The Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of Bean Bin Sensory Play

Sensory play activities are not only fun but also great learning opportunities for young children.  There are so many different manipulatives that you can incorporate into hands-on play tasks.

Who

So who should engage in bean bin sensory play?  Everyone!  I love these play times for ALL kids because everyone can benefit from the social engagement and language.

What

Use a large plastic container with a lid to house your beans.  Use black beans for “planting” tasks, brown beans for general purpose sensory play.  Buy some white beans and dye them a variety of colors for different holidays.  Place objects into the beans for your child to explore.  Use themes–animals, letters, or dinosaurs, for example.  Provide different colored cups and have your child find a variety of items in different colors, sort them into the cups.

When

It’s best to begin any sensory play or social play task when children are feeling regulated, their tummies are full, and they are well rested.  Observe your child during typical daily routines and adult-directed tasks in order to determine when it is best to engage in activities.

Where

Set up your bean bin for sensory play anywhere that is comfortable for you and your child.  Beans aren’t too messy to clean up so play is fine indoors or outdoors.  This is great because this can be a fun activity to engage in no matter what time of year or weather.

Why

The reason for providing opportunities for your child to engage in water, rice, sand or bean bin play is to assist them in tolerating the feeling of the medium and also the social engagement.  Many preschools and Kindergarten classrooms have these types of sensory play opportunities.  I suggest for parents to engage in these activities with their children in their home environment first before moving on to the preschool environment.  It’s important for children to experience these tasks at home so when they experience them in another social environment, such as school, they are more able to tolerate side by side play with their peers.

How

Get a very large plastic container and fill it with beans of your choice.  Some children love to place their feet in the container and some even like to sit in it so plan accordingly.  Gather the items that your child loves:  animals, cars, letters, dinosaurs, balls, whatever is fun and positive for your child.  Place these items into the beans for your child to pick out.  When children don’t like the feeling of the medium (sand, rice, or beans), place their toy on top of the medium until they can tolerate placing their hands into the beans.  Once your child is more tolerant, place the toys into the beans in order for your child to dig for them.  Enjoy this fun activity and have a great time with your child!