Looking for a quick sensory bin activity?

I have an animal obsessed toddler on my hand! She is absolutely crazy for animals so I built her a fun Hide the Animals activity as a quick sensory bin – a simple way to entertain her and give Mom a little quiet time.

Sensory activities are amazing for toddlers. It gives them a chance to learn, explore, and engage in the world around them in a safe environment. It also teaches valuable skills. This quick sensory bin focuses on two skills: scooping and pouring.

Making a Hide the Animals bin is so easy!

Materials:
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• Small animals (these Toobs – domestic cats and farm animals – are our favorites!)
• Rice (I used a two pound bag)
• Storage containers
• Muffin tin
• Scoop

I had this entire activity set up and ready in approximately 129 seconds. Rough guess. Seriously, it’s that easy! Don’t shy away from toddler activities thinking they need to be complex or take mountains of time to set up – they can be a snap!

I took my daughter’s beloved “tiny animals” and put one in each hole in the muffin tin. I set the muffin tin in a large under the bed storage tub and set the rice in a smaller container next to the muffin tin.

In the rice container, I put a single scoop. The goal: bury the tiny animals in rice. My daughter (22 month old) loved it!

How did the activity go?

It went great – my daughter loved this and I loved the amount of “quiet toddler time” that I was gifted with. She played for nearly 20 minutes and kept coming back for more later.

She did a great job learning to use the scoop and learning to pour the scooped rice into the muffin tins.

Each time she buried an animal, she’d say, “What’s hiding?” and then immediately uncover the once buried animal.

She also did great keeping the rice off the carpet. She didn’t do perfect, but she did well enough for a 22 month old and thank goodness for vacuums. After all, it’s just a little rice (which I saved in a plastic storage bag for future rice activities).

Hiding the animals was the perfect morning activity for us. It’s a perfect quick sensory bin activity and it really did help us make it to nap time.

Will you play Hide the Animals at your house?