Do your kids love baking and creating? This apple pie sensory bin is a perfect Thanksgiving and fall-inspired sensory bin for toddlers and preschoolers that love to create! Bonus: this is an edible and taste-safe sensory bin for kids that love to put things in their mouth.
My 3 year old loves to cook and bake! In fact, if you’ve been following my blog for awhile you’ve probably seen her photos helping me make the best homemade cinnamon rolls or even cinnamon apple bread.
I love that she loves to bake! It’s one of my favorite things to do, too, and having a tiny chef in the kitchen is a ton of fun.
Sensory play is one of my kids’ favorite screen-free activities. They love being able to play and explore different textures, tastes, smells, and more in an open-ended fashion.
Whenever I pull out activity bins, my kids almost always reach for the sensory ones!
This apple pie sensory bin was right up my girls’ alley! It smelled amazing, they could taste, scoop, measure, pour, and “bake.”
It’s a great way to introduce the concept of Thanksgiving, and is a fun fall activity.
As a mama that is 9 months pregnant with a 3 year old and a 20 month old, I super appreciated that they played nicely with this one together. And since it uses only taste-safe sensory bin fillers, I could relax about my 20 month old putting it in her mouth.
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Supplies
- A container
We use plastic storage bins, but whatever you have on hand will work. - Oatmeal
We used a few cups old fashioned oats, but any kind will do. We keep our “sensory bin oats” separate from the ones we eat. It will keep in in air-tight container so you can keep reusing the same oats. - Spices (optional)
I added a dash of cinnamon and cloves to our oats. This made it smell super fragrant and just like apple pie! - Play food
I took a few supplies from our play kitchen for this one. I took threw in fake apples and the fake box of sugar and flour from our play baking kit. If you don’t have a play kitchen, I highly recommend one. My kids play with our KidKraft one daily! It’s one of my favorite gifts for 2 year olds. You could use real apples if you have them, too! - Scoops, spoons, baking dishes, etc.
I used a combination of what was in our play kitchen and things from our own kitchen. I gave them a rolling pin, stirring spoons, measuring cups, baking dishes and bowls.
How to make the apple pie sensory bin
It’s as easy as dumping the oats and spices into a bin and letting the children play! You can easily add and remove items to the bin to change how your child interacts with it.
My kids scooped and measured, mixed, and had a ton of fun making pies for their baby dolls.
This sensory bin meets several sensory needs of your child, including taste, smell and touch.
It also teaches mathematics, problem solving, and using your imagination. For example, your child may think:
I added three scoops of oats to the bowl, and now it’s too full! Since the bowl is over flowing, it’s spilling when I mix. I should dump some of the oats out so I can stir it without spilling. Next time I will only add two cups of oats to the bowl before I mix. Now I have to bake the apple pie so I can feed my dolls!
I love how sensory bins teach children in an open ended way. You never know what they’re learning from sensory play!
Cleanup
We were fortunate to have a string of nice weather here, so we played with this bin outdoors. When I do oatmeal bins inside, I prefer to play on carpet so I can easily vacuum up the oats. It doesn’t spread as far on carpet as it does on wood or tile.
You can save the oats in an airtight container as long as you keep them dry. Follow the instructions on the oatmeal container for expiration dates.
What other sensory bins do your kids love? I love doing seasonal crafts, and this fun Thanksgiving themed sensory bin was a great way to start teaching about the meaning behind Thanksgiving.