I love … love … LOVE creating sensory bins for my kids. After having teething toddlers, I’ve learned to aim for edible sensory bins! When the kids saw me grab the cereal box and their sensory container, they ran to their playroom table. We were both excited for an hour’s worth of playtime!
Now that the temperatures have drop, my husband has been making homemade hot chocolate for himself and the kids. I figured I would create a sensory bin that correlated to that! This hot chocolate sensory bin is very simple to make. Being that I’m always at Starbucks, I rinsed out a few of my cups and threw them in the bin.
I love sensory bins because they’re good for multiple ages. Both my two and three-year-old are able to build their speech and language skills. Having an autistic child really encourages me to create sensory bins! Not only does it help with his language development, but it also satisfies that sensory input that he needs. The best way for a child to learn is through connecting with us and learning from models. I am able to implement that by narrating what they’re doing. This can be done by pretending to make a cup of hot chocolate for yourself, while talking about what you’re doing. By doing this, they’re able to build their language skills!
Here are a few words we worked on while playing with this sensory bin:
- Nouns: hot cocoa, cup, mug, milk, spoon
- Verbs: scoop, stir, mix, pour, drink, dump
- Descriptive words: empty/full, in/out, hot/cold, wet/dry
- Function words: help, more, all done, please ***Sign language was implemented with these words***
How to do this activity
1. Gather materials
-
- Sensory box
- Cocoa Puffs
- Mini marshmallows
- Measuring cups
- Mini red cups
- Starbucks cups
2. Combine all of your items into your sensory box: Dump some cereal into your sensory bin, add in some mini marshmallows, cups and spoons.
3. Have fun!!
Don’t be surprised to walk around the corner and witness your little ones eating cocoa puffs! You may even want to join in on the fun!
Unitl next time …
