Both of the boys are obsessed with letters, so I thought it would be fun to start a series of alphabet themed sensory bins for them. That means 26 bins of alphabet goodness! And you could always do them more than once, making the bins different each time.
I decided to start with the letter R. No need to go in order since the goal of these bins is to discover what objects start with the chosen letter.
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| A bin full of R themed objects |
Materials
- A large plastic bin - Mine happens to be a Rubbermaid, so bonus points for that!
- Various objects that begin with the letter R. I used things that I found laying around the house, including:
- Raffia
- Ribbon of various colors, sizes, and textures
- 2 recorders
- A large foam R
- A smaller plastic R
- Rings - Green and yellow binder rings
- A stuffed reindeer that rattles
- 2 rattles
- A rooster that makes noise when squeezed
- A ruler
- Red string
- A remote for an old TV
The Invitation to Play
The boys were so intrigued. After taking a quick peek in the bin, they each grabbed an item or two and took off to the living room. J chose the remote (after stealing it from K) and the ruler, while K chose the large foam R. J came back shortly thereafter to see what else was in the bin. He pulled out the plastic R and the raffia, then studied one ribbon in particular. This ribbon said, "Happy birthday," which led him to sing "Happy Birthday." And that was kind of it.
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| K finds the letter R |
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| K finds the remote |
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| J explores the bin |
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| J pulls out the raffia to see what's underneath |
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| J pulls out some ribbon that says, "Happy Birthday!" |
I love how interactive this box turned out to be and how easily they could have expanded the play to explore other activities. For instance, they could have made music using the recorders and even the rattles. They could have measured the different objects with the ruler. They could have braided the ribbon, made a nest for the rooster using raffia, or made a necklace using the rings or the ribbon. In addition, they could have worked on spelling the different R words or writing them together on a piece of paper (with my help, of course). So many options!
