Portable Mini Sensory Bins

Fine Motor Skills Play

Try simple sensory play to encourage fine motor skills! Use hands-on play techniques like these sensory bins to encourage both strength of hand muscles as well sensory discrimination in the hands.

Supplies Needed:

Small bins with good fitting lids. (these are from the dollar store)
Sensory filler. We enjoy rice and beans. (non-food fillers like aquarium rocks work awesome too)
Tongs or Tweezers. Try out a variety to see what is best for your child’s current ability. These are made by Learning Resources, but we have also enjoyed dollar store serving tongs too!
Mini cups for sorting out items. (dollar store variety works great and are so versatile)
Fun items! Dollar stores and craft stores have all you need for each season.

From left to right, top to bottom: Apples, Leaves, Letters/Shapes and Spider Eyes!

I included 20 items of each to find except for the letters (which has 26 as well as pairs of shapes to match). We also love to count so after we found all the items we double checked by practicing one to one counting. Keep it simple.

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Why are tweezers and tongs important fine motor tools?

Tweezers build strength in small hand muscles.
Tweezers build dexterity in hands and fingers.
Tweezers build hand and eye coordination.

We love playful learning to facilitate important skills! Don’t have tongs or tweezers? Try clothespins! Even a thumb and index finger grasp, will help build skills! Storage tip: I store fillers in gallon zip lock bags to reuse, and I also store seasonal items and sensory bin goodies in zip lock bags as well. Pack them away neatly for another day!