Sensory bins can be a fun addition to your self-contained classroom. Students need a break throughout the day, and these activities are the perfect leisure activity. Switching the containers up during the school year keeps students engaged. Here are some winter sensory bin ideas to help get your creative juices flowing!
Snow Tinsel Sensory Bins
This sensory bin is a compilation of sparkly things! My students enjoyed the different textures and the shine of the tinsel. It was SUPER easy and quick to put together.
Here’s what’s inside:
- sparkly pipe cleaners (found at the dollar store)
- silver tinsel cut into smaller strips (Amazon)
- white pom-poms (dollar store)
- white foam balls (Amazon)
Fake Snow Sensory Bin
Fake Snow is SO easy to make and uses only two ingredients! All you need is cornstarch and shaving cream. Add equal parts cornstarch and shaving cream to a bowl. Then, mix and have fun! Add less shaving cream if you want the snow to have a more powdery consistency. More shaving cream will make a texture similar to cloud dough. Put the cornstarch in the refrigerator for a couple of hours beforehand, if you can!
This is my favorite recipe for fake snow because all the ingredients are non-toxic! If you have kiddos that like to ingest things, they will be okay.
My free resource library has a visual recipe and two follow-up activities. Click the button below to gain access!
My Other Favorite Sensory Bins for Winter:
January Peppermint Sensory Bin uses peppermint essential oil and bright blue rice. Simply Special Ed has the best description for dying rice so that the colors come out vibrant. Check out Simply Special Ed’s blog post here.
St. Patrick’s Day Rainbow Sensory Bin- this sensory bin uses chickpeas (an ingredient I never thought to try before!) Glimmers of Learning shows us how to create this sensory bin perfect for March.
Need more hands-on activities in your classroom? Learn how I use structured play centers by clicking here. Do you have more sensory bin ideas for the autism classroom? Let me know in the comments.