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A chickpea sensory bin for a preschool child might seem complex, but they’re incredibly easy and fun! These bins offer a range of experiences, from mixing and sorting colors to creating imaginative worlds for play. The only limit is your child’s imagination! To explore the rest of my top 5 sensory bins, click here.
How to setup a Chickpea sensory bin
The easiest way to set up a chickpea sensory bin is to dump chickpeas into a sensory bin, but it might not be the most fun for your child! (Side note: There is something to be said about doing this to allow your child’s imagination to flow). Dying the chickpeas in multiple colors is one of the easiest things to do! The steps are:
- Put chickpeas in a ziplock bag (I did about a half of the bag in each).
- Add acrylic paint and zip up.
- Shake the bag to mix the paint in.
- Open and dump onto wax paper (or parchment paper) to dry.
- Wait 5 min or so, and dump into a sensory bin!
All done!! It was that easy!
How to contain the mess
Just like pasta, there are a few ways to help contain the mess and make the chickpea sensory bin easier to clean up!
One of my favorite ways is to use a tablecloth or shower curtain under the bin. Use a cheap one or an old one lying around! This makes it super easy to clean up because you can just fold it up and dump it into the trash!
Another way to contain the mess is to put your bin in a bigger bin or pool. This will keep the mess from going all over the room. This can be a bit harder to clean up than a tablecloth or shower curtain, but it will keep everything closer together.
Once the mess gets everywhere, get a small broom and dustpan and let your child help you clean. This takes the pressure off of you and helps them take responsibility for cleaning up what they did. This can be a very natural consequence for your child that makes a mess.
Chickpea sensory bin themes
One theme would be to dye all the chickpeas yellow and make a lemonade stand sensory bin. Give your child some cups and some scoops, and let them play like they have a lemonade stand. You might even be able to add some lemon scents as you are dying the chickpeas to make it smell better!
Another theme could be to dye them green and make them St. Patrick’s Day-themed. Add some small black caldrons, some scoops, and maybe even a few gold coins! Let your child go and have some fun with all they can do with their imagination!
Learning sensory bins with chickpeas
One of the best learning sensory bins with chickpeas is a rainbow bin. This is a great way to have your child sort colors and match colors. You can just give your child bowls and see if they start to sort colors. If not, you can encourage this by asking about the different colors they see.
Another great way to incorporate learning is through my Alphabet Sensory Mats and Bins. You can hide the cards in the chickpeas and have your child find and match all the pictures. As they find the pictures, you can state what the picture is and emphasize the beginning sound of the picture.
