3 BEST Halloween Sensory Bins for Preschoolers
Oh my gourd! I love Halloween almost as much as I love sensory bins!!
October is a great month to switch things up and create spooky alternatives to sensory fun. Before we dive into the three Halloween sensory bins that you HAVE to try this year with your preschoolers, let’s chat about the why & how of sensory play🤓
Why choose sensory play?
Sensory play opportunities are not only fun, but so important for brain development in little ones.
Children learn best when they engage multiple (or all!) of their senses at once. Touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving, and hearing help make connections that last for children.
Sensory play also sets the stage for more complex learning.
How to incorporate sensory bins
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Be prepared
Before getting started, you’ll want to make sure you have one (or a few) medium or large plastic containers, sensory play tools, and bin fillers. These tools are great to help build fine motor skills while having loads of fun in play.
Some of my favorite filler ideas for Halloween sensory bins include:
- Black and orange dyed rice or pasta
- Marshmallows
- Plastic bats
- Themed mini erasers
- Pumpkin seeds
- Uncooked black beans
Favorite sensory bins for Halloween
Witch’s brew/potion
Your little ones will love this tactile sensory experience!
You need: ½ cup of bubble bath soap and 1 cup of water
How to:
- Blend together (can use a hand mixer, blender, or stand mixer)
- Add in food coloring
- Drain any excess water
- Add in any toys/tools (like spiders, eyeballs, or skeleton hands)
Bat bin
Little learners will work on counting and matching skills while they rescue bats in this sensory bin.
You need: plastic container, uncooked rice, black and orange paint, printable bats and mats from this bat counting pack.
Dye uncooked rice orange with one of these methods:
- Splash of vinegar and 10 drops of food coloring, shake in bag, dry overnight
(OR)
- Squirt hand sanitizer and squirt paint, shake in bag, dry 30 min or so
ALTERNATIVE: Use bowtie pasta instead of rice. Dye it using the same methods!
How to:
- Fill the bin with dyed rice
- Hide printed bats inside the rice
- Rescue the bats from the bin and match them to the readers/mats
Spider bin
Target letter matching while teaching ELA with this spooky spider bin.
You need: plastic container, fake spider webs, spider rings, spiders in the ABC match-up mat
How to:
- Stretch out fake spider webs inside container
- Cut plastic ring off spider rings
- Write letters on bottom of spider rings
- Match up spiders to spider ABC match-up mat
Need more fa-BOO-lous Halloween-themed PreK ideas? Check out these activities in my TPT store:
Food Sorting Activities – Halloween Fruit Snack Sort and Graph – Preschool Math
Pumpkins on a Fence – Name Craft – Counting Activity – Halloween Craftivity
Halloween Pretzels Sort FREEBIE
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