For my son’s birthday, I decided to make a sensory bin for him. For those who may not know what that is, I’ll explain. A sensory bin is typically a plastic tub or a large container of some sort filled with materials and objects carefully selected to stimulate the senses. It can be filled with a large variety of different materials such as shredded paper, water beads, water, pom poms, sand, and more.
This was not the least expensive gift, I will admit, and it did require assembly, but I think he really will enjoy it. Every time we come across kinetic sand he stands there for long periods, fascinated by it. So I knew I needed to include it. Our friend got some water beads and he attempted to get into the tub with them and sit down. So those certainly needed to also be included.
I got a jar of Squoosho’s water beads and Kinetic Sand. I want to emphasis how tiny this jar is. I was shocked when my order arrived and it was a small box. But I also want to make it a point to note how little you need to make a large quantity of beads. This one tiny jar would probably fill a bathtub. The kinetic sand however was smaller than I expected. It’s more dense than plain sand and a smaller amount can weigh more. So the 3 lbs I don’t think was enough, I might go buy another bag. The beads were $9.99, but like I said, you get a lot for that. The sand was $7.29 for 3lbs, but I would go ahead and get the 6lb bag that is $14.
*amendment: I have now learned you shouldn’t get kinetic sand wet, and being in a tote with water beads will get it wet. It’s still functional, but it sticks to your hands after being dampened. So, I now would suggest getting just plain sand.
I found a tote for $9.95. It’s a flat one designed to fit under a bed. I could’ve done fine with a smaller size, but this one is large enough both my kids can play in it and not be all over each other. The only issue I have now with the size I got is that the amount of sand is smaller than I’d guessed, but the water beads are so plentiful, they make up for it.
I got some tiny plastic dinosaurs and reptiles in those assortment tubes. A couple large dinos from the Dollar Tree, and two large rocks my older child collected on nature walks.
I wanted this to be the land and water with the sand and beads. But, the earth is covered with mostly water so I suppose its accurate. I’m justifying the dinosaurs in the beads with the fact some dinos did infact live in the water. Maybe not those kinds, but some of them did! I may drop back at the Dollar Tree and find a sea dwelling dinosaur. I also put a tiny shovel, and sand castle mold in the box. And then I paired this gift with a front loader truck he can also dig with. I got the truck on sale, so I was able to keep the price down!This gift took a little more effort on my part than other gifts would have, but you can’t buy these either. In total, including the front loader I spent close to $40 for all of this. I actually thought I’d save money making a gift, but I did not. It is worth it though to see my gleeful child happy.
Dose of Sunshine 