Toddler Sensory Bin With Leaves

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Do you have a toddler that loves being outdoors and out in nature?  My toddlers love to pick the grass, the weeds, and my flowers.  That’s why I created this Toddler Sensory Bin With Leaves.

When we go on walks, my toddlers love pulling the leaves and flowers off plants (maybe we are walking too close to them).  I made a toddler sensory bin with leaves for them so they could explore the leaves and have a little science fun!

We are outside so much when the weather gets nice out.  So I thought this leaf sensory bin would be a good way to introduce talking about plants in a fun and engaging way with my toddlers.  Plus there is basically no-prep for this activity!

My 2-year-old boys really enjoyed this sensory bin, and I’m sure your child will too!

They loved tearing the leaves off the stem, smelling the leaves, pouring water on the leaves, and smooshing the leaves.  This is such a wonderful sensory activity and a great basic science introduction for little ones!

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What you need for the toddler sensory bins with leaves:

• Leaves (I did about 5 different types of leaves)

• Tub

• Spoons, ladles, water, etc. (optional)

Setting up the leaf sensory bin:

• Gather a variety of leaves- as many as you can find but one variety will work for this activity! We went on a little walk with our double stroller to prep for this activity.

• Put the leaves in a tub (make sure they are kid friendly leaves and non-poisinous and make sure leaves don’t go in their mouths).  Here’s a list of some poisonous plants.  It doesn’t include all plants, so check to make sure they are safe.

• Add in accessories for your toddler to play with such as spoons and buckets.  We did watering cans and some ladles/big spoons.  My boys poured water into the tub.

Let your toddler have fun exploring the leaves.  Here are ideas to talk about as they are exploring:

• Talk about the leaves and their attributes (big, small, pointy, round, etc.)

• Explain the parts of the plant to your toddler (the stem, the leaf)

• Talk about the texture (is it soft, rough, smooth, prickly?)

• Talk about what a plant needs to grow (sun, water, soil)

• My twins poured water in the leaves with their spoons and ladles.  I love the silicone kitchen utensils for kids since they are soft!  They mixed the leaves around a picked them up with their spoons.  This was so much fun!

Related: Wild Rose Sensory Bin

This toddler sensory bin with leaves encourages:

• Learning about different textures

• Examining the parts of a plant

• Fine motor skills

• A great sensory activity that focuses on touch, sight, and smell

This is such a great sensory activity for toddlers.  My twins love being outdoors and exploring their surroundings.  The Leaf Sensory Bin is an easy activity that you can do outdoors or indoors.  Just bring the leaves indoors in a tub if you don’t have an area outside.

The leaf sensory bin brought a lot of their outside surroundings in one place at one time which they loved!  My toddlers examined the leaves, pulled them off their stems, and gave them a wash with their watering cans.  A perfect nature activity for little ones.

Always supervise your child closely while doing this activity. Make sure the leaves don’t go in their mouth!  My boys aren’t putting as much in their mouths anymore so I felt they could do this activity and I was right there watching them to make sure nothing went in their mouths.

Certain plants/leaves/flowers are poisonous.  Here is a link to some common ones.  There are more though than on this list so always check before you do this activity. Also, be careful about picking leaves that can be irritating to the skin.  I chose not to do any pine needs or really rough leaves with a strong fragrance.

When will you try the Leaf Sensory Bin?

Looking for more fun sensory bins?  Try these!

Cereal Sensory Bin

Car Wash Sensory Bin

One Ingredient Moon Sand