Winter Sensory Bin: Animal Snow Rescue

Looking for a fun Winter Sensory Bin? This one is THE BEST.

I kept seeing gorgeous winter sensory bins on Instagram and I’m not gonna lie: I got a little “insta-jealous”. Beautiful containers with wooden toys make for some stunning photos buuuuut…. I live in the real world and don’t have that kind of stuff so instead: I make do with what I have.

I did the best with what I had around my house and (spoiler alert) kids don’t need gorgeous sensory set ups to play for 45 minutes…. here’s my daughter playing in a plastic lid.

FULL CREDIT: The idea to use baking soda as a sensory bin base comes from my beloved friend Kristian at Friends Art Lab. Check her out on Instagram – you will be blown away.

What is in this winter sensory bin?

A box of baking soda, my friend (bi-carbonate soda)!

I dumped an entire box of baking soda into the lid of a disposable casserole dish (left over from Thanksgiving).

JUST BAKING SODA.

No water.

No fancy anything.

Just baking soda.

RELATED: What are the benefits of sensory bins? Why are they important? Learn more HERE.

WAIT, WHAT? Just baking soda is fun?

Yes. It’s surprisingly fun and amazing to play with and perfect for a winter sensory bin.

It moves great, feels amazing, and has an awesome sensory bin consistency.

Is it taste safe?

I would NOT recommend this bin for a child who still explores with their mouth and is likely to lick it or eat it. Baking soda can be very harmful if large amounts are ingested. (see this post from Poison Control)

My daughter (nearly 4 here) does not lick or ingest bins. We went over that as we began the activity and thankfully, with the bad taste of baking soda, it’s a good deterrent to eating any.

Make sure to use good judgement and supervision with this (and every) activity.

RELATED: Curious how I introduced sensory bins to my kids? Read more here.

What made this bin so fun…

The Paw Patrollers! My daughter LOVES her pups so I wanted to fill this bin with something she LOVES to play with.

It’s so important that we use what our kids love.

Activities are more special and more fun when they have a connection to the child. Of course using adorable woodland animals and other winter toys would have been more beautiful, but these pups are more her style.

Her favorite toy in a winter sensory bin…. she LOVED IT.

I did add in a few wire trees from my Christmas Village for a little extra winter fun.

Winter sensory bins do not have to be complicated!

It can be as easy as 1. Open a box 2. Dump in the baking soda 3. Add a favorite toy and 4. PLAY. We had the best time with this winter sensory bin and kept it out for weeks to play it. What a great way to pass the time in the cold of Winter!

Would your child like a winter sensory bin?