Pouring Water Sensory Bin

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Does your toddler want to always pour their own milk or own drinks?  My two-year-olds do!  There are many reasons this is a great activity for your toddler!

If you have a toddler who loves water or likes pouring their own drinks – or just needs more practice – then this pouring water sensory bin will be perfect!

My boys have been getting the milk out of the refrigerator all by themselves lately and want to pour their own drink.  I’m sure if you have a toddler you can relate!

While I want to encourage their independence – usually we have milk spilled every time.

I wanted a way that they could practice pouring their own “milk”  that was fun and engaging, too.

This pouring water sensory bin has really helped them practice their skills and now they are usually able to pour their own milk – with just a little bit of help.  

This is a great activity to promote independence in your toddler and many other important skills!

With this easy pouring water sensory bin, you don’t have to worry about a mess at all!

Let your toddler or preschooler spill the water, fill up the cups, measure, dump out the water, etc.  It’s all about them learning on their own and what works and what doesn’t work.

Pouring takes a lot of practice and with time and motor control they will be able to do it before you know it!  Spilling is normal and is going to happen a lot!  I just give my boys a rag and they actually like wiping up their own spills.

How to Set Up The Pouring Water Sensory Bin:

• Get a large shallow storage tub (I used an under bed one)
• Add in bowls, cups, a smaller tub, measuring cups, funnels, etc.  Use what you have.  I tried to do different types of cups and bowls so they could practice filling different size objects with different size openings.
• Give them a rinsed out gallon (or half-gallon) milk container.  I filled this up to the top with water for them.
• Fill up the smaller tub so they have some water to scoop up in their other cups.

What your child will be gaining from this pouring water sensory bin:

• Hand-eye-coordination – Pouring the water into a small opening.
• Independence -They can do this on their own without help and is the start of them pouring their own drinking water and milk.
• Critical Thinking – They have to think of how much to pour, how fast, and when to stop.  This takes lots of practice to master so give lots of opportunities and spilling is going to happen and normal!  Just have lots of rags nearby.
• Motor Skills – Holding the milk jug, holding another cup all without dropping it while they pour.  This takes a lot of coordination and balance.
• Math Skills – Learning about full, empty, more and less, and measuring.

This is a great activity to do indoors or outdoors. 

I did this outdoors because it was less for me to clean up. 

If you do this activity indoors just place some towels underneath and it shouldn’t get too messy and wet.

This activity kept my toddlers busy for around 20-25 minutes.  And it only took minutes to prep.  This is a good quick and easy toddler activity.  

If your toddler enjoys the water and always wants to pour their own milk then this is an activity they should try!

Will you try this pouring water sensory bin with your toddler?

Related:

Washing Dishes Sensory Bin

Water and Toys

Cereal Sensory Bin