November Sensory Bin for Toddlers and Preschoolers

This November Sensory Bin will provide loads of entertainment, learning and skill development, and is a wonderful November activity for Toddlers and Preschoolers at home, daycare or preschool.

How to Make a November Sensory Bin

It can be challenging to think up November activities for preschool and daycare because November is kind of an in-between month.  We make a few Rememberance Day crafts, but Thanksgiving has passed here in Canada, and we still have a few weeks before we can start crafting for Christmas. 

You can never go wrong with a sensory bin in between holidays.

I like setting up an inviting Fall Sensory Bin for my toddlers and preschoolers in November.

Earlier this month I made this November sensory bin and filled with with a mix of natural and artificial materials and items for the hooligans to explore.

I chose a number of items that are either associated with fall or represent the colours of fall, and for the base material of our sensory bin, I used dry, uncooked rice and pasta. If you want to dye your rice, here’s our easy, no-mess method.  And this is how we dye our pasta.

I added some interesting instruments for the kids to use as well as, and a few cardboard rolls that I covered with fall coloured wallpaper samples.

The children absolutely love our November sensory bin.

They’ve spent hours sifting, scooping and pouring the rice and pasta, and they’ve had a wonderful time examining and playing with all of the items in the bin.

Let me show you exactly what went into our November bin.

To start, you’ll need:

• new, clean kitty litter bin
• tongs/tweezers
• scoops and/or small spoons
• ice cube tray, jars, muffin tin etc.

What to put in a November sensory bin:

Most of the items in our November sensory bin were collected from around the house and the backyard.A few special items like the leaves and gem stones were purchased at the dollar store. Other items were found at yard sales and thrift shops. It’s amazing what you can find when you keep your eyes open!

• uncooked rice
• uncooked pasta
• artificial leaves
• chestnuts
• mini-pumpkins
• artificial mini-pumpkins and mini-pumpkins
• plastic amber gem stones
• cardboard rolls covered in patterned/textured wallpaper samples.

Of course, if you don’t have all of the items that I’ve listed, you can certainly substitute with items that you do have on hand.

Think rich, vibrant colours, interesting textures that feel and sound wonderful. Scented items are wonderful too. Ideally, you want the items in your sensory bin to enage as many of your child’s 5 senses as possible.

Some additional suggestions for your November sensory bin: coffee beans, cinnamon sticks, dry lentils, sunflower seeds, dry coffee grounds, shredded brown paper, popcorn kernels.

The tongs and ice cube trays give the kids an opportunity to develop their pincer grip which helps prepare them for holding and writing with a pencil one day.

They love picking things up and transferring them out of the bin and into the ice cube tray. It’s a terrific activity for helping to develop fine motor skills.

It also lets them experiment with sorting items. They can transfer like items or items of similar size and colour into the ice cube trays.

What I love about a sensory bin like this is that it allows kids to develop their skills through play and to develop fine motor skills without it feeling like “work”.

If you’re wondering about this interesting pair of tongs in the photo below, it’s a meatball scoop. I picked a couple of them up in a second-hand store a couple of years ago.

For the cardboard rolls, I simply cut some paper towel rolls down to a shorter length, and covered them with the wallpaper samples.

The kids loved pouring and dropping items through the tubes.

As you can see, some of my toddlers get right into sensory bins. Literally.

One toddler is immersing his upper body in the bin, enjoying the sound and the feel of the crunchy pasta. Another toddler is tasting the rice and pasta.

Shhh! They’re learning and they don’t even know it!

So now you know how easy it is to pull together a November sensory bin with items from around your home and garden, and from the dollar store or thrift store.

Your kiddos will love it, and you’ll be amazed by how much fun and learning this simple sensory bin can provide!

I hope our November sensory bin inspired you to make one of your own!

More November Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers:

• Homemade Bird Feeders for Kids to Make
• Adorable Gingerbread Crafts
• Homemade Gifts for Kids to Make (that Grown-ups Will Adore)

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Jackie Currie

Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.