Our Five Ring Circus: Rubber Ducks Sensory Bins & Sensory Play {A Year Of Color - Yellow}

Friday, May 19, 2017

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!


Sensory Play

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 DoveMacke 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 & Sensory Play


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!

Rubber Duck Pond Sensory Bin

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)
Duck Pond Sensory Bin

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


Sensory Bins

Rubber Ducks Pond Sensory Bin

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)!

Shaving Cream Sensory Bin

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!!!)

Sensory Bins

Sensory Play

Shaving Cream and Rubber Ducks Sensory Bin

Shaving Cream Sensory Bin

Sensory Bins

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

Sensory Play

RUBBER DUCKS & COTTON BALL BUBBLES SENSORY BIN:


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

Rubber Ducks

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!

Sensory Bins

Rubber Ducks and Cotton Ball Bubbles Sensory Bin

Sensory Play

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.

Play Dough Activities

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!

Rubber Ducks Play Dough Kit

Rubber Ducks Play Dough Kit - Perfect for Sensory Play and Building Fine Motor Skills!


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

A Year of Color








21 comments:

  1. OMG the shaving cream, so fun!!! I must do that with my kids!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is too dang fun! My preschoolers love sensory table activities and shaving cream is a huge hit at home. Best thing is nothing is overly expensive but lends hours of fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We buy it all the time, because it's so cheap. They love playing in it!

      Delete
  3. I love that you do this!!!! He's so precious in that shaving cream!!!! You're a creative mama!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How fun! I think we tried doing some sensory things when Lewie was a toddler, but he has an aversion to anything slimy or squishy. Even now, it becomes a challenge as we're in Cub Scouts, and he doesn't want to touch many outside things... Maybe we should have done more sensory things with him as a kid. I love the rubber duckies for your "yellow" theme. Who doesn't like ducks?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know a few kids like that. Sensory Play definitely isn't for everyone. My husband hates it, too!

      Delete
  5. What a cute idea! I have got to set up a sensory bin for my little ones, especially since the weather is getting warmer and we can do it outside. And that first picture is so adorable, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love these ideas. My kids enjoy sensory type bins even now, so I should probably come up with some more for them to play with!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You have the BEST ideas! Super mom! Love all of these, especially the shaving cream.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm pretty convinced that nothing is cuter than rubber ducks. These ideas are just too cute!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Beth! They were sitting in a closet for so long, so it was nice to use them again!

      Delete
  9. I love all of these so much and totally need to stea these ideas. So fun!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is adorable! And my goodness is Liam loving it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Holy cow, you guys knocked it out of the park with those ducks! So many fun ideas, and I love that all different age ranges could get in on the action. We are totally going to try the shaving cream sensory bin!

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from you! Let's chat!!!