Toddler Halloween Fun: A Spooky Sensory Bin
Spooky season is here! It’s no secret that I’ve always loved holidays and reasons to decorate and throw parties, but having a daughter who is starting to get excited by holidays makes it even more fun.
This year, I wanted to create a fun Halloween activity that was toddler friendly. Sensory bins are a great developmental activity that encourages open play. Putting them together is easy with a few items from the grocery store, craft store, or even from around the house.
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What you need
Dried black beans
Dried red lentils
Pom pom balls
Spider webbing
Spider rings
Halloween trinkets like witch cauldron, pumpkins, eyeballs, etc.
Craft tubing or pipe cleaners
Skeleton hand servers
Wood scoops
Container
The great thing about sensory bins, is you really can’t go wrong. Once you have your base, you can mix and match in a variety of themed items.
Step 1:
Fill a container or bin with a mix of the black beans and lentils. I used 1.5 bags of black beans and about a quarter of a bag of lentils. These are easy to pick up on your regular grocery run or I’ve linked some below.
When I first started making sensory bins, I just used an empty plastic container we had around the house, but the more I’ve used them, it made sense to invest in a few bins that had lower sides and were easier for my daughter to get her hands into. These can be reused over and over again and you can store any themed bin supplies in a Ziploc bag or other storage container in-between uses.
Step 2:
Start to add in your themed items! Sensory bins are all about adding different types of experiences and textures.
For example, I used some spider webbing that is not only a fun texture, but good motor skill building, as it can be pulled apart and squeezed. Adding in fake spiders or spider rings can add some fun pretend play opportunities.
The craft tubes were also fun for texture. You can generally find these at a dollar store, craft store, or online. Pipe cleaners are great for this, too.
Sorting and putting items in and out of things is also a hit. For this bin, I used a cauldron I already had from a past Halloween party and added in some plastic eyeballs. The cauldrons will come in handy for St. Patrick’s Day, too!
Finish you bins off with some “tools” to dig in. I had some skeleton salad servers and have a set of wood scoops we use for each bin.
That’s it! You really can buy as much or as little as you want for a bin. It’s amazing what you might already have on hand and these can keep kiddos busy for quite awhile. Happy crafting!
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