, petal, pollen.
  2. Talking Point: What happens when you put the hot water on the ice?
  3. Book Recommendations:

2. Egg Spring Sensory Bin

Ready for an egg-cellent sensory bin? Try this egg spring sensory bin featuring a base of water, sand, beans, or rice, filled with plastic eggs. It’s engaging, easy to set up, impactful, and cost-efficient. What more could you want?

Base Ideas:   

  • Water
  • Sand
  • Bean
  • Rice

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Plastic Eggs
  • Plastic baby animal bath toys

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers
  • Baster, squeeze bottle, syringe, or pipette
  • Funnel
  • Colander
  • Beakers and flasks

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Roleplay farmers (or kids on Easter!) collecting eggs.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use plastic eggs to explore capacity and measurement by filling them with water, sand, or other materials.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Practice fine motor skills by having kids open and close the plastic eggs.
  2. Use basters, syringes, or pipettes to add water to the eggs.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce egg-cellent vocabulary words: hatch and shell.
  2. Talking Point: What animals lay eggs?
  3. Book Recommendations:

3. Pond Spring Sensory Bin

Ponds come alive in the spring as animal life awakens from the cold winter. Celebrate the return of these creatures with a Pond Spring Sensory Bin!

Base Ideas:   

  • Water

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers
  • Baster, squeeze bottle, syringe, or pipette
  • Funnel
  • Colander
  • Beakers and flasks

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage small-world pond play to help children imagine and explore life in a pond. They can create stories about frogs hopping on lily pads, turtles swimming, or dragonflies gliding.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore how much water they can hold, practicing concepts of volume and capacity.
  2. Explore ideas about the pond ecosystem
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Use tools like basters, squeeze bottles, and pipettes to move water, developing hand strength and coordination.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce pond related words: reptiles, amphibians, wetlands.
  2. Talking Point: What is a pond? How is it different than the ocean?
  3. Book Recommendations:

4. Bug Spring Sensory Bin

Bring creepy crawlies to life with a Bug Spring Sensory Bin! Ideal for budding entomologists, this interactive bin offers a fun way to explore the fascinating world of insects.

Base Ideas:   

  • Green crinkle paper (for grass)
  • Brown or green rice
  • Brown or green beans

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Magnifying glass
  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers
  • Baster, squeeze bottle, syringe, or pipette
  • Funnel
  • Colander
  • Beakers and flasks

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Build imagination with small-world bug play by letting kids create imaginary bug habitats or encourage your kids to pretend to be entomologists observing their “specimens.”
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Sort bugs by type or color and count how many there are.
  2. Explore insect features like antennae, wings, and legs using the magnifying glass.
  3. Use scoops and cups to practice measuring the sensory bin base materials.
  4. Experiment with magnifying with a magnifying glass.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up bugs and place them in containers.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce insect-related words: antennae, exoskeletons, and wings.
  2. Talking Point: What is the same about these bugs? What’s different?
  3. Book Recommendations:

5. Rainbow Spring Sensory Bin

There’s nothing more magical than rainbows—and nothing that kids adore more! Create a rainbow-themed sensory bin to bring endless joy to your little ones.

Base Ideas:   

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Cotton balls or white pompoms for clouds
  • Gold coins for the pot at the end of the rainbow

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

Creativity and Social Skills:  

  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement when scooping and dumping the materials.
  2. Introduce the order of the rainbow
  3. Sort the materials by color
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up materials
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
  2. Talking Point: How is a rainbow made?
  3. Book Recommendations:

6. Cloud Spring Sensory Bin

Kids love to daydream, and I love to encourage them to keep their heads in the clouds. Spark your child’s imagination with a cloud-themed sensory bin. What shapes will they create? What does that “cloud” look like? The possibilities are endless!

Base Ideas:   

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Cotton Balls

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage children to make shapes out of the cloud materials, such as animals or objects, fostering imaginative play.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement as children scoop and pour the cloud materials.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up cotton balls. 
  2. Improve dexterity and coordination while shaping cloud materials into specific shapes 
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce cloud-related vocabulary such as: fluffy, storm, rain, cumulus, and stratus.
  2. Talking Point: Can you make cloud shapes that match the ones in It Looked Like Spilt Milk?
  3. Book Recommendations:

7. Rain Spring Sensory Bin

Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day—we want to go outside and play! Can’t play in the rain? Bring the fun indoors with this rain-themed sensory bin! With both dry and wet options, you’re sure to find something that works for you.

Base Ideas:   

  • Water
  • Blue or white rice

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Colander
  • Baster, squeeze bottle, syringe, or pipette
  • Funnel
  • Beakers and flasks
  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by using the colanders and rice or water to make “rain.” Children can simulate storms, puddles, and even rain showers for imaginative storytelling.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement while scooping rice or water into different containers.
  2. If using rain, experiment with water flow, cause and effect, and discuss how rain is formed and its role in nature.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. If using water, strengthen hand muscles by squeezing water out with basters, squeeze bottle, syringes, and pipettes.
  2. If using rice, strengthen hand muscles by picking up rice with tweezers or tongs.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce rain-related vocabulary such as drip, puddle, storm, downpour, and sprinkle.
  2. Talking Point: How do plants and animals use rain?
  3. Book Recommendations:

8. Wind Spring Sensory Bin

This sensory bin offers a unique twist on traditional setups. Use a fan to blow the items around and challenge your child: Which objects will be carried away by the wind, and which will remain steadfast?

Base Ideas:   

  • Blue tissue papers
  • Blue lightweight fabric scraps
  • Blue streamers
  • Blue ribbons

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Mini fan

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by using the materials to create a “windstorm” or let children pretend they are controlling the wind.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement 
  2. Experiment with the mini fan to explore how wind affects different materials
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers and tongs to pick up tissue paper, fabric, and ribbons.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce wind-related vocabulary such as: breeze, gust, whirl, and flutter.
  2. Talking Point: What happens when the wind blows? Can you make the materials move faster or slower?
  3. Book Recommendations:

9. Green Spring Sensory Bin

It might not be easy being green, but making this green sensory bin is a breeze! Whether you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or embracing the vibrant greens of spring, this sensory bin is sure to be a hit.

Base Ideas:   

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Green art materials (pompoms, pipe cleaners, gems)
  • Fake greenery (leaves, moss, mini trees, shamrocks)

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers
  • Magnetic wand

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills: 
  1. Encourage pretend play by creating a “green garden” or “green soup.”
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement while pouring and transferring materials.
  2. Introduce magnetism by using magnet wands to pick up pipe cleaners and discover which materials are magnetic.
  3. Count and sort green objects by size, shape, or texture.
  4. Sort and arrange green objects by shade or type to create patterns and designs.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up small materials like pompoms, gems, and lentils.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce shades of green vocabulary such as: emerald, forest, olive, and teal.
  2. Talking Point: What things are green?
  3. Book Recommendations:

10. St. Patrick’s Day Spring Sensory Bin

Feeling lucky? Try this St. Patrick’s-themed sensory bin! While your kids have a blast digging for gold and exploring colorful treasures, you might just get a chance to enjoy your coffee while it’s still warm!

Base Ideas:   

  • Gold painted beans
  • Gold or green kinetic sand

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers
  • Magnetic wand

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by searching for hidden treasure, making wishes with shamrocks, or acting as leprechauns collecting gold.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  2. Count and sort gold coins by size, color, or shape.
  3. Create rainbow patterns with pompoms
  4. Introduce magnetism by using magnet wands to pick up pipe cleaners.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up materials.
  2. Practice scooping and transferring items to mini pots.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce St. Patrick’s Day words such as: leprechaun, shamrock, rainbow, gold, treasure, luck, and pot of gold.
  2. Talking Point: What would you do if you found a pot of gold?
  3. Book Recommendations: 

11. Butterfly Spring Sensory Bin

Spring just wouldn’t be the same without butterflies! In this fun sensory bin, kids can explore the butterfly life cycle from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis, and finally, to a gorgeous butterfly. It’s a great way to get them excited about nature and how things change.

Base Ideas:   

  • Rotini pasta (caterpillars)
  • Bow tie pasta (butterflies)
  • Large shell pasta (chrysalises)

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers  

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage small-world play by using rotini pasta as caterpillars, large shell pasta as cocoons, and bowtie pasta as butterflies.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  2. Sort and sequence the pasta pieces to represent the butterfly life cycle.
  3. Count how many butterflies “hatch” from their chrysalises.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up the pasta pieces.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce butterfly-related words such as: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly, metamorphosis, and pupa.
  2. Talking Point: Tell me the steps of the butterfly life cycle.
  3. Book Recommendations:

13. Muddy Worms Spring Sensory Bin

Kids love worm weather. They enjoy watching worms slither along the pavement, and they love splashing in muddy puddles when it rains in the spring. This sensory bin brings that outdoor fun indoors!

Base Ideas:   

  • DIY Brown Ooblek (for a slimy, muddy texture)
  • Commercial or DIY play dirt

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Small shovel and bucket/pail
  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by digging for worms and acting as little gardeners or scientists.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  2. Count and compare the lengths of different worms.
  • Fine Motor Skills:
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up worms.
  2. Practice squeezing and rolling “worms” with ooblek for extra fine motor practice.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce worm and mud-related words such as: soil, squishy, wiggly, compost, tunnel, wriggle, and burrow.
  2. Talking Point: How do worms help the earth?
  3. Book Recommendations:
Spring Sensory Bin March Madness with black beans orange puffballs and cups decorated as basketball hoops

14. March Madness Spring Sensory Bin

We’re playing basketball. Although basketball might not be what you expect in spring, what’s spring without a little March madness? Give this unique spring sensory bin a try!

Base Ideas:   

  • Black beans (to resemble the court)

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by making baskets and acting as players, coaches, or announcers.
  2. Set up a mini “game” and cheer each other on for teamwork and sportsmanship.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  2. Count how many “basketballs” make it into the hoop.
  3. Experiment with ideas of force and distance—does the ball go farther with a gentle toss or a stronger push?
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up pompoms and drop them into the basket.
  2. Improve hand-eye coordination by aiming and tossing the pompoms into the hoop.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce basketball words such as: dribble, hoop, dunk, pass, and shoot.
  2. Talking Point: Is it easier to make the basket when you are closer or farther away.
  3. Book Recommendations:

15. Seeds Sensory Bin

No spring is complete without seeds, those tiny little wonders bursting with promise! Try this spring sensory bin and watch as seeds spark creativity and wonder.

Base Ideas:   

  • Seeds

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Plant pots
  • Brown crinkle paper (to represent soil)

Tool Ideas:  

  • Small shovel and bucket/pail
  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by planting seeds, arranging them in pots, and pretending to care for them like real gardeners.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  2. Sort and count seeds by size, color, or type.
  3. Explore the life cycle of a plant and how seeds grow into flowers, fruits, or vegetables.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up seeds and place them in pots.
  2. Practice pouring seeds carefully into different containers to improve coordination.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce seed words such as: soil, germinate, sprout, bloom, and harvest.
  2. Talking Point: What do seeds need to grow? Talk about different types of seeds and what they grow into.
  3. Book Recommendations:
Spring Sensory Bin with blue kinetic sand white cotton ball clouds and plane toys.

16. Flying into Spring Sensory Bin

As many people use spring break to fly to warmer, relaxing destinations, this sensory bin offers a fun way to connect play with the excitement of upcoming flights. It’s a playful opportunity to spark conversations about travel and make learning about flying engaging and memorable.

Base Ideas:   

  • Blue kinetic sand or rice (to represent the sky)

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by flying airplanes through the “clouds” or acting as pilots, passengers, or air traffic controllers.
  2. Set up an imaginary airport or runway for added role-playing fun.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up and “fly” airplane toys.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce flying-related vocabulary such as: pilot, airplane, jet, hot air balloon, helicopter, airport, takeoff, and landing.
  2. Talking Point: Where do you want to fly?
  3. Book Recommendations:

17. Jack and the Beanstalk Spring Sensory Bin

In spring, we talk about bean plants and often plant our own! This Jack and the Beanstalk-themed sensory bin adds a fun twist with green plants and a playful goose, making the perfect spring connections to the classic tale.

Base Ideas:   

  • Beans

Secondary Item Ideas:

  • Painted green paper towel tubes or green pool noodle cut down to fit
  • Pretend gold coins
  • Cotton ball “clouds”
  • Golden plastic easter eggs
  • Toy goose or cow
  • Measuring cubes

Tool Ideas:  

  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play by retelling Jack and the Beanstalk, acting out scenes, or making up new endings.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity and measurement.
  2. Count the coins or golden eggs and compare the amounts.
  3. Measure the “beanstalk” with cubes
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up the coins, eggs, or beans.
  2. Stack the “beanstalk” pieces to build fine motor coordination.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce Jack and the Beanstalk vocabulary such as: giant, beanstalk, magic, treasure, gold, castle, climb, and adventure.
  2. Talking Point: If you had magic beans, what would you want them to grow into?
  3. Book Recommendations:
play vegetables and beans as spring sensory bin fillers

18. Vegetable Garden Spring Sensory Bin

Experience the magic of spring with our Vegetable Garden Sensory Bin. It’s a fun, interactive way for kids to explore the wonders of planting and growing in the garden!

Base Ideas:   

  • Pinto beans

Secondary Item Ideas:

Tool Ideas:  

  • Shovels
  • Pots
  • Scoops and handy scoops
  • Spoons
  • Bowls or cups
  • Tongs or tweezers

Play Ideas and Benefits  

  • Creativity and Social Skills:  
  1. Encourage pretend play as children become little gardeners, planting, harvesting, and selling their crops.
  • Science and Math:  
  1. Use scoops and cups to explore capacity, measurement, and estimation.
  2. Sort vegetables by color, size, or type.
  3. Count how many vegetables fit in a pot or how many scoops it takes to fill a cup.
  4. Discuss plant life cycles, including how seeds grow into vegetables.
  • Fine Motor Skills:  
  1. Strengthen hand muscles by using tweezers or tongs to pick up vegetables.
  2. Practice planting pretend seeds, scooping “soil,” and using small tools.
  • Vocabulary and Language Development:  
  1. Introduce vegetable garden vocabulary such as: root vegetables, harvest, sprout, seedling, soil, compost, vine, stem, and leaves.
  2. Talking Point: Which vegetables grow underground? What parts of each vegetable do we eat? (Roots, stems, leaves, or fruit?)
  3. Book Recommendations:

More Sensory Bin Resources

Interested in more sensory bin fun? Check out my post with 100 sensory bin fillers, my post with 15 winter sensory bins to beat winter boredom, or follow me on Instagram!

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