I love the fact that we have a little solarium out back.  Unfortunately though, for us, it’s not just a place to grow pretty plants and relax…  It’s our laundry room, shoe closet, tricycle riding corral, and recycling depot, all in one.  And today it became a play room on top of all of that.

I’ve been squirrelling away little things for some sensory bins I’ve wanted to put together for Miss G for a while now, and today Gracen and I finally found bins that are the perfect shape and size.  As soon as we got home, we gathered our materials for a super simple water sensory bin, changed Miss G into a bathing suit, and headed out into the solarium for some fun.

We laid a blanket down first to minimize potential flooding and slipping, filled the bin halfway full of water, added a couple of drops of blue food colouring just for fun, and plunked in Grae’s collection of shells, rocks, and driftwood.

She was a little unsure of what she should do at first…

But in a couple minutes time, she realized that this was going to  be fun!

Naturally, all of the ocean items came out of the water and were put onto the blanket.

Then she used a strainer to help her “wash” her treasures.

And before long, she was gathering her own items and adding them to the bin.

But her favourite thing?  Putting things into cups and then dumping them into the water.

She liked doing this so much that she began retrieving containers from the recycling bin to fill up.

Inevitably, this happened…

And this…

And this. (She’s kissing the water.)

And by the time we were through, her hands were freezing cold, her suit was dripping wet, and our ocean bin had gained several new items.

Here’s a little video…

♥