Grass, bees, dirt, leaves, worms, trees! Ahhhh the great outdoors! My kids would stay outside and play all day if I would let them! Their love of the outdoors makes days when we are stuck inside because of rain or heat so hard! One way to make the indoor days a little more bearable is to bring the great outdoors inside. Bug Sensory Bin Activities for Preschoolers are an easy way to keep little ones entertained and satisfy their love for bugs and insects at the same time!
If you are a parent, sensory bins are a fabulous way to get your toddler to play independently and imaginatively! If you are a teacher, this is the perfect activity to add to your bug themed preschool unit and lesson plans!
What Are Sensory Bags and Bins?
Sensory bins and bags encourage children to explore and investigate their environment while engaging their senses! Sensory bags keep materials contained, while bins allow for more hands on exploration!
Sensory bins are a bit messier than sensory bags and bottles, but the mess is totally worth it for the developmental benefits!
To create a sensory bin all you need is objects and materials of various textures!
Filling your sensory bin with objects that are multiple textures provides the opportunity for tactile exploration! You will want to include soft, hard, rough and smooth textures!
You don’t have to have a theme to your bin, but it makes for more creative play opportunities if you do!
Benefits Of Using Sensory Bins:
- Imaginative play! Sensory bins encourage children to be imaginative and creative in their play! Since there are no “rules” children have the freedom to be creative with how they use the materials in the bin!
- Cooperation! If your child is playing with a friend or sibling, taking turns and sharing is naturally promoted through using the sensory bin!
- Stimulation! Sensory bins provide stimulation for the senses! Multiple senses will be engaged as they touch the sensory bin fillers, listen to the sounds that the materials are making, and see how the objects move!
- Fine Motor Skill Exercise! Little ones strengthen their fine motor skills while using sensory bins. Whether they are scooping, sifting, or building, hand eye coordination is being practiced!
- Brain development! The minds of little learners are like sponges constantly soaking up information! While playing with sensory bins their vocabulary and language skills are strengthened and cognitive skills are built!
How To Make This Bug Sensory Bin:
Materials:
- Book: The Backyard Bug Book For Kids
- bug toys
- sensory bin or sensory table (a plastic tub or large plastic container will work perfectly!)
- artificial moss, grass, plants
- sticks
- stones
- soil
Get your sensory bin supplies here:
The Backyard Bug Book for Kids: Storybook, Insect Facts, and Activities
Learning Resources Jumbo Insects I Fly, Ant, Bee, Ladybug, Grasshopper, Butterfly, Dragonfly, 7 InsectsForest Moss Dried,Artificial Succulent Plants – 15 PackNatural Rocks for Painting
Instructions:
To get ready for your sensory play bug activities you will first want to read The Backyard Bug Book For Kids! There are lots of colorful pictures, fun facts about bugs, and activities inside this book for preschoolers!
If you do not have this book any other insect book or a favorite book about bugs will do the trick!
Pour the soil into the sensory bin. (you could also have your little one help you scoop the soil in with a shovel!) You will want to make sure your bin is large enough so there is plenty of room for your child to maneuver the materials without spilling them out of the container!
Next, add the artificial moss, grass, and plants.
Finally, add the plastic bugs and remaining materials and you are ready for playtime!
Give your little one a magnifying glass and they will be ready for some serious bug exploration!
Other Ways To Use This Preschool Sensory Bin:
There are endless possibilities when it comes to creating sensory bins! Once you have the materials for one sensory bin you can make some small modifications to create other bins!
Using the bug toys for preschoolers that you already have you can create another sensory bin with water and a net. Let your little one play with the bugs in the water and use the net to scoop the bugs out of the water!
Swap out the bugs in the sensory bin you created for animals or dinosaur toys to promote imaginative play with other creatures!
We love these insect toys!!
Wild Republic Insect Nature TubeLearning Resources Jumbo Insects I Fly, Ant, Bee, Ladybug, Grasshopper, Butterfly, Dragonfly, 7 InsectsBackyard Exploration Critter Case
Have A Bug Lover?
Does your little one love bugs? If they didn’t already love them, they will probably be hooked after playing with this sensory bin!
There are so many fun bug activities for preschoolers! Here are some other ideas to extend the learning about bugs!
- Get your child active and encourage them to move like their favorite bug! They will love flapping their arms like a butterfly, crawling like a caterpillar, and hopping like a grasshopper!
- Visit your local library and check out more bug books for preschoolers!
- Take a field trip into your back yard or to a park or pond! Talk about the bugs that you see with your child! Let them bring along a bug identification book to help identify the different bugs they find!
- Create a bug scrapbook! Have your little one cut out pictures of bugs from magazines and draw pictures of bugs! Make them into a fun bug book for your child!
- Teach your little one about insect life cycles!
Check out these awesome insect books for kids:
Backyard Bugs: An Identification Guide to Common Insects, Spiders, and MoreUltimate Bugopedia: The Most Complete Bug Reference Ever (National Geographic Kids)Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Insects: Find Adventure! Go Outside! Have Fun! Be a Backyard Insect Inspector!The Bug BookBugs A to ZBackpack Explorer: On the Nature Trail: What Will You Find?
Planning for a Bugs & Butterflies Theme? We’ve done all the work for you!
We now have interactive thematic lesson plans for toddlers (18-35 months) AND preschoolers (3-5 years)! Get ready for fun and learning with unit lesson plans for your BUGS & BUTTERFLIES THEME. Explore a variety of themed hands-on activities! Easy to follow lesson plans include activity modifications and adaptations to meet the needs of all learners. For more information, click on the graphics below:
Plus, more sensory bin ideas you’ll love!
Check out these Sensory Activities!
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