# Fall Sensory Bin
> Fill a storage bin with birdseed, silk fall leaves, glass pebbles, mini pumpkins and kitchen tools for scooping, pouring and pretend play. Toddlers get hands-on sensory play, and preschoolers can turn the bin into a small world.
- URL: https://www.funlittles.com/fall-sensory-bin/
- Ages: 2–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: high
- Time: prep 15 min, activity 30 min
- Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids
- Skills: fine-motor, hand-eye-coordination, language, vocabulary, counting, observation, pretend-play, small-world-play
- Cautions: ingestion-risk

## Materials (one batch)
- 1 piece Large storage container (bin) (household)
- Birdseed
- Silk fall leaves
- Glass pebbles / gems
- Artificial mini pumpkins and gourds
- Plastic spoons, forks and cups (household)
- 1 piece Tongs (household)
- 1 piece Ice-cube tray (optional) (household)
- 1 piece Fall platter or plate (optional) (household)
- Wide wired ribbon (optional)
- Small world props (mini chairs, scarecrow or fairy figures, a small fall centerpiece) (optional)

## Safety
- Glass pebbles, mini pumpkins and small figures are choking hazards. Supervise closely, and leave them out for any child who still mouths things.
- Birdseed is not food. The author chose a non-food base on purpose so her toddler wouldn't snack on the bin. Watch that seed stays out of mouths, and wash hands after play.
- Check the birdseed label before use. Some mixes may contain nuts or other allergens.
- Supervise sensory play at all times.

## Before you start
- Gather the bin items. All of the author's items came from the dollar store.
- Optionally, have older kids help put the bin together for their younger siblings.

## Steps
1. Dump some birdseed into a regular storage container.
2. Spread silk fall leaves, glass pebbles and mini pumpkins over the birdseed.
3. Add spoons, forks and cups for scooping and pouring.
4. Arch a ribbon into a tunnel for the pumpkins to hide in.
5. Set out small chairs and figures so the fairies can join the play.
6. Drop glass gems into an ice-cube tray and count them.
7. Pick up leaves with tongs and make a leaf 'salad' on a fall platter.
8. Scoop and pour the birdseed into cups to 'cook'.
9. Let the kids take the play wherever they want.

## Tips
- My toddler is into scooping and pouring, so I made sure my base was easy to scoop and pour.
- She only pops food items into her mouth, and I didn't want her snacking on the bin. So our base was simply birdseed, and it was perfect.
- There is no one set way to create a bin. Customize it with the theme, what you have around the house and your kids' interests.
- Putting a bin together is a fun task in itself if you involve older kids in making it for their younger siblings.
- For a small-world fan, arrange mini play scenes in the bin (ribbon tunnels, a small fall centerpiece, pepper-flake packets as a fence) as an invitation to play. Tunnels could become bear caves.
- If the bin is just for sensory play, or your child is too young for small world play, you don't have to focus much on laying it out.
- Even after laying it out, my preschooler did her own thing while my toddler cooked up a storm. You can never tell, so I just go with the flow.

## FAQ
**Do I need to arrange the bin carefully, or can I just throw everything in?** It's up to you and your kids. The author arranges mini play scenes to spark pretend play for her preschooler. For pure sensory play or very young toddlers, you don't need to focus on the layout.
**Why birdseed instead of an edible base?** The author's toddler only mouths food items, so a non-food base kept her from snacking on the bin.

## The original post by TurkeyMom (2012)

To start off, let me tell you that it was my toddler who had the maximum fun time with this sensory-bin. She is at that time in her childhood, where getting her hands into anything and to feel it is her idea of fun. At the same time, she does pop in (eat) that occasional 2 day old cereal from under the couch or that forgotten blueberry under my fridge. Hence, my base for the sensory-bin was not an edible product. It may be seem counter-intuitive. The reason it works for my toddler is she specifically pops in ONLY food items and I don’t want her snacking on the sensory-bin So our base was simply birdseed and it was perfect. The girls got into the my sensory-bin stash before I get to it and they had their mini discovery session while discussing and labeling each item.

 Time for the set up In a regular storage container, I dumped in some birdseed..Then spread around some silk fall leaves and some glass pebbles with spoons,forks and cups. There is no one set way to create a bin as it can be customized with the theme, what you have around the house, your kids’ interests. My toddler is into scooping and pouring. So I made sure that my base was easy to scoop and pour.



All the items which went into the bin were purchased from the dollar store. Putting together a sensory bin in itself is a fun and educational task if you involve your older kids to help you make a bin for their younger siblings to play with.  My older one’s interest in sensory bin is waning off while my younger one's interest is peaking. Big A is through the roof excited for small world play which is what she transforms her sensory into anyway. For this activity she did join us for a bit and she started off her sister with some pretend play ideas. We set up a tunnel for the pumpkins to hide in..

 We set out some chairs for the fairies to join us. The stories ran for a while it turned into small world play for Big A. While baby A is an out-and-out sensory play girl, she did occasionally giggle with her sister listening to her small world stories. We also popped in some of the glass gems in the ice-cube tray and did some counting. As soon as the older one took off, the younger one did something she thoroughly enjoyed-cooking with the leaves.

 It was such a fantastic experience for her picking up the leaves with her tongs and placing them on a fall platter and made a salad and served me up those leaves with some toasted pine nuts (birdseed) and a side of pumpkins.

 While cooking there was so much scooping and pouring happening which really aided her hand-eye co-ordination.

 After all that play which also included sitting *inside* the box and playing, the bin looked like this.



I love it.

- Fine motor skills practice with scooping, using the tongs
- Language and vocabulary via creative and imaginative play
- Math via counting
- Observation – minor differences in different colors of the leaves

Thanks for reading

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