Dirt Sensory Bin

Playing in the dirt is a classic childhood activity! We filled a sensory bin with dirt to see what it might inspire!

Little Bins for Little Hands created this monthly Sensory Bin Challenge series to showcase the simplicity of child led sensory play. Last month we used made a rice sensory bin. This month's sensory filler is dirt so we set out a bin with dry soil to see what the kids would do or ask to add.

At first my preschool aged daughter E said, "I don't want to play in dirt," while our neighbor who is the same age broke up the soil. Next he asked to add water. I filled a bucket with the hose and let him dump it in.

Mixing the water into the dirt was too tempting even for E. She joined in the sensory play and soon shocked me when she asked to put her feet in the wet dirt!

Toddler D who loved stirring the material in this bin! None of the kids got their hands in the dirt but they all wanted to manipulate the soil.

This invitation to play shows just how peers can inspired and encourage play that a child might not participate in solo! I love this picture of E playing with her favorite neighbor buddy as she realizes that dirt isn't so bad.

Her hesitation led to imaginative play as she asked for the rest of our sand toys to create a small world for the plastic hippo. They took turns resting him in the "river" and getting him out to sit on the bank. 

Read what other children have done with a simple bin of dirt then set out this same invitation for your child!