you put the noodles in the bucket and you shake 'em all up

Every since my weekend in Tulsa I've been wanting to put together a sensory bin for Lauren. Shari made one for her grandkids and brought it for Megan to use and I was totally inspired by the possibilities.

For this bin I stuck with what Shari had done. She used macaroni noodles to fill the bottom of the tub and so did I. I've seen lots of blogs doing this with beans but I wanted to start with something a little bigger for Lauren.

I also added in some river rocks, measuring cups, foam letters that spell out her name, and finally a little Minnie Mouse to hide and find.



The first time I showed Lauren the bin she DID NOT like it. She wanted the Minnie Mouse out of it but wouldn't put her hands in the noodles for anything. So, we moved on to something else and put the sensory bin away. I pulled it out the next morning and after a little modeling of how to play in it she loved it!

I was a little concerned about the noodles being everywhere but honestly it was not that bad. She did a really good job of keeping the noodles and play items in the bucket. If any fell out she would pick them up and put them back. Too cute!

One other thing, Lauren is sort of like her mother in that her attention span seems to be VERY short. I was so surprised that she played in the sensory bin for so long. In fact, when it was time to put it away she got upset and wanted to play more!!! Success! :)


Here is a little video of how excited she was and how well she played in her first sensory bin!