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Apple Tree Sensory Bin – Easy Fall Play Idea

Young children will have so much fun playing with this Apple Tree Sensory Bin. It’s perfect for toddlers and preschoolers who need some hands-on activities to play with this Fall / Autumn.

Like so many sensory bin activities for kids, this fun activity is a perfect addition to any home or classroom. It’s a simple way to develop fine motor skills, literacy skills, math concepts, and more great ideas.


If you want to make your Fall themed lessons a breeze, then check out the Fall Activity Pack. It’s filled with math and literacy centers, fine motor activities and arts and crafts templates. All of which are aligned with preschool learning standards. Check it out today.

Learn how to make an Apple tree sensory bin. A fun and easy sensory activity for fall, perfect for toddlers and preschool classrooms.

Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

More Fall Sensory Activities to try

If you need another sensory play activity that you can use with a Fall theme curriculum, I’ve got you covered. Here are some of my most popular sensory play ideas for this time of the year.

  1. Rainbow oats sensory bin for fall
  2. How to make a counting pumpkin seeds sensory bin
  3. Corn Sensory Bin for Fall
  4. Fall Sensory Bag for Toddlers
  5. Apple Soup Sensory Bin

For more ideas, take a look at these 25 Fall Sensory Activities.

Materials Needed

  1. A large plastic container
  2. Green rainbow rice (click here for the taste safe rainbow rice recipe)
  3. Green and Red pom poms
  4. Cardboard tubes/toilet rolls (1 per tree)
  5. Green craft card
  6. Scissors
  7. Glue (or velcro dots)


How to Make an Apple Tree Sensory Bin

Make the Apple Tree Top

1. Take an A4 piece of green craft card and draw 2 – 4 apple tree heads.

For this bin, I used a quarter of the card for the top of the tree because I liked this size better. However, you can make them bigger if that is how you prefer to make your own apple tree.

2. Cut out the apple tree heads.

3. Place 10 velcro dots onto the cardboard.

Use the rough half of the velcro dots (also known as hook tape), because this side sticks to the softness of the pom poms. If you don’t want to buy any velcro dots, don’t worry, you can just glue the pom pom apples onto the cardboard instead.

I chose to use 10 pom poms on each tree so that I could practice some counting with my preschoolers.

3. Cut 2 small slits on each side of the top of toilet paper rolls.

These slits don’t have to be too large. I found that 1/2 an inch worked perfectly for me. However, if you are making a larger apple tree head, then I suggest you make larger slits, to help give the apple tree the support it needs.

4. Slide the apple tree heads into the slits to complete the apple tree.

Assemble the Base of the Apple Sensory Bin

5. Place some green rainbow rice into the large plastic bin.

Adding rainbow rice isn’t necessary. I added it originally because I didn’t think that I had enough pom poms to fill the entire container. However, I am so glad I did. Because when the kids were playing with the sensory bin, having both pom poms and rice really gave them the opportunity to expand their dramatic play.

If you don’t already have green rainbow rice, you can make it. I love this taste-safe rainbow rice recipe. It’s so easy to make and has really been a blessing when it comes to putting together different activities for my kids. Since it’s taste safe you can also use it with 1 year olds and older.

Learn how to make an Apple tree sensory bin. A fun and easy sensory activity for fall, perfect for toddlers and preschool classrooms.

6. Sprinkle the rest of the red and green pom poms over the green rainbow rice and place the apple trees in the container.

7. Add in your sensory bin tools and enjoy playing. Your kids are going to have fantastic fun exploring this sensory bin idea.

What You’re Learning

Sensory

This preschool apple theme sensory table is filled with a variety of different tactile objects. Such as

  1. A grainy rainbow rice
  2. The soft pom pom apples
  3. The smooth cardboard trees

But there are also a variety of fun ways that you can engage the different senses in this activity. For example, you can add essential oils to the rainbow rice to give the entire tub a wonderful smell. Or use cups and bowls from different materials (like metal, wooden or plastic) and see how they sound when the rice falls into the different containers. If you use your imagination, you’ll find that there are so many ways to engage your child’s senses while they’re playing.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills refer to the small muscles in the hand and fingers. Developing these skills are important in being able to write when the kids go to school, as well as being able to complete tasks independently. (For example, dressing and feeding themselves).

Scooping and pouring the rainbow rice, and picking the apples off of the tree are all going to help young kids develop:

  1. Pincer grip and/or tripod grasp
  2. Palmar grasp
  3. Hand-eye coordination
  4. Dexterity.

Math

Counting – Practice counting from 1 to 10 or 20 with the apples in this sensory activity. If you make the apples removable (with velcro dots) then this is also a great way to help toddlers and preschoolers learn one-to-one correspondence.
Sorting – Sort and classify the pom pom apples into their different colors or sizes. If you have a variety of different sized red and green apples, you can place them into small, medium and large groups.

Are you going to try this Apple Tree Sensory Bin with your kids?
Don’t forget to Pin the idea for later.

Learn how to make an Apple tree sensory bin. A fun and easy sensory activity for fall, perfect for toddlers and preschool classrooms.
Make your Autumn themed lessons easy with the Fall Activity Pack. Print and play activities for preschool and kindergarteners.

Fall Activity Pack

87 Pages of Fall themed play based learning activities. Perfect for preschool and kindergarteners.