Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins & Sensory Play {A Year Of Color - Yellow}

My kids love sensory play! I introduced each of them to the concept when they were babies and it quickly became something they did every day. I'm a firm believer in letting kids explore and get messy!

It's amazing how even the simplest items can seem so much more exciting when they are thrown into a sensory bin! I rotate our bins weekly and most of them never even make it onto the blog, but I'm going to try to share them more often. They are a lot of fun, and they inspire kids to think, create and explore while building their fine motor skills!

On the third Friday of each month,  I co-host a monthly linkup called A Year of Color with Little Dove, Macke Monologues, and Work It Mommy. Each month focuses on one color and you can link up any post that revolves around that particular color: Fashion, Recipes, Activities for Kids, Crafts...ANYTHING is welcome! The link will be open for a month, so you can link up any time. We hope you will join us!

When I saw this month's theme for the A Year Of Color link party, I immediately knew what I was going to share: Our Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins and Rubber Ducks Play Dough Kit! It was the perfect choice for:

Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins

This classic bath toy is the focus of these sensory bins, but I add lots of different fillers to keep things interesting! Here are Liam, Lexie and Lily's three favorites:

RUBBER DUCKS POND SENSORY BIN:

Creating a Rubber Duck Pond using inexpensive items is so much fun!

For this sensory bin, you will need:

• 6-12 rubber ducks
• Fake flowers (bunches of 6 are $1 at Walmart)
• Small aquarium plants
• Blue gems
• Natural rocks
• Pieces of wood (we used mulch)
• Foam lilypads cut out of sheets of green craft foam (we pay 33 cents/sheet)

Note: I highly recommend swimsuits for this activity, especially if the sensory bin that is being used is a baby pool!

RUBBER DUCKS & SHAVING CREAM SENSORY BIN:

What is it about shaving cream that makes any activity seem so much more fun?!? All you need for this simple sensory bin is rubber ducks and 2-3 cans of inexpensive shaving cream (a must have sensory bin filler)!

Let the kids squirt the shaving cream into the sensory bin, then toss in the ducks and back away before they dig in! (Trust me!!!)

FYI: Bathtime after this activity is almost always a necessity! Or, if it's warm enough, just have them run through the sprinkler!

RUBBER DUCKS & COTTON BALL BUBBLES SENSORY BIN:

Adding this simple, everyday item to a sensory bin can turn into hours of fun!

All you need is 2-4 bags of cotton balls for your sensory bin, depending on its size, and 6-12 rubber ducks. Grab some tongs, bowls, cups and spoons to transfer, scoop and pour!

We have also used these fun fillers for our rubber ducks sensory bins:

• blue aqua beads
• mini marshmallows
• rice dyed blue
• blue Easter grass
• bubble bath mixed into warm water

Try switching up the sensory play area, too! Here are a few things my kids loved:

• "Rubber Duck Pond" in a baby pool
• Rubber Duck races in rain gutter "rivers" (very inexpensive at hardware stores)
• Rubber Duck Sensory Play in the water table (same as in the bin)
• Rubber Duck Sensory Bath using bubble bath and foam flower and grass wall decals (in addition to the Duck Pond Sensory Bin items)

Rubber Ducks Play Dough Kit

This play dough kit is a huge hit with my girls! They love play dough, so when I give them a Play Dough Kit, they will play for hours. Just like the sensory bins, I usually keep each play dough kit out for a week, then switch it for something else.

For this Play Dough Kit you will need:

• Sectioned plate or tray
• Blue play dough
• Fake flowers (bunches of 6 are $1 at Walmart)
• Small aquarium plants
• Blue gems
• Natural rocks
• Pieces of wood (we used mulch)
• Small rubber ducks

Encourage your kids to use their imagination to create play dough duck ponds or decorate the ducks with play dough!

Sensory Play is a hit with kids of all ages! When the kids are done playing, store each filler and sensory bin item in separate ziploc bags and place them inside the sensory bin for easy storage until next time. Let them be little, let them play and let them get messy!

Link up your "YELLOW" post with us for A Year of Color!

Plan ahead for next month!

June 16th

An InLinkz Link-up