St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bin Ideas for Toddlers
I’ll never forget the first time I introduced my kids to sensory bins. My oldest, then two, dove right in with both hands, giggling as she scooped and poured. My middle child, the meticulous one, carefully sorted every tiny object by color. And my youngest? Well, he thought the whole thing was a snack.
As a mom of three, I’ve learned that sensory bins are the secret weapon for keeping little hands busy, especially on holidays like St. Patrick’s Day! These bins engage the senses, encourage creativity, and offer a bit of magical fun.
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Please note that you can use ANY bin you have, you do NOT need a special sensory table for these activities. We use a water table and we call it our indoor water table. It is smaller than the outdoor water table and fits well in the kitchen where we do our activities.
1. Lucky Charms Sorting Bin
Use a box of Lucky Charms cereal and let your toddler sort marshmallows by shape or color. (And yes, sneaking a few bites is part of the fun!)
2. Rainbow Rice Treasure Hunt
Dye rice in rainbow colors, hide gold coins or small shamrock toys, and let your little one dig for treasure.These are the gold coins and shamrocks I used.
3. Gold Coin Dig
Fill a bin with black beans (to mimic a pot of gold) and hide plastic gold coins for a mini treasure hunt.
4. Shamrock Water Play
Use green-tinted water, floating shamrocks, and small cups for pouring and scooping fun. These foam shamrocks are perfect.
5. Green Play Dough Sensory Bin
Set up a bin with green play dough, rolling pins, shamrock cookie cutters, and gold beads to squish and mold. You can use these ones from amazon, or check your local dollar store for plastic cutters.
6. Pom-Pom Rainbow Bin
Fill a bin with colorful pom-poms and let your toddler sort by color or use tweezers for fine motor practice. This is one of the easiest bins to make, and the pom poms are pretty cheap.
7. Oatmeal “Gold Mine”
Use dry oats as the base and hide gold coins, mini leprechaun hats, or small St. Patrick’s Day toys. This set of saint patricks day trinkets and just perfect.
8. Shaving Cream Clover Hunt
Spread green-tinted shaving cream in a bin and hide small clovers for a messy, squishy sensory experience. Remember to use foam clovers and not paper!
9. Green Gelatin Dig
Make a bin of green gelatin and hide small treasures inside for a wiggly, jiggly surprise. Ifyou want your green jello to be darker, just add food coloring!
10. Rainbow Water Beads Bin
Hydrate rainbow-colored water beads for a soft, bouncy sensory experience. Water beads are pretty cost effective, just be careful your pets do not ingest them.
11. Rainbow Spaghetti Bin
Cook spaghetti, dye it in different colors, and let your toddler squish, pull, and play with the rainbow noodles. Here is tutorial on dying spaghetti.
12. St. Patrick’s Day Sensory Bottles
Fill small plastic bottles with green glitter, water, and small floating objects for a calming sensory experience. I like these bottles for sensory play.
13. Cotton Ball “Cloud” Bin
Use cotton balls to represent fluffy clouds and hide rainbow-colored objects inside for a soft-touch sensory experience. These little rainbow erasers are perfect for this activity.
14. Green Slime
Make a bin of green slime and hide tiny treasures for your toddler to squish and search for.
Check out this saint patricks day slime recipe that is the best for this kind of thing.
Sensory bins are a great way to bring the magic of St. Patrick’s Day to life for little ones. Whether they love to dig, squish, pour, or scoop, there’s something here for every toddler’s curiosity.
So, grab a bin, toss in some green and gold, and let the St. Paddy’s Day fun begin!
What’s your little one’s favorite sensory bin idea? Share in the comments!
