Connect 4 Sensory Bin

Here’s a fun one: make a Connect 4 sensory bin.

Yes, this is exactly as it sounds. I made a Connect 4 sensory bin for my two-year-old because that kid is obsessed with two things right now: sensory bins and Connect 4.

It seems like a reasonable decision to me that I combine them together.

RELATED: Looking for more information on sensory bins and sensory activities? Check out this page!

Why would a toddler like Connect 4?

Ok so obviously my toddler isn’t playing the game Connect 4. That would be a little advanced.

What he does love is dropping those little tokens into the game.

**PLEASE NOTE: Connect 4 is designed for ages 6+ according to Hasboro. Please use good supervision and judgment with this activity.**

He drops them in. He makes lines. He makes stacks. He can open the bottom and let them all fall down.

It literally appeals to everything his little toddler self loves.

So why not add a sensory element to it…

My 2-year-old has been jamming on Connect 4 for weeks now and I thought, “Why not combine it with a little sensory?”

I grabbed my two-year-old bag of corn meal (actually, the corn meal is older than my son…) and dumped it into a 28 qt storage container.

I hid the Connect 4 pieces underneath the corn meal and set the blue “game board” in the middle.

Connect 4 sensory was EVERYTHING to my son

He couldn’t handle how exciting this was.

Find the tokens.

Collect the tokens.

Use the tokens to scoop cornmeal.

Pour the cornmeal into the blue game board.

Make towers.

Oh my goodness, did he ever love this!

But is he learning anything from this?

UM, YES. He’s actually learning a lot.

Sensory activities are actually amazing learning vehicles for toddlers.

In this activity he’s learning:

• visual discrimination skills
• hand-eye coordination
• sorting skills
• scooping skills
• fine motor skills

All this from a little Connect 4 and corn meal? YUP.

I couldn’t believe how long he played with Connect 4 Sensory.

The first time my son played with this – he sat for 20 minutes.

That’s basically eternity in toddler time and I was ecstatic. Independent play is hard for him and while he’s learning to be more independent, it isn’t something that has come to his as naturally as it did for this siblings.

So I kept this bin out for about a week as an independent play option for him and guess what? He took me up on it!

I found him at the Connect 4 sensory bin many times a day – having some awesome independent play.

Sometimes, it’s the simplest ideas that win out!

Making a Connect 4 sensory bin was easy peasy – and so often the best activities are like that: easy, fast, and fun.