This post brought to you in partnership with WildBrain.
My daughter is 3 years old and this is SUCH a fun age! Everything is a new adventure for her and she just LOVES learning and exploring! I’ve been using video content from WildBrain on YouTube to strengthen what we learn and curate offline activities like our Wetlands & Water Play Water Sensory bins. It’s a great way to learn on multiple platforms and levels! WildBrain has thousands of free kid-friendly (and educational!) videos with some of our favorite characters like Ellie Explorer, the Mother Goose Club, Caillou, Billy Bricks, Teletubbies, Larva and SO much more! That means TONS of content at your disposable at no cost! (If you have older kids my boys really enjoy the Crafty Kids channel and Billy Bricks!)
My daughter just LOVES animals so she’s really been into Ellie Explorer lately! Not only does Ellie Explorer talk about different animals and their habitats but she also incorporates learning numbers, colors and letters too! Here’s the episode I used to pair with our water play time:
Water Play Sensory Bin Material Suggestions:
Container
Water
Optional:
rocks
water beads
animal toys
moss
scoops/cups
faux grass
ice
dirt / sand
food coloring
craft foam (for lily pads)
The great thing about water play is that you can absolutely do it indoors and outdoors – no matter what the weather is like! Since it’s still winter and quite cold here we decided to feature indoor water play bins. I stopped in at the dollar store and picked up a bunch of supplies and ordered the rest (like faux grass
I had been saving a good sized bag of water beads to fill my daughter’s sand & water table with when the weather warmed up but I grabbed a handful to use with our sensory bins! She went CRAZY over these water beads! If your kids are older you can use water beads to represent algae, tadpoles, or anything else you’re studying!
We made several different habitat bins. The first was our river sensory bin! I used green craft foam and cut out a circle, then cut a small pie shaped wedge out to create lily pads. On the bottom of the lily pads I write numbers on to incorporate counting and math games.
The awesome thing about the craft foam is that is floats on water and the Sharpie marker on the bottom doesn’t rub off when it gets wet! We started out playing with just the water, rocks, lily pads and frogs. This sensory bin above (minus the lily pads) was great play with an otter and/or a seal! You can add some sand too to make it more realistic!
When my daughter seemed to be tiring of it then I added the water beads! That provided hours more fun and she has been constantly going back to her water play bin every single day to play.
Once we get a bigger container (or use her sand & water table) I picked up these larger ocean animals to play with!
Next we decided to move on to the rainforest! This Rainforest Sensory bin is super fun because it provides an additional sensory experience – moss! The moss is squishy and weird feeling for little kids and provides a great exploration for older kids. I used the poison dart from our TOOB and added a few smooth river stones too.
TIP: Take a plastic cup and poke small holes in the bottom. Then fill it with water and you have created rain as the water pours out of the bottom!
Other Water Play Sensory Bin Ideas:
Penguins – water, container, penguins, blue food dye & ice!
Ocean – water, container, seashells, salt, sand, animals, boat, blue food dye
Swamp – water, container, moss, alligator, fish, sticks, water beads, green food dye
Cranberry Bog – water, container, moss, cranberries, turkey baster (for adding and removing water)
Pond/Lake – water, container, fish, sand/dirt, boat, lily pads, sticks, water beads
Another FUN WildBrain Video we Love:
Head over to WildBrain right NOW!
Looking for even MORE sensory ideas for kids? Check out the Sensory Ideas for Kids Facebook page or:
Sensory Ideas for Kids GROUP
Sensory Ideas for Babies GROUP
Annie says
This is such a good idea. I have a granddaughter that would love learning about wetlands by using these ideas. Thank you!
sian ryan says
What a fantastic idea with so many possibilities!! This would keep my niece entertained for hours
Cia Black says
This is fabulous and one I’m going to have to share with a toddler time coordinator. I think the children will love to have this available for them in the water table.
Quirky Homemaker says
These are great ideas for water sensory bins. Love all of the different ideas you’ve listed. My kids are too old for these now, but I’ve loved that you’ve listed different video ideas for older children.
Noelle Lynne says
What a wonderful idea, my niece would really really love this! Going to pass this along to my sister and hopefully she will do it when the little one is old enough!
Jennifer Prince says
This is such a great idea! And I am sure it would keep the kids entertained for hours and be fairly inexpensive, too. So fun!
Miljana says
Yesterday, my son and I were giving bath to animal toys too. :) They love this game so much! Anything with water – and they can play forever…
Melinda says
What great, fun ideas! As a homeschooling mom I’m always looking for ways to make learning more hands-on. I love the idea of the sensory one!
Journa Ramirez says
Perfect way to let your kids learn and play at the same time! I’ll let my children play with these!
Doreen Pinto says
Looks fun especially for kids. Great way to keep them busy and learn a skill at the same time.
Kelly Edgar says
I love this! What a great idea, a great way to explore and learn about animals and the environment, my nephews and nieces would love this :D
Elizabeth O says
I love this creative idea, it is great for sensory processing and learning through play.
Razena says
This looks like so much fun, especially the frog bin. What is the minimum age for this because I have a niece who is little over a year old now.
Crystal @ Surviving a Teacher's Salary says
The biggest concern would be little ones putting things in their mouth and choking. You could skip the moss and rocks and just do the large toys with water!
Lisa Rios says
This is a great idea! I remember when I was younger I loved water beads LOL… this looks like a great learning tool, it’s important to get them started early with math
Twinspirational says
What a fun activity. Our niece and nephew would love this. Thanks for sharing.
Jazmine says
Great fun ideas, il be sure to try them out with my kids. Thanks.
Angel says
What a great idea for little ones! Fun and educational at the same time.