Apple sensory bin

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Today I’m sharing an apple sensory bin I did with my kids when they were younger. I have made a lot of sensory bins over the years, and I generally like to keep them on the simple side. Therefore this bin, like others I’ve made, only contained a few key materials. But it lent itself very well to lots of fun apple-themed play. I hope you enjoy and get some inspiration from what we did!

Note: For more apple activities, see my Apple Unit Study page.

I used a large, plastic bin to hold the items in the tub. I then added the following materials:

A base of green and white rice (previously used in our Christmas sensory bin and Easter sensory bin)
Two small white pails
Some apple trees I created from cardboard tubes and green foam (see how I repurposed them after the fact for an apple tree math activity!)
Some small, plastic red and green apples

I arranged the materials in an appealing manner in the bin. And then I invited my kids to come play!

XGirl’s “baby” helped collect apples for the apple pail.

XGirl practiced counting apples.

QBoy grabbed our long tongs and decided to try to pick up as many apples as he could.

Whoops! He only managed to grab two!

My kids also spent plenty of time playing with the rice. The scissor scoops were a popular fine motor tool for grabbing rice and other objects.

And the kids just loved filling bowls and serving me their delicious “food.”

With every sensory bin I create, I always enjoy watching to see how my kids will use it. Sometimes I add an element I think they will love and they end up ignoring it. On the flip side, sometimes they come up with incredibly unique and creative ways to use the materials. These are just some of the many reasons I really love using sensory bins as a learning tool for young children.