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Tag Archives: sensory bin

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin

1 / 22 / 191 / 22 / 19

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin | Mama Papa Bubba

Okay, so before you see this awesome muddy monster truck derby sensory bin and think it’s all fun and games over here all day every day, here’s what you need to know…  This morning Sam came along for the school run in undies, a t-shirt, and a sweater.  In minus four degree {celsius} weather.  No pants.  No socks. No boots. And no jacket.  Let alone a toque or mittens.  Thank goodness we do the whole car blanket thing and he at least had that once in, but you guys – this morning was a doooozy.  We got home, I moped a bit, he continued to shout and whine and throw things, and I made a cup of coffee and gulped the whole thing back in bed with the door closed.  Then we hugged it out, agreed to start our morning over, cleaned up, and put this sensory bin full of mud and monster trucks together.

Thank fricken goodness sensory play and calm music have the power to turn a day around.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.{this post contains affiliate links}

Here’s what we used to put this taste-safe, scented, amazing-feeling sensory bin together…

  • one of our go-to Sterilite sensory bins (any shallow bin will work)
  • cornstarch from our play cupboard (when it comes to cooking with it, I always use an organic version)
  • cocoa powder
  • a couple of small toy monster trucks

and later on, these Green Toys cars too.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

If you haven’t guessed yet, our ‘mud’ for our monster truck derby sensory play is CHOCOLATE oobleck!!

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

We didn’t even bother mixing this up in a separate bowl!  Sam just dumped the cornstarch and cocoa powder straight into our bin…

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Then whisked it up…

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

And mixed with a wooden spoon as I gradually added water.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

You can play with the amounts of each ingredient to create thicker or thinner oobleck, but here’s our recipe…

CHOCOLATEY OOBLECK
  • 2 cups of cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup of cocoa
  • 2 cups of water

Whisk the cornstarch and cocoa together well.  Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon {or better yet – your hands!} until the oobleck has a uniform in texture.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

I gave the chocolate oobleck one last mix before Sam very enthusiastically popped his monster trucks in.

{It goes without saying that Chloe was in on the fun in approximately 2 minutes flat.  Seriously – this kitty of ours loves sensory play just as much as Grae and Sam do!}

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

It obviously depends on the size of your bin, but our layer of oobleck was thin enough to leave very visible monster truck tracks and Sam noticed right away.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

He also realized how insanely neat oobleck is to touch and hold and squish.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

As for the mess?  With activities like this one, I just remind him to keep his hands in or over the bin.  The truth is that the oobleck mud dries up on surfaces and is a cinch to wipe up, but I still don’t want it all over the kitchen obviously.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Part way through his play Sam asked for something for the monster trucks to drive over, so that’s when I offered him a few little Green Toys cars.  We lined them up just like you’d see at a monster truck show and after getting a thorough drizzling of mud, the monster trucks began driving and jumping over them.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Although this addition was initiated by Sam, starting simple and adding things in here and there during play is one of my go-to methods for extending play activities.

 Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.
Muddy Monster Truck Sensory Bin | Mama.Papa.Bubba.

Also his request?  ‘A tool and a bucket’, plus later on, a ramp which I chopped from an almond milk carton.  This was during a full one-hour play session and though I have a feeling that it would have lasted significantly longer, we had to put it on pause for nap time.  With the promise that he could continue later on in the afternoon, of course.

Muddy Monster Truck Derby Sensory Play | Mama Papa Bubba

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Car Ramp Sensory Bin

2 / 6 / 182 / 6 / 18

Car Ramp Sensory Bin | Mama Papa Bubba

Oh, how this little boy of ours loves cars, trucks, tractors, and all things that go.  Help him set up some sort of ramp and he’ll send vehicle after vehicle after vehicle down that hill. It’s his jam.

One day a little while back while Grae, Sam, and I were down in the playroom, this idea sort of randomly sprung to mind.  Brad had tucked a bunch of empty wrapping rolls in our play closet earlier in the week and Sam was enjoying his trucks but was frustrated that the ramp he’d set up wouldn’t stay in place.  While I briefly thought about trying to help him tape his giant ramp in place, I remembered our stash of paper rolls just waiting to be used for something fun, and that’s when this little car ramp sensory bin was created!

IMG 2161

Now thinking back, I’m pretty sure that this idea was inspired by The Imagination Tree’s awesome cardboard tube racing activity…  I remember seeing her beautifully painted tracks and colourful images a long time ago… I probably just didn’t realize what a little car enthusiast I’d have on my hands one day in the future!

Car Ramp Sensory Bin

Our ramps certainly aren’t as pretty as hers and maybe one day we’ll paint an entire set of paper roll roadways {how fun would that be?}, but these certainly did the job and setting everything up was incredibly quick and easy.

Car Ramp Sensory Bin

Because this little set up was completely impromptu, I didn’t take photos of the set up process like I usually do, but I think it’s pretty self explanatory.

Car Ramp Sensory Bin{this post contains affiliate links}

All you need is a pair of scissors, some cardboard tubes, painter’s tape {CAN}, and a big, shallow bin {CAN}.  {Any big, shallow bin will do, but this huge under the bed bin is one of my absolute favourites for any kind of sensory or small world activity.}

Car Ramp Sensory Bin

All you have to do is cut the tubes in half lengthwise, trim them down to whichever size you like, and then use painter’s tape to secure one end to the edge of the bin and the other to the base of the bin.

Car Ramp Sensory Bin

Add a bunch of little vehicles and it’s time to play!

Car Ramp Sensory Bin

The beauty of having your ramps contained in a big bin?  The cars zip down quickly, but stay within reach!  A bin of this size also means that there’s more than enough room for several kiddos to play at once, and Miss G actually did play alongside Sam for quite a while.

Car Ramp Sensory Bin

While we’ve tucked our bin away for now, I’ve saved the paper tube ramps to use again next time and I’m certain it won’t be long before Sam requests this activity again.

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DUPLO Wash Sensory Bin

6 / 12 / 176 / 13 / 17

DUPLO Wash Sensory Bin | Mama Papa Bubba

Oh, how we love LEGO and DUPLO in this house!  LEGO bricks and sets to add to our collection have pretty much been permanently stationed on Miss G’s wish list since she was 3 and now that Sam’s really taken a liking to DUPLO, I think we’ll have to work on expanding that collection too.  He loves making towers, pulling the bricks apart, and banging them together to make music at the moment, and today we added washing them with a DUPLO wash sensory bin to the list.  

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Taste Safe Sensory Play Kit

1 / 20 / 151 / 30 / 15
Taste Safe Sensory Play Kit | Mama Papa Bubba{this post contains affiliate links}

Last week, while standing in the courtyard browsing our copy of 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids {as you do}, one of my mama friends mentioned wanting to start some simple sensory play with her little lady.  Lucky for us, her first birthday was coming up, which allowed us the perfect opportunity to put together a taste safe sensory play kit for her!

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Winter Nature Sensory Soup

12 / 21 / 141 / 12 / 15

Winter Nature Sensory Soup | Mama Papa Bubba

Today, while out touring around Heidelberg, Miss G and I kept our eyes peeled for pretty winter nature items.  As we came across different things, we added them to reusable bag and then continued along our way.  Just the fact that things like evergreen branches and winter berries can be found here is a huge treat to our little desert-dwelling lady, so collecting a bagful with the intention of making a winter nature sensory soup was really exciting.

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Sick Kid Sensory Soup

12 / 10 / 1412 / 13 / 14

Sick Kid Sensory Soup | Mama Papa Bubba

While Grae and I both seem to be extremely good at avoiding the terrible sicknesses that circle through our groups of friends, today she woke up with a runny, but congested nose.  Since we prefer to do things the natural way in our house, the first inkling of a cold means a day filled with non-stop fruits and veggies, and extra powerful green smoothie, and a garlic-filled dinner.  …Plus some sick kid sensory soup as of today – hah!

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Construction Sensory Bin Gift

10 / 23 / 1411 / 15 / 14

Construction Sensory Bin Gift | Mama Papa Bubba

By now, I think it’s pretty obvious that Miss G and I love to make and give homemade gifts.  I love giving something unique that can’t just be purchased at a store, and I think we both love the process of coming up with an idea, collecting the materials, and putting it all together in a fun way.  Our gifts are never overly involved {okay, with the exception of the portable activity packs maybe}, but they’re fun and normally aim to inspire play and creativity, which is very much us.  

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Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: A Sensory Bin

5 / 6 / 145 / 11 / 14

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Magnetic Sensory Bin | Mama Papa Bubba

Something I’ve recently started making sure we make time for is fun, hands-on book activities.  I’ve always loved extending favourite read alouds with fun learning activities in my classroom, and Miss G absolutely adores reading books, so I’m not sure why it took this long, but heh – here we are.  

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An Indoor Beach

2 / 18 / 142 / 20 / 14

Indoor Beach With Edible Sand | Mama Papa Bubba

We’ve made many beach-themed sensory bins in Miss G’s {almost} 3.5 years and I’ve got to say, they’re always a hit.  I mean, who wouldn’t want a miniature indoor beach to play at, right?!  

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Teacher’s Assistant

2 / 2 / 142 / 17 / 14

IMG 5761

Today, after nearly 3 1/2 years, I had my first day back in the classroom, only this time it was teaching 1 and 2 year olds!  The best part?  I have the sweetest little teacher’s assistant I ever did see.  ☺

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Sensory Play Kit

11 / 30 / 1311 / 11 / 14
Sensory Play Kit | Mama Papa Bubba{this post contains affiliate links}

One of the things we love most about our living situation in Kuwait is the fact that Miss G has had a built in community of friends since we first arrived… A posse of munchkins that she sees and plays with everyday.  Of course, lots of kids means lots of birthday parties, which means more opportunities to put together thoughtful, creative gifts, which both she and I adore.

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Ocean in a Bottle {& an ocean-themed play date}

11 / 27 / 1312 / 8 / 13

Ocean in a Bottle | Mama Papa Bubba{this post contains affiliate links}

On Wednesday afternoons, Miss G and I are lucky enough to have one of her little friends join us for some afternoon play.  While they happily engage in their own games and play for part of the time, I also like having a couple of fun invitations to play and / or create out for them to explore if the choose to.  When I asked Grae if she had any activity ideas for our play date, she suggested that we play with the ocean items we collected at the beach last weekend.  That was that – an ocean-themed day it was!

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Coloured, Scented, Edible Cloud Dough

11 / 20 / 133 / 24 / 14

Coloured Scented Edible Cloud Dough | Mama Papa BubbaCloud dough is an old favourite of ours.  We started experimenting with it when Miss G was about 19 months old and she’s loved it ever since.  If you’ve not played with it before, you must.  It’s soft and silky and powdery, but mouldable at the same time, which is loads of fun.  Pair it with some scoops, spoons, and small containers, and you’ll have some very happy kiddos.  

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Simple Sensory Bin Stand

8 / 24 / 139 / 3 / 13

Simple Inexpensive DIY Sensory Bin Stand | Mama Papa Bubba

Today Gracen and I put together this very simple sensory bin stand for her brand new {big} bedroom.  It was an idea I’d seen on Ikea Hackers a few years back, and I’m so glad I remembered it.  It’s simple, inexpensive, multipurpose, and fully customizable, which I love.  And now that we’ve put it to the test, I think we may even get another one to add to our collection.

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Ridiculously Fun Colourful Bubble Foam

8 / 14 / 133 / 24 / 14

Colourful Bubble Foam | Mama Papa Bubba

Oh my word… I’m so glad we finally got around to trying this!  I pinned the idea over a year ago and I knew it was going to be fun, but I had no idea just how much Miss G would love it and how much play it would bring about (just wait until we get to those pictures!)  

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