Sometimes our sensory bin activities can get a bit messy, with sensory bin fillers like rice or chickpeas going everywhere. So it would be nice to have something a bit more calming...
And that's where this lavender scented beans sensory bin comes in.
While this sensory activity does require some prep, it's well worth it because the lavender beans are so engaging. The color. The scent. The feel of the beans. There's just something about it all of it combined together that make it so inviting and soothing to play with. I mean don't you just want to dig in when you see the picture below?
Lavender Scented Beans: What You'll Need
Here's what you'll need to make your own lavender beans for sensory play:
- Dried navy beans or similar - How much you will use will depend on the size of sensory bin container you plan to fill.
- 4 drops of lavender essential oil - They can't be lavender scented beans without the scent, no?
- Food coloring or liquid watercolors - Although you could probably also use acrylic paint too. How much you use will depend on how many beans you use and how rich you want the color to be.
- Resealable plastic bag - To shake up all the materials and get the beans coated with paint and essential oils.
- Paper towel - For drying the beans.
Once you gather all of the materials, it's time to dye the beans. Please keep in mind that you will need to prep these ahead of time, but, once they're made, you can reuse them as they last for a long time.
How to Dye Beans for Sensory Play & How to Make them Scented!
To make lavender scented beans, I put a generous amount of dried navy beans and added 4 drops of lavender essential oil into a resealable plastic bag. Then I added quite a few drops of food coloring to the bag. I probably did anywhere from 15-20 drops.
Once everything was added, I sealed the bag and shook it all up. I kept shaking until all the beans were coated. If all the beans aren't coated, feel free to add a few more drops of food coloring.
Unfortunately, I ran out of purple food coloring while dyeing these beans so I had to do some mixing on the fly with red and blue. As a result, my beans ended up not being uniform in color with some beans looking more blue than purple and others looking darker in color than others (see below).
Anyway, the dyed beans smell amazing even if the color isn't quite perfect. Besides, the kids don't care if the color isn't uniform. The beans were still a blast to play with!
Once all the beans are mixed up, spread the beans into a single layer and let them dry for a few hours. I usually put them on a pan lined with paper towel and put them out in my sunroom to dry.
Once dry, add all the beans to a large container and pair them with some measuring spoons, cups, or scoops.
This Lavender Scented Beans Sensory Bin is Perfect for Toddlers & Preschoolers
As you can see, I paired the lavender beans with some measuring spoons and plastic cups for the boys, hoping they would engage in some quiet, calm sensory play.
And guess what?! It totally worked! For once, the sensory filler wasn't tossed around like we were celebrating someone's birthday. Instead, simple scooping, pouring, and measuring took place. Some bean sandcastles were also attempted, but, of course, they didn't turn out like my oldest J had hoped.
My youngest K insisted on helping me get some close up pictures of the lavender scented beans. He made sure I took lots of pictures of the beans he scooped into his cup! Here he is filling up his cup.
I think K wants you take a whiff of these lovely lavender beans. Too bad computer screens aren't equipped for scents yet, hey? But take my word for it, they smell really nice.
When done playing, you can seal the dyed beans in an air tight container and they will last for a long time. We've had these lavender beans in rotation for a number of years now.
So are you going to give this lavender scented beans sensory bin a try?
