Are you looking for a great sensory bin idea for kids? The vegetable garden sensory bin is a colorful, fun sensory experience that your child will love!
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Do your kids like to play with sensory bins?
Sensory bins are not only a wonderful way to entertain your child, but a great way to incorporate sensory stimulation!
Sensory bins engage at least one, if not several, of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell or taste.
This sensory bin incorporates sight, sound and touch!
Feel the smooth crunch of the black bean garden soil and the textured veggies all while keeping the wild animals from eating the garden!
Sensory Bin Ideas
My kids love sensory bins!
They had so much fun with the easter sensory bin,the Fish Tank Sensory Binand the Antarctica Sensory Bin that I made, that I decided to make another one!
It’s finally spring!
That means it’s time to get started planting a garden!
So I thought, why not give the kids their very own indoor garden to plant?
Thus the vegetable garden sensory bin was born:)
I even added the animals that tend to plague gardeners as well as a scarecrow to help keep them out!
The kids loved it!
They loved the feel of the black beans sliding through their fingers.
Sensory Bins For Toddlers and Preschoolers
This sensory bin has something for both toddlers and older children.
My four year old loved this as much as my six year old. And I know that toddlers will as well.
And I have to say that I found my nine and eleven year olds running their fingers through the black beans as well! There’s something calming and therapeutic about the smooth beans in your hands. It’s kind of like playing with a stress ball:)
Now, I do want to say that while this sensory bin is great for toddlers, if your toddler is prone to putting things in his or her mouth, be sure to keep an eye out that they aren’t putting the beans in their mouth!
How to Make the Vegetable Garden Sensory Bin
First you need a bin to create your vegetable garden in.
I use a clear plastic tub that is about 20 inches long, 14 inches wide, and 6 inches deep.
It doesn’t have to be exactly that size. Just make sure that it is large enough for them to play in without knocking out the contents, and not too deep that they can’t reach in to play well.
Also, if you have multiple children playing with the bin you want to make sure that it is big enough to accommodate everyone.
Next gather all of your vegetable garden items!
You don’t have to use exactly the same toys and items that I used.
I tried to use mainly items that we already had on hand. The only thing I actually purchased for this project that we didn’t already have on hand was the black beans.
Sensory Items
These are the items that I added to our vegetable garden sensory bin:
How to Assemble Your Vegetable Garden Sensory Bin:
First start by adding the black beans to your bin.
I filled mine between one and two inches deep.
Next add your fence. I allotted two thirds of the bin for the vegetable garden and the other third for the animals sitting outside of the garden.
Then add the veggies to your garden!
Position them around in the black beans. Add your garden shovel or rake as well.
Position your scarecrow, if you choose to use one, in the garden as well.
Then outside of the garden fence add your deer and rabbits. I positioned mine so that they were hungrily eyeing the garden;)
And that’s it!
Now your garden is ready for some love and your toddler’s green thumb:)
Like I mentioned above, you don’t have to use the exact same items that I used.
If you would rather make your garden just about the veggies, then forget the fence and animals!
I chose to incorporate the animals so that my kids could make it a game of keeping the woodland animals out of their fresh veggies:)
One child manned the scarecrow while the other tried to sneak the animals into the veggie patch!
You could also add a toy farmer if you would like! That would be super cute as well!
However you choose to set up your sensory vegetable garden, I know it will be adorable!
I hope you and your family enjoy the Vegetable Garden Sensory Bin as much as we did!
What items will you add to your Vegetable Garden Sensory Bin?
Let me know by leaving me a comment below!
If you would like to find more fun sensory bin ideas then check out: