Have you ever made a sensory bin for your child before? They can be so much fun! It’s simply a box or bin that you fill with a base material and then add exploratory tools and thematic toys to bring the experience to life.
They’re a great way for young children to explore different textures, colors, and have some imaginative play. They are super easy to make and can be reused over and over. You probably even have plenty of household items around for some of these DIY sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds.
Are Sensory Bins Good Ideas for 2 Year Olds?
Sensory bins are wonderful for toddlers! They will love the freedom to explore and manipulate the different materials. Toys they’ve had for ages will become new in a different environment to play in. You will love seeing your toddler work on language, fine motor skills, turn-taking, hand-eye coordination, and more. There are so many benefits of sensory bins!
Language development is a key benefit because there are so many natural opportunities to teach new vocabulary words. You can label small items which your child may never have seen before that are in the bin. You can also discuss what you are doing when you are playing by labeling new action words such as “scooping” or more descriptive words such as “this feels gooey.” A child’s work is play and they are going to be working hard at learning new words while exploring these sensory bins!
Fine motor skills will be targeted when your 2-year-old uses tongs, scoops, funnels, and other tools to explore the sensory bin filler. This is a great opportunity for them to practice strengthening the muscles in their little hands in a fun way! They will also be working on their hand-eye coordination because scooping or pinching small items into a funnel requires concentration and precision.
When you are playing with your toddler in the sensory bin it is a great time to model turn-taking and other social skills as you manipulate the items together. This helps them improve their social skills in a safe way. Your toddler might grab an item from you while playing so you can model asking for a turn. You could model and practice personal space as well as saying please and thank you while engaging with the materials.
Sensory bins are an opportunity for open-ended play where the child completely leads. They will be your new favorite things because you will watch your toddler working on their problem solving and brain development while you either engage or just monitor their independent play. Will the aquarium rocks be too big to go through the funnel? If they put the popcorn kernels in the cup first will there be room to put the cow in after? Learning concepts of space and size are just some of the things your toddler will be learning and mastering.
It is extremely easy to incorporate literacy skills and even math skills into sensory exploration. Alphabet bulletin board letters from the dollar tree can be incorporated into the simple sensory bins where toddlers manipulate letters and you talk about their names and sounds. Older children can even dig for these letters to build sight words. Counting scoops of materials, discussing different sizes of objects, and even discussing more or less are easy to do while playing. There are so many sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds to help them learn!
The benefits of sensory bins, besides the fact that toddlers love them, are endless! Your toddler is going to ask to play with this activity and you’ll be surprised when your big kids dive right in too! Sensory bin play is something that will engage all ages and can be a fun activity for a family to complete together. Foster sibling relationships or even engage neighbors to all play in an activity together. After a few sensory bins, your toddler may even have their own suggestions for which one he or she wants to make next!
What Do You Put in a Toddler Sensory Bin?
There are so many different ways to make a toddler sensory bin. I always suggest first looking at what you already have in your home. There’s definitely something you have in your kitchen or playroom that could be part of a sensory bin. Spoons, cups, and really any kind of container can be used in the bin to scoop, pour, and mix. You just need to pick a theme and then grab a container, filler, tools, and some toys. Sensory bins can easily be a creative and affordable idea for parents!
How Do You Make a Sensory Bin for a 2 Year Old?
Here are your simple step-by-step instructions for creating these sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds at home. Soon you will have some amazing sensory activities for your toddler to enjoy!
1. Gather Your Bins
These are sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds, so I want a bin that is big enough they can really play without making a huge mess. I prefer a 16-quart plastic bin with a lid like this 2-pack of bins. It is big enough they have room to play yet small enough I can easily store it in my small home. For messy play you could always put a sheet underneath for easy cleanup or have them play with it outside!
Some people use a sensory table specifically designed to hold the bins. This could be a great way to set up your play if you have the space for it in your home. I’ve seen some activities where you put paint or mud on one side of the sensory table and water on the other side so it’s like a car wash or other theme where children get something messy or colorful and then clean it off. This could easily be replicated without the table by putting the two bins side by side.
2. Gather Your Tools
Next, you want to gather your tools. These can be used in every sensory tub you have unless you find cute themed buckets or cups and swap those out. Your toddler will love pouring materials through the funnels and experimenting with speed, precision, and more. I love to have multiple sizes of funnels so that my toddler can choose. It’s interesting to watch them manipulate the materials and find out if some filler moves faster, if some is too big to come out the bottom of the funnel, and more.
Tongs will have your two-year-old practicing fine motor skills to pick up themed toys and challenge their hand muscles. Cups, buckets, scoops, and even measuring cups can also be added to help them explore. The possibilities are endless!
Although I love to have lots of choices with tools, it’s often most successful to not have everything in the bin at the same time. I make ground rules before I start and one thing I teach my toddler is to open the box and put the tools on the lid. That way he can see what tools he has to pick from but he has more room in the bin to play with the filler and theme materials. You may want to do something like this or just limit the tools available to your child.
3. Choose Your Theme
This is the most fun step. Are you ready? It’s time for you to decide what theme you want so you can gather the most fun thing: the filler and themed toys! Grab some plastic animals or small cars and you are on your way to a great sensory bin!
Themed Sensory Bin Ideas for 2 Year Olds
The best part about sensory bins is that most of the materials can be kept and reused later! I keep my fillers in gallon storage bags in a bucket so I can just grab what filler I want the next time I’m making a bin. I typically change out our sensory bins twice a month. There are so many sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds that you could change them up weekly if you wanted!
I also gather up the toys/theme materials and bag them up separately. You could easily put the same toys in with a different filler to make an entirely different sensory bin experience! This is extremely flexible and should be fun not stressful.
I organized these fun sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds by filler so you could start with whatever you have on hand. Remember adult supervision is required when children are playing with sensory bins as some materials are choking hazards and most involve small pieces.
You can easily use edible and larger safe materials in your own sensory bins if you have younger siblings playing or your child still explores a lot of things taste-wise. You can also use food coloring to dye many materials to easily change up the sensory experience. Coloring rice, pasta, and even salt can make for the best sensory bins!
Grab a bin, choose a filler, and see what themed toys and materials you already have in your home. Get ready for some thematic play with these sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds! Note: I do NOT recommend water beads as a sensory bin filler as many have been recalled.
1. Easter Grass or Shredded Paper
Easter grass or shredded paper is a cheap and easy material to use as a filler for your sensory activity. You can even shred your own paper to use! The dry texture of the paper makes a crinkly sound that your toddlers will love. Beware this is one that always somehow gets out of the bin.
- Spring: Tiny eggs, birds, and rabbits will brighten up your spring sensory bin.
2. Beans
Dried beans come in many natural colors to mix up your sensory bin fillers. Chickpeas, black eyed peas, and split peas are taste safe. Beware that some beans are not safe to eat raw. This is one of my favorite materials to “hide” things in such as during a letter hunt sensory bin.
- Halloween Sensory Bin: Tiny Halloween decor such as pumpkins, spiders, bats, and trinkets pop out of the black beans.
3. Colored Rice
Dry rice is a favorite filler because it is so easy to dye and it is taste safe! I like to dye rice in batches so I have lots of colors to choose from. If you make multiple colors at once you can even make a rainbow rice sensory bin!
- Magic: Small unicorns, brushes, and fabric scraps will have your toddler taking care of some magical pets in this colored realm.
4. Colored Pasta
Colored pasta is another easily dyed material that is taste-safe! You can use a variety of different types of noodles to mix it up. I’ve even bought the multi-colored pasta before so I didn’t have to dye it.
- Alphabet: Add some magnet letters and have some early phonics lessons with this bright-colored sensory bin.
5. Corn or Popcorn Kernels
Popcorn kernels make a beautiful background for a sensory bin and your toddler will love the way it sounds as they explore it. Corn can also be dyed to make some rainbow bins.
- Fall Sensory Bin: Grab mini pumpkins, acorns, pinecones, and mushrooms for a fall-themed bin.
6. Water
Water is a favorite sensory bin filler for many toddlers and it’s definitely taste safe! You may want to play with this in the bathtub or outside because it is definitely a messy fun experience!
- Summer: Squeeze balls, boats, and buckets are fun to add to a summer water play sensory bin.
7. Ice
Ice is another one of the taste safe sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds. You can even freeze fun shaped ice cubes or toys inside ice for your toddler to play with when it melts.
- Arctic: Tiny penguins, polar bears, puffins, and more will love this cold winter-themed bin.
8. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is a taste-safe alternative to sand or dirt. It has an interesting texture to it and your 2 year old will love that they get to play with their food!
- Construction: With construction vehicles, a dump truck, little people, and tools your toddler will love working on their own site.
9. Colored Salt
While salt is able to be eaten, your toddler probably won’t want to keep trying it if they do! This is another filler that can easily be dyed different colors and is cheap to get. I love the use of food items for sensory filler as much as possible for toddlers just in case they put it in their mouths!
- Dinosaurs: Small shovels, dinosaurs, and magnifying glasses are fun for your paleontologist going on a dino dig.
10. Straw
Straw is a fun crunchy or pokey material for the base of your sensory bin. New items that your toddler might not see frequently, like straw, lead to lots of new vocabulary opportunities!
- Farm: Just add some farm animals, tractors, and a small barn.
11. Cloud Dough or Moon Sand
Cloud dough is made up simply of flour and vegetable oil so it is another great choice for sensory fun. Your toddler will love molding this material that is similar to moon sand in texture.
- Space: Rocket ships, astronauts, and planets transform this sensory bin so it’s out of this world!
12. Aquarium Rocks
Aquarium rocks come in bright colors and make great sounds when they pour into funnels and swish around buckets. Your toddler will love the auditory feedback they get If you put these in your sensory bin table!
- Under the Sea: Small whales, starfish, dolphins, and other ocean animals will swim through this ocean life bin.
13. Cotton Balls
Cotton balls are soft, wispy, and your 2-year-old will love trying to pull them apart into a million pieces. You have been warned! They also make for great pretend snow if you live where I do and never get to see that in the winter.
- Winter: Add some snowmen, snowflakes, and tiny cocoa mugs for a bucket of winter fun.
- Airplanes: With some airplanes and tiny people your toddler will be pretending to fly through the sky.
14. Craft Feathers
Bright colored feathers simply can’t not be touched by small children. They are so engaging and just draw them in. Even without extra materials you can teach about all sorts of colors just with this filler.
- Colors: Colored pom poms of various sizes, cut up ribbon, yarn, and other bright materials come together to make a fabulously bright bin of colors to explore.
15. Leaves
Leaves can be found on a nature hunt with your toddler before you compile this sensory bin. Sometimes the best ideas come from just using what is all around us!
- Life in a Tree: Acorns, pinecones, squirrels, and birds help your toddler pretend he has climbed right into a tree.
Alternative Sensory Bin Ideas for 2 Year Olds
There are so many more ideas for both fillers and materials for sensory bins. You could use kinetic sand, shaving cream, or even mud to make mud pies. Themes can include different holidays, seasons, or interests. You could focus on academic themes such as animal units for science or theme your sensory bin around a book for a dive into more literacy.
You can add dice, counters, clocks, and other math manipulatives to focus more on math. Magnifying glasses, scales, and balances, could be added tools for science. You can always add printed labels and vocabulary words to expose children to written language. Adding mats outside the bin for matching, sorting, and organizing can expand play even further.
Ultimately there are endless ideas for sensory bins and activities. Be creative and choose what you have on hand or what sparks your fancy. Let your child design one and see what they come up with! One purpose of a sensory bin is to let your child have fun exploring the world independently so give them some control and see what happens.
Edible Sensory Bin Ideas for 2 Year Olds
When thinking up sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds you have to consider that many are still going to try to put things in their mouth. For that reason alone you may want to consider using the edible fillers mentioned above. If you want to go a step further you can use sensory bottles or sensory bags where all of the materials stay inside the taped water bottles or zipped bags. Adult supervision should always be used when children are playing with sensory bins to look out for any choking hazard even when edible fillers are used. Effective sensory bins are safe, fun, and educational!
Sensory Bin Ideas for 2 Year Olds Takeaways
Sensory bins are a simple and engaging way for toddlers to practice language and organization, explore pre-academic concepts like shapes and sizes, and have ownership over their focused creative play. For more DIY sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds, toddler play activities, and more, check out the links below!
Try Literacy Sensory Bin Ideas for 2 Year Olds
Engage your toddlers with an adapted book with moveable pieces. After reading, stick the pieces in a sensory bin for an interactive game of hide and seek. Your 2 year old can find the piece that matches each page of the book by digging through the bin to find it. Add some cut out letters from the dollar store and you have a whole literacy themed bin! Sensory bin ideas for 2 year olds don’t have to be complicated to be educational and enjoyed by toddlers. What are you going to create first?
