Need a sticky learning experience? Try an ABC Jello bin.
There’s always room for Jello and always room for a toddler playing in Jello. It’s wiggly, jiggly sensory fun and you can’t help but giggle. Add in a few alphabet letters and you’ve got an ABC Jello bin.
Creating this ABC Jello sensory bin was a terrific way to invite a little literacy fun into our play time. It made for one happy (sticky) toddler.
Building an ABC Jello bin is super simple.
Materials:
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- Jello
- Alphabet magnets
- Medium storage tub
- Shower curtain liner (I use this super cheap liner as a make shift toddler tarp for all my messy activities. It’s the best thing ever. It folds up, it goes in the washing machine, it’s the best.)
The set up for this activity was easy. I made the Jello the night before. As I poured it into a bowl to set, I added the magnetic alphabet letters. For our activity, I used two boxes of Jello for that massive amount. It was a lot. And it was delicious.
The next morning, I poured both batches of Jello into our storage tub and set it on our shower curtain liner. My toddler insisted on a bowl of warm water to clean the letters off once he found them. I added in some digging tools and off he went.
This was such a brilliant activity for my toddler! He had a wonderful sensory experience digging and squishing in the cold Jello. Then, he’s shouting out letter names and sounds as he’s pulling out the magnets. It was a perfect mix of learning and play.
There are so many extensions possible to this activity! Use toys instead of letters. Try using measuring cups to invite more digging. It’s Jello so the possibilities are really endless. And delicious.
Making an ABC Jello bin was so much fun for my toddler. The sensory! The tastes! The alphabet! It’s got everything a toddler could dream of. The ABC Jello bin started our day off with laughing and we didn’t stop.
Looking for more ABC activities? Check out the collaborative ebook I co-authored, “ABCs and 123s”.
Chelsea @ Life With My Littles says
Fun! I think this looks awesome, but my son is weird about textures on his hands so I don’t think he’d like it. I bet my 18-month-old daughter would love it, though!