With the holidays right around the corner, consider making a Thanksgiving themed sensory bin. Sensory bins are containers filled with various textured materials, such as rice, beans, or sand, along with small toys or objects for children to explore. They provide a safe and controlled environment for them to engage with different textures, smells, and sounds.

Additionally, these bins offer a hands-on, interactive experience that stimulates their senses, encourages imaginative play, and provides a calming, focused activity. This play-based learning can also help them process sensory information, develop fine motor skills, and improve cognitive function.

Creating the Perfect Thanksgiving Sensory Bin for Your Sensitive Little One

Let’s be real: crafting the perfect sensory experience for a highly sensitive child can feel tricky. You’re constantly balancing the excitement of new textures and smells with the potential for sensory overload. But here’s the secret: you know your child best. Creating a Thanksgiving sensory bin for your sensitive child is about finding that sweet spot between engaging their senses and maintaining a sense of calm and safety.

Choosing the Right Base

The base forms the foundation of your sensory bin. For highly sensitive children, opt for softer, gentler materials. Here are some Thanksgiving sensory play ideas for your sensory bin base:

• Dry beans: These provide a variety of textures and colors and produce a gentle, soothing sound when poured.
• Uncooked Rice: Affordable and easily dyed, rice is a sensory bin classic. Choose from brown, white, or even wild rice.
• Dried Corn Kernels: This offers a slightly larger texture than beans or rice. Consider mixing different colored corn kernels.
• Old-Fashioned Oats: These are ideal for a more rustic, natural feel.

A tip: Always toast dry beans and rice in the oven before adding them to the bin to kill off any bacteria. This is especially important for toddlers and younger children who might still be mouthing toys and sensory bin fillers.

Incorporating Sensory Elements

This is where you can get creative and personalize the experience. Remember, this is for a highly sensitive child. Avoid anything with intense scents or textures that might be overwhelming. Instead, lean towards calming, natural materials. This is a great opportunity to incorporate some fall sensory play elements:

• Natural Elements: Bring the outdoors in. Use things like pine cones, acorns, small pumpkins, and colorful leaves to create a festive atmosphere and bring those autumn smells into your home. This is a great way to extend the fall fun indoors.
• Fabric Scraps: Choose soft, textured fabrics like velvet, corduroy, burlap, or felt in colors that complement the season—think deep browns, oranges, reds, and yellows.
• Wooden Toys: Introduce wooden toys like small scoops, bowls, tongs, and miniature farm animals or pumpkins. Not only do these encourage imaginative play, but they also feel comforting and familiar to the touch.

Ideas For Calming Thanksgiving Sensory Bins

Here’s a list of Thanksgiving sensory bin ideas to inspire you:

• Pumpkin Patch Bin: Fill your bin with dry beans, add small pumpkins and gourds, scoops, and bowls. For older children, you can even hide the pumpkins and gourds in a larger tub of beans and have them do a pumpkin patch scavenger hunt.
• Harvest Bounty Bin: Opt for a base of dried corn kernels or oats and then add in miniature ears of corn (real or play), toy tractors or farm animals, scoops, bowls, and small rakes. You could also add some cinnamon sticks.
• Thanksgiving Feast Bin: Create a Thanksgiving tablescape. Choose felt or fabric scraps in autumnal colors and cut them into the shapes of leaves or pumpkins. Scatter them into a bin along with acorns and pine cones. Add miniature play food, plates, bowls, and cutlery for some pretend play fun.

Things to Consider When Creating a Thanksgiving Sensory Bin For Highly Sensitive Children

While you’re brainstorming ideas for your Thanksgiving sensory bin activity, think about the following tips to minimize potential issues:

• Start Small: Begin with just a few items in the bin and gradually introduce more. Watch how your child responds, giving them the time and space to explore each item at their own pace. Remember, it’s fine to offer choices but avoid overwhelming them with too many options.
• Visual Appeal: Opt for a calming, cohesive color scheme. Think soft neutrals like tans, browns, and creams, adding pops of muted autumnal colors like deep reds, burnt oranges, or mustard yellows.
• Engage Their Sense Of Smell: Incorporate natural, calming scents that won’t overwhelm. You could try a cinnamon stick tied with twine or even add a few drops of essential oil like lavender to your dry base ingredients. But do this with caution and always make sure to diffuse the essential oils with a carrier such as the dry ingredients or wooden toy to minimize any chance of skin reactions.
• Auditory Input: Consider playing soft, calming music or nature sounds in the background to help reduce potential sensory overload and create a soothing atmosphere. Think instrumental music or nature sounds like rain or wind chimes.
• Keep It Clean and Contained: Use a large tray or plastic tablecloth underneath the bin to catch spills and keep things contained. Also, use a dedicated container for sensory play and store it out of reach when not in use. Since many of these sensory bin fillers are small items, it’s best to make sure your little one doesn’t scatter the items around the house.
• Time Limits: Set realistic expectations and watch for signs of overwhelm. It’s better to have shorter, successful sensory play sessions than longer ones that result in your little one becoming overwhelmed.

Creating sensory activities should be fun. Embrace the process, allow your creativity to bloom, and watch your highly sensitive child blossom in this nurturing environment you’ve designed for them. Remember, observing their responses is key. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to embrace the changing seasons by bringing elements of nature indoors.

Conclusion

This Thanksgiving, go beyond the turkey and pumpkin pie. Let your highly sensitive child experience the wonder and joy of a Thanksgiving sensory bin designed specifically for them. It doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming; even a small, thoughtful gesture can spark hours of play.