Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

My girls love playing with rocks. There are so many different rocks and colors in the world to explore. They always are asking to play with them or collect them on the side of the roads.

We did a rock sensory bin a while back. It was all rock and loads of fun for the girls. This time I changed things up a bit. It is always fun to see what new and different things they will do.

The Rock & Rice Sensory Bin is an excellent addition to the sensory bins on the site.

What Is A Sensory Bin?

A sensory bin is typically a plastic tub or container filled with carefully selected materials and objects to stimulate the senses of children in preschool.

Sensory bins might have rice, water beads, corn, beans, or other types filled with small items.

Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

We got these polished rocks a while back and they are fun to feel home smooth they are in your hands. This is also a simple and easy sensory bin to put together. It took less than 2 minutes and the hours of enjoyment they get from it is fun.

Plus the two different textures are very fun to have. You have the smooth rocks and the rough rice.

A Book to Read with the Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

We read the book A Rock Can Be before playing with the bin. I love all the simple text in the book plus the great details about the each of the pages at the end of the book.

What we used to make the Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

We have included links to some of the products and resources we have used with this activity. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.

• colored rocks
• rice
• cups
• paper bin with lid

Ways to Use the Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

You will see a few ways to use the rock and rice sensory bin.

Play in the Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

As always sensory bin are meant for sensory play. And if all kids do is play in the rock and rice sensory bin that is just fine.

Let them play and explore the differences in the rocks and rice. It can be loads of fun for them.

Pulling out the Rocks From the Sensory Bin

The first thing she did was pull out some of the rocks and hold them in her hand. She put a lot of rocks in one hand to hold. She picked out colors she liked. She had fun digging in the rice and rocks to get them.

She also collection rocks in two hands to see how many she could fit. She would scoop ou tthe rocks and try and get all the rice out from the rocks.

Playing with Cups in the Rock & Rice Sensory Bin

She filled the cups up with rice and put a rock on top. She called this baking with putting a cherry on top. A fun way to scooping out rice and putting into a cup.

You can do it with just the cup for scooping but grabbing handfuls of rice to fill the cups is also fun.

Filling in Rice Between the Rocks in a Cup

We did a small experiment. We filled the cup with rocks and then filled it with as much rice as we could. She had a fun time seeing that more rice would fit in after that the first small scoop. After we filled the cup we poured it out. She liked the sound the rocks made and noted that the rice did not fall out as fast as the rocks.

She liked learning that the rice would fill in the spaces between the rocks.

Sorting Rocks by Color

One fun activity is pulling out all the rocks from the rice and then sorting them by color. I find that even when my girls are not doing the bin at the same time they all do it.

And Remember just have Fun in the Sensory Bin

I always leave sensory bins up for a while. My girls will play with them various ways. I love to see what they will do. The three of them love to play with the bins week or more. It is a great way for them to busy and get the sensory they need at the same time.

Check out these other Rock Sensory Activities

Rock Sensory Bin is full of rock of different colors with a black rock for a filler for the colored rocks.

Constellations Sensory Bin is a great back and white rock sensory bin for kids. You can move the rocks around and make star patterns for kids.

Rock & Water Bead Sensory Bin is a blast to play in. It has green water beads for the base and colored rocks added to the bin. You could use plain rocks as well. And kids love this bin because it is so much fun to explore.

Check out all the fun Sensory Bin Activities on 3 Dinosaurs.

Cassie – 3Dinosaurs.com