Nature Sensory Bin Preschool Outdoor Activity

This nature sensory bin was certainly fun to put together. Papa, Liam and I went out into Papa’s great big back yard and found moss, birch tree logs, bark, ferns and twigs to build our nature bin for learning about bugs and exploring nature close up at home. Simple sensory play and science for Spring!

Easy to Assemble Nature Sensory Bin

Head out into the woods or your backyard for this nature sensory bin! Gather supplies like branches, moss, leaves, flowers, and whatever else your area has available. We did talk about not pulling branches and leaves off trees!

I did make a special dirt out of dried coffee grounds that I collected throughout the week. I simply spread them out on a cookie sheet lined with a paper towel. Makes a lovely fragrant but clean dirt!

I love that we collected our materials for our nature sensory bin together from papa’s house when we went to visit my in-laws. They have wonderful woods that we miss from living in the city!

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Make sure to grab a few plastic bugs for your nature sensory bin! Look out as you might very well have a few real ones too like we did! Some of our bark pieces had a surprise or two waiting for us. Make sure to add a magnifying glass and a fun book about bugs too!

Liam enjoyed looking at each bug and placing it carefully in his nature sensory bin. He noticed that they each had a pair and sometimes one was a mommy and a little kid or baby. He thought the centipede looked like train tracks and he made the grasshopper hop out of the bin. I put a small bowl of water in the nature sensory bin because nature needs water. I asked him not to dump it and he did a good job listening and instead used it to give each bug a bath. Then he placed each one to dry on the moss.

This nature sensory bin is also a great example of small world play! There are so many neat textures to take in with they nature sensory bin. This nature sensory bin is a great opportunity to explore and discover. It opens up so many possibilities for language development too! Ask your child all about what they see and feel in the nature sensory bin. Play together

I put together some early learning trays from supplies that had just come in the mail. I also had some cute trays I had stored away. Sorting bugs and butterflies are my own. so cute! Foam bug stickers and leaf printout from The Measured Mom. We put our own spin on it to suit Liam’s needs. Clothes pins and counting cards. Favorite! from 3dinosaurs. These were all easy to manage activities for Liam, and he had success with each.

I usually need to start the sorting with him so he gets one for each bowl and then he is good to go! About 10 of each insect was perfect for this activity. He liked these tweezers from Learning Resources.