# St. Patrick's Day Sensory Bin > Fill a deep bin with green mung beans, yellow split peas, green and yellow Cheerios, gold ribbon and play coins, and tape paper rings of different sizes to the sides. Toddlers scoop, transfer and pinch, while preschoolers take on drop-through-the-ring challenges and build a pot of gold. - URL: https://www.funlittles.com/st-patricks-day-activities-sensory-bin/ - Ages: 1–5 yrs · Difficulty: easy · Mess: medium - Time: prep 20 min, activity 30 min - Works for: one-on-one, small group, whole class · one batch serves about 2 kids - Skills: sensory-exploration, fine-motor, pincer-grasp, gross-motor, counting, volume-comparison, imaginative-play - Cautions: ingestion-risk, food-dye ## Materials (one batch) - 1 piece Deep plastic bin - Dried green grams (mung beans) - Yellow split peas - Green and yellow Cheerios - Golden ribbon - Gold play coins - Small cups (household) - Strips of paper made into rounds of different sizes - Tape (household) - Spoons, measuring cups and a basting brush (household) - Green bead necklaces, silver curling ribbon and small foam flowers (optional) ## Safety - Dried beans, split peas, cereal rings and play coins are choking hazards. Toddlers who still mouth things need an adult right beside them the whole time. - Watch that kids don't put beans or peas in their noses or ears. - Ribbon and any bead strands are a strangulation risk. Supervise closely and remove them from the bin when play is over. - Not a snack: the cereal is mixed with raw dried beans, so don't let kids eat anything from the bin. - Sweep up spilled beans promptly so no one slips, and so little ones don't pick them up later unsupervised. ## Before you start - Cut paper strips and tape them into rounds of different sizes. - Stick the paper rounds to the sides of the bin to create challenges. ## Steps 1. Choose a bin deep enough that the beans don't spill out with every scoop. 2. Tape paper circles of different sizes to the sides of the bin. 3. Add the beans, peas, Cheerios, ribbon and coins, then give it a gentle mix. 4. Add the spoons, cups, measuring cups and basting brush. 5. Hide the gold coins and let your tot find the hidden treasure. 6. Drop beans through the smallest circle and into the cups. Count how many tries it takes to fill a cup. 7. Collect the gold coins into a cup to make a pot of gold, and lay the ribbons into a golden rainbow. 8. Scoop, dump, sweep and transfer the beans and peas between spoons. 9. Pick up the spilled beans one at a time with a pincer grasp. ## Tips - The best part of the activity is play that entertains two age groups at the same time. Ours was made for my almost-toddler at 15 months and turned out just as fun for my preschooler. - While counting the tries needed to fill a cup, we also talked about volume and comparisons with the older child. - Don't worry about the beans that spill out. They made good practice for her pincer grip and gross motor skills. :-) - My 4-year-old came up with her own pot of gold and golden rainbow, so there's the surprise element of imaginative play. - Sensory bins are easy to set up and provide ample entertainment and learning skills. - Readers singled out the paper shapes on the sides as a simple way to add challenge to the bin. (from readers) ## The original post by TurkeyMom (2014) So much has been said about the importance of sensory play for young children. A wonderful post by [Not Just Cute](http://notjustcute.com/2010/03/24/a-handful-of-fun-why-sensory-play-is-important-for-preschoolers/) explains the importance of stimulating senses through play. Today's post is a St.Patrick's Day inspired sensory bin created for my almost toddler ( at 15 months) which turned out just as fun for my preschooler. Incorporating play that can simultaneously entertain the two age groups is the best part of the activity. - **[Green Grams](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mung_bean)** - Yellow Split peas - Green and Yellow Cheerios - Golden ribbon - Gold play coins - Cups - Strips of paper made into rounds of different sizes - Spoons, measuring cups and basting brush Choose a bin that is a deep enough to hold the lentils so they don’t spill out with every action. Create **different sizes of circles from paper strips** and stick them to the sides to create challenges. The set up: Add the beans, peas and all the fun stuff into the bin and give it a gentle mix. Add the spoons, cups and brushes. Your set up is now complete and the kids are ready to play. Challenge the preschooler to drop the beans through the smallest circle and into the cups. See how many tries it takes to fill the cup. Hide the coins and let your tot find the hidden treasure. My 4 yr old collected the golden coins to create her pot of gold and also used the ribbons to make a simple golden rainbow. So there's the surprise element of Imaginative play. My 15 month old enjoyed all the different sensory elements in the bin. Loved to transfer the beans and peas between the spoons. Used fine motor practice to scoop, dump and sweep the beans in the bin. The beans that spilled out made good practice on her pincer grip and gross motor :-) Sensory bins are easy to set up and provide ample entertainment and learning skills. **A recap of all the play ideas and activities my kids enjoyed in this sensory bin** 1. I encouraged my child to drop the beans into the paper shapes attached ( younger child) 2. Picking up the spilled beans using pincer grasp (Younger child) 3. Scooping, counting and transferring (Younger child) 4. We counted the number of tries needed to fill the cup. We also talked about volume and comparisons (older child) 5. We also counted and filled our pots with gold coins. (Older child) Other St. Patrick's Day themed activities we have shared. [](https://www.funlittles.com/st-patricks-day-activities-shamrock-printing/) [](https://www.funlittles.com/plate-rainbow-craft/) **Thanks for reading** **Please take a moment to comment** For more St. We encourage you to stick around and take a look at [**couple of**](https://www.funlittles.com/origami-for-kids/) our [**popular posts.**](https://www.funlittles.com/tp-roll-craft-castle/) --- ---