This week we focused on all things ocean so I wanted to make an ocean sensory bin sorting activity.
To prep this activity I had to do a few things. I purchased these ocean animals to go inside the sensory bin and then I needed to die the beans that I would be using. To do this I placed all of these ingredients into a plastic container: several bags of lima beans, the majority of this bright blue food die, and a teaspoon(ish) of vinegar. After making sure the lid was securely on, Molly shook the container for a couple of minutes until all of the beans were blue. We then poured out the beans to dry on parchment paper. We left them there overnight, but I am sure you could start using them after a few hours. I got a plastic container and poured our colored beans and ocean animals inside. Since I wanted to turn this into a sorting activity, I made picture cards of each animal and plant. I printed them out and quickly cut them into rectangles and then we were all set!
Before jumping into the sorting activity, I gave Molly plenty of time to explore the ocean sensory bin and play with the beans and ocean animals. She of course loved it and so did her little sister.
Once they were able to explore everything for some time, I showed Molly the picture cards that she would be using to sort. I told her that she would be searching for the animal or plant that was pictured and placing them on the cards. She thought this sounded like so much fun and jumped right in. I was actually quite impressed with how she understood exactly what she needed to do. She had a blast looking for the different objects and sorting them accordingly.
Even her little sister tried to join in on the fun. Although she was not doing the ocean sensory bin as it was intended, she was beyond proud of herself and happy to be doing what her older sister was doing, so that’s a success in my opinion!
Are you looking for more ocean ideas, activities, and printables to do at home or in the classroom? If so click here.
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