Spring Carrot Counting Sensory Bin

Spring has sprung! With spring in full swing, and Easter right around the corner, now is the perfect time to introduce new themed activities for your little ones. I love creating themed activities for Atlas, and sensory bins are a great way for him to learn while having fun.

Sensory bins are a wonderful way to introduce new concepts and themes because children immerse themselves in the activity and utilize several learning modalities while playing. This spring carrot counting sensory bin promotes auditory, visual and tactile learning. You could even add in the sense of smell by including some fresh flowers for your little one to explore! I did this in our Valentine’s Day sensory bin, and Atlas loved it!

We are currently working on number recognition. Atlas can consistently recognize and name numbers 1-9. This sensory bin will help him to continue practicing identifying the numbers that he knows, and learn the numbers 10-12. If your little one isn’t ready for number recognition, you can skip the numbers and use this sensory bin to help them practice motor skills. I also plan to do a similar activity to help him practice letter recognition.

Creating this spring themed sensory bin is quick and easy. Check out the step-by-step directions below.

Cut the egg carton, then write numbers on the carrots and each section of the carton.

Spring Carrot Counting Sensory Bin

Materials:

• 1 Large tub or bin
• 1 Egg carton
• 12 Small carrots – I used candy containers and poured out the candy
• Uncooked rice (about 10 cups) – I buy a 10lb bag of rice every once in a while just for sensory bins
• Green food coloring
• Water

Directions:

1. Add 3 cups of rice, 1 teaspoon of water, and 10 drops of green food coloring to a gallon sized bag – make as many bags as needed to fill your bin. More than 3 cups makes the bag too full and it gets harder to spread the dye around.
2. Shake and massage the bag until food coloring is easily distributed.
3. Set rice out to dry (takes about 30 mins to an hour)
4. Once dry, add colored rice to bin
5. Cut the egg carton so that you have two rows of 6, then poke a hole in the top of each section.
6. Write numbers 1-6 and 7-12 on the egg carton and numbers 1-12 on the carrots.
7. Place egg carton and carrots into bin. Hide the carrots under the rice so that your little one gets to have fun harvesting the carrots while they play!

I hope that you enjoy teaching about numbers with this fun and festive spring sensory bin. Tag me in your pictures on Instagram if you decide to try it out. I would love to see them!

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