How to Make a Sunflower Sensory Bin for Kids

Learn how to make a Sunflower Sensory Bin for your kids to play with this Fall/Autumn. This sensory table idea is easy to make, so much fun to play with and packed full of learning opportunities. Toddlers and preschoolers will love being able to explore with this sensory bin idea.

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.

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 small commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

More Fall Themed Sensory Play Ideas

A Fall sensory bin is the perfect addition to your list of fun ideas to try this Autumn. Here are some of my favorite sensory activities that are perfect for this time of year.

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

Materials Needed

Yellow rainbow rice
A large tub
Artificial flowers
Wire cutters
Sensory bin tools (cups, bowls spoons, etc)

How to Make a Sunflower Sensory Bin

1. Pour the yellow rainbow rice into a tub.

I used my taste-safe rainbow rice recipe to make only yellow rice. I do find that you’ll need more drops of yellow food coloring than you do with any of the other colors to make the rice vibrant. However, you can also use gel food coloring, since it’s stronger you won’t need to use as much.

Another idea that I love, but didn’t try, is to use sunflower seeds or black beans as the sensory bin filler instead. Having a black base would have really made the yellow from the sunflower heads pop out.

2. Cut the stem off of your fake sunflowers.

Use a pair of wire cutters to cut the heads and leaves off of the fake sunflowers. This isn’t essential, you can always just bend the stems out of the way instead. I just found it easier to get the sunflowers to lay flat when I removed the stem completely.

Then I placed the leaves underneath the flower heads before I placed them in the bin. I wanted to have a little bit of coloring in the otherwise very yellow sensory activity.

3. Place the flowers and tools into the tub.

You’ll need a variety of sensory bin tools to play with. You don’t need anything fancy. Regular spoons, cups and bowls are always my childrens go to when we play.

I also included my little bee tongs, because I thought it would be a great way to show the kids how bees make honey. These are just regular yellow tongs that I decorated with a permanent black marker.

4. Enjoy playing

Now all you have to do is have fun with all of the small items and enjoy yourselves.

Different Ways to Play

1. Scoop and Pour

Use the different tools to scoop up the rice and pour it between the different containers. This will help little hands develop a variety of fine motor skills, like hand-eye coordination, palmar grasp, pincer grasp and more.

2. Sort by Size

I have a set of measuring spoons that are different sizes that I use with my sensory trays. I love using them because they’re a great way to practice organizing by size as well as doing some measuring. It’s a simple activity that actually has a lot of different math concepts involved.

3. Writing Tray

If your plastic tub is a different color to your rainbow rice, you can take out the flowers and use it as a writing tray. Older kids who are learning to read and write can practice their letter formation. Younger kids can still have fun drawing pictures and shapes in the rice instead.

4. Fancy Footwork

Your feet and toes have a lot of receptors in them. I find that my kids love using their feet for sensory exploration as well as their hands. For another great activity, tip the rice out onto a towel or a blanket (or even just put the tuff trays on the floor) and let your kids walk over the rice.

5. Counting

Count how many flowers, leaves, or scoops of rice it takes to fill up a bowl. This is one of my favorite ideas to try when teaching toddlers and preschoolers how to count up to 10 or 20.