This sensory bin includes peppermint and bells.
It smells amazing, looks completely candy cane-like, and is perfect for the Christmas season.
Oh, and let’s throw in a little magnet exploration while we’re at it!
I love my peppermint mochas. I would take that over a hot cocoa any day!
But back to the sensory bin.
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!
What’s a sensory bin?
A sensory bin is a container filled with different objects that encourage children to use any or all of their five senses.
Sensory bins provide cheap, open-ended play for your little one, right in the comfort of your own home!
Why should I make a sensory bin?
- Sensory bins can help calm a child, focus attention, and help with developing fine motor skills, language skills, play skills, social skills, and more!
- They are quick to make and easy to change up with different themes.
- It’s great for rainy days and any time you need a quick indoor activity.
- You already have most of the supplies in your house.
- Plus, it will keep your toddler entertained for hours!
How We Did It
Before we dive into how we made and played with this sensory bin, I want to explain all the different layers and thought behind this bin.
So, now that Thanksgiving is over, I can officially dive into Christmas stuff and show my toddler how fun this holiday is!
I wanted to make a sensory bin that would go with the Christmas theme and really appeal to as many of her senses as I could get.
Guys, this one is a winner.
Not only is it a beautiful red and white rice bin, but it also smells like PEPPERMINT!
As I was adding the gold jingle bells for an extra special sound component to the sensory bin, I got a lightning flash of inspiration to use a magnet with the bells!
Peppermint smells and colors, jingling bells, and learning about magnets make a great Christmas sensory bin.
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Putting Together the Peppermint Jingle Bells Sensory Bin
First, I had to dye my rice red.
I dumped half my five pound bag of cheap white rice into a bowl. It came out to be about five cups.
Then I sprinkled about 100 drops of red food coloring in. Not all at once. It was like sprinkle 10 drops, stir a bit, then sprinkle 10 more, stir some more, etc.
From the picture, the rice doesn’t look like a rich red, so I think I still could’ve added more, but in person, the rice was definitely more red than pink.
To set the food color, I mixed in a tablespoon of white vinegar on top. Then I covered the bowl and shook it.
Note to self, next time don’t use glass unless you plan on giving your arms a good workout and your brain a good scare when the bowl feels like it’s about to fly out of your hands and smash a window!
But hey, at least nothing got stained…
Finally, I spread the rice out to dry on a baking sheet.
About an hour later, I sprinkled a couple drops of peppermint extract on the red rice and a couple more to the white rice that was still in its original bag.
Make sure you don’t do too much peppermint extract! It has a strong smell, but too much can be overwhelming and unpleasant.
Then I added the rice to a plastic bin (I kept them separate so the kiddo could have the fun of mixing the colors together) and topped off the rice with large and small gold jingle bells, silver tinsel, and heart-shaped measuring spoons.
Ways to Play and Learn
When I introduced this sensory bin to my two-year-old daughter, Ella, I had her name the colors (red and white), tell what she saw, and describe what she smelled (peppermint!).
In the process, she used her senses of sight and smell to make observations.
Ella couldn’t wait to get her hands in and mix up the colors using one of the sweet little heart-shaped measuring spoons.
She was most excited about the “baby spoon.”
She also loved the feeling of the grains of rice in her hands.
Using a Magnet
Once the excitement started to die down, I introduced the magnet.
This is a magnet that came with the child-safety locks we use on our cabinets. It is a strong magnet, so it worked really well for this activity.
A regular fridge magnet won’t work for this activity. Try something like these colorful, child-safe magnetic wands if you want to introduce the concept of magnets to your child.
Ella learned that the bells and spoons were attracted to the magnet, but the silver tinsel and rice were not.
She also discovered that she could make a chain with bells and magnet.
We also played hide-and-seek with the bells. I buried a bell in the rice, and she would hover the magnet over the rice until it attracted the bell!
Scooping and Filling
I include measuring cups or spoons and an ice cube tray with almost all our sensory bins.
Ella likes to bake cakes and muffins by scooping the sensory bin filler and dumping it into each compartment in the ice cube tray. Today she added a jingle bell on top.
She counted the bells as she put each in the ice cube tray.
We only had 15 and there were 16 compartments. Luckily, a piece of tinsel seemed to be a satisfactory substitute.
Exploring with Baby
Uncooked rice is NOT safe for babies, but I see no harm in letting my five-month-old dip her toes in this peppermint jingle bells sensory bin.
She was so excited that she kept kicking her little feet. It was adorable!!
Afterward, I checked between each toe to make sure there was no rice stuck in there.
This was easy to do while nursing the baby.
Cause what else does a nursing mom have to do besides clean between her baby’s toes?
Your Turn!
Make Your Own Peppermint Jingle Bells Sensory Bin
Supplies:
-10 cups (5 lbs) uncooked, plain white rice
-red food coloring
-1 Tbsp white vinegar
-peppermint extract
-gold bells
-tinsel (or other soft object that is not magnetic)
–strong magnet
-measuring spoons or cups
Instructions:
- To dye the rice red, place half your rice (about 5 cups) in a bowl with a lid. Add 10 drops of red food coloring to the rice and stir it. Repeat 10 more times or until the rice is as red as you want it.
- Sprinkle the white vinegar on the red rice. Put the lid on the bowl and shake vigorously.
- Spread the dyed rice out on a baking sheet to dry for about an hour.
- Once dry, sprinkle two to three drops of peppermint extract on the dyed rice. Sprinkle the same amount on the white rice.
- Put the white and red rice in a large plastic bin.
- Add the bells, tinsel, and measuring cups or spoons. If you don’t have other metallic objects besides the bells in the bin and you plan to teach about magnets, add some other things from around the house that the magnet will stick to (paper clips, metal ornaments, etc.).
Teaching Your Child about Magnets
- Explain to your child that magnets work by attracting other objects. A magnet can be strong enough to attract another object from a distance because of its magnetic field.
- Demonstrate how magnets work with the magnet and bell. Invite your child to try.
- Take turns predicting what items in the bin the magnet will be attracted to.
This sensory bin is reusable and will keep a toddler entertained and learning through play.
The best part is that it will make your home smell like peppermint!
Try another learning sensory bin for teaching children about colors. Make it red, green, and white to keep with a Christmas theme!
Stuck at home with nothing to do? Make pom pom ornaments with the kids, a button wreath ornament, or wrap books for this sweet family Christmas tradition.
Looking for an organized guide of fun, easy activities to do with your toddler that also encourages their growth and development?
I’ve created a 3-month activity planner just for busy parents like you! The plan includes 65 detailed, simple, and stress-free activities including: arts and crafts, sensory play, motor skills, and STEM–all using easy-to-find supplies.
Let me help make planning activities for your toddler easy, so you can skip the stress and get straight to the fun!