VALENTINE’S DAY SENSORY BIN! - Taste Friendly for Less than $5!
Valentine’s Day is so much more fun when you have a little one! My husband and I have never been big holiday or anniversary celebrators, but having a little one makes me want to do all of the holiday things. Plus, you know we love a good excuse to use a theme! This simple Valentine’s sensory bin cost less than $10 to make and is great for toddlers or preschool-aged kids. Read on to hear how easy it is to make this taste friendly LOTS OF LOVE - VALENTINE’S DAY FOAM sensory bin and celebrate the upcoming holiday of love!
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This sensory bin is easy to create and somewhat easy to clean up! You need just a few items, some that you probably have laying around the house, and less than $10! This sensory bins is made of a base of taste-friendly "foam” so it is safe for your little ones when they get a little curious about the taste and texture. As always, you’ll want to keep a close eye on them, just to be safe. Below, we will recap what you need to make this fun and foamy sensory bin and then let you know what you can do with them to keep your kids entertained.
LOTS OF LOVE - FOAMY FUN
What you need:
Can of Chickpeas / Garbanzo Beans - $0.89 at Meijer (I used 1 can per color for this activity, but you don’t have to!)
Cream of Tartar - $1.89 at Meijer
Lucky Charms Marshmallows Only - $1.39 at Meijer
The first step for creating this creepy sensory bin is creating your aquafaba taste-friendly sensory foam. It’s super simple!
Drain the fluid from 1 can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans into a medium bowl. Save the chickpeas for homemade hummus or a roasted chickpea snack!
Add in 1/4 Tbsp cream of tartar.
Use a hand mixer to whip until fluffy.
Transfer to a container and enjoy!
Mom tip: This foam will return to liquid after awhile, so we do not recommend making it in advance. It’s so quick to make that we suggest making it just a couple of minutes before use.
With the foam base created, you can now set it up for your activity! For Valentine’s day, I wanted three separate colors. To make a decent amount, I used one can of chickpeas for each color foam. I added some red food coloring to one batch for a pinkish color and then some red and blue to another batch for a purpleish color. Then I transferred all 3 - pink, white and purple - into a larger container to set up my activity. I topped each section of the foam with Lucky Charms Marshmallows and the play began!
Keep reading for ideas on how to use this bin!
Here are other ways your children can learn and play with this sensory bin:
Practice counting:
Have your child count the hearts as they remove them from each section of the foam.
Practice Fine Motor Skills:
Encourage your child to use the tweezers to pick up the hearts. These are great tools to improve fine motor skills and will help build their hand strength for future skills like coloring, writing, and using scissors. You can also give your child the foam bin and have them use tweezers to add the hearts. Have them practice color identification - add
Practice Color Identification and Counting:
Give your child the foam bin and have them use tweezers to add the hearts. Have them practice color identification and/or counting - put three hearts onto the pink foam, four hearts onto the white foam, etc.
Hunt for the Hearts:
Bury the marshmallow hearts in the foam and have your child go on a hunt for them. Count them as they discover and pull out the hearts. This one will mix up your colors, so we suggest it as a final activity if you did a theme like us!
Make a mess:
This is the most fun part! Remember that sensory play is all about getting wet/sticky/messy/dirty and allowing their little bodies to experience these new sensations. Your kiddo will love diving both hands into the foam and getting to mix it all up! Give some spoons and whisks for extra mixing fun!
