We love nature based play here and this Easter sensory bin is a wonderful hands-on experience that blends seasonal fun with nature. Children can have some hands on fun exploring nature with this sensory bin during the Easter holidays. Find more Easter crafts and activities for kids here.
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Why you’ll love this nature themed Easter sensory bin?
Want to know the best thing about this Easter sensory bin? It’s got a lot less plastic that the average Easter activity. You’ll find no plastic eggs here. Instead the Easter eggs are made from stones or small rocks.
We love that this sensory bin is filled with tactile natural elements as well as opportunities for imaginative play.
Materials needed for this nature Easter sensory bin
The fist thing you’ll need to do is go on a walk or look around your garden for some natural items to use in your sensory bin.
You might like to include moss, spring flowers and sticks. Of course, you also need some small rocks or stones. You could include your child in this activity of collecting the natural materials or simply go out on your own and surprise them with the end sensory bin.
You could also use fake or toy flowers if you have them and prefer using them to real flowers. This bin also has some cute toy bunnies so see what you can find to add.
How to set up a nature-themed Easter sensory bin
Once you have collected your small rocks you will need to paint them to look like Easter eggs. I’ve kept them simple here by just painting them one colour but you could add different coloured spots if you like. I like * Posca pens for this but you could just use * acrylic paint.
Once your “Easter eggs” are dry you can start to build your sensory bin.
Start by filling the bottom of your sensory bin with soft moss to create a natural base.
Add some sticks that you have cut to look like logs for a woodland effect.
Place small rocks painted like Easter eggs to add color and texture.
Scatter spring flowers throughout the bin for a seasonal touch.
Include toy bunnies to bring the scene to life and encourage imaginative play.
Ideas for playing with this Easter sensory bin
The first thing I will say is that this sensory bin contains items that are not toys and as such it is important to keep an eye on your child to make sure they don’t put any of them in their mouth.
Once you let your child start playing with this sensory bin, you’ll start to notice them exploring and touching the different items. They’ll be noticing the different textures of the moss, rocks, and sticks.
They may start to rearrange and sort the items. For example, they could stack the logs, move the rocks around, and create little bunny hideouts. Perhaps you could encourage them to organise the painted rocks into colour groups.
Preschoolers may use their imaginations to engage in pretend play. They could act out stories with the bunnies, making them hop around and explore their Easter small world.
Another idea would be to create a mini Easter Egg Hunt by searching for the painted rock eggs and then “hide” them for others to find.
Benefits of this Activity:
This sensory bin encourages sensory exploration. They’ll be engaging touch, sight, and even smell with the natural materials.
It boosts creativity & imagination by inspiring storytelling and role-playing.
It develops fine motor skills as they are picking up small objects and arranging them which strengthens their hand muscles.
You are teaching nature appreciation as you introduce kids to natural elements in a fun way.
Sensory play provides a calm, engaging activity which is great for independent or group play.
How to extend the play an learning of this Easter sensory bin
You could add books to extend the play-based learning. Reading books together is one of my favourite things to do.
I have some guides to help you choose some new Easter Children’s books:
Easter books for preschoolers (picture books)
Easter books for babies and toddlers (board books)
More Easter activities for kids
Here are some ideas for more Easter activities for kids that you can do either while the painting is drying or after you have completed this painting activity.
Easter sensory bag for toddlers
Find lots of Easter Art Projects for Kids here.
Great Easter egg hunt at home ideas
40 Easter activities for toddlers
Find more Sensory play ideas here.