Now that Valentine’s Day is long gone in our distant memory – it’s time to start thinking about activities to do with your child in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. Recently I put together a Scented St. Patty’s Day Sensory Bin and it was a big hit in our house. Not only did it smell amazing and create some hours of fun for my lil man but it was also easy to put together too {in fact I recycled some pieces from our previous Pirate Hunt Sensory Bin}

If you don’t know what a sensory bin is – it’s basically a small plastic bin full of different materials that stimulate the various senses {touch, smell, hear, see and sometimes taste} and allow the child to explore in a small contained area. Sometimes these bins have a theme but they don’t necessarily have to have one. I personally love the ideas of doing themes though so I can center them around books & certain holidays. I like to tie things in so it’s like a full day of learning.

Besides keeping my son occupied for a good 30 minutes – sensory bins are great for developing his fine motor skills, thinking skills, vocab and also giving him a creative outlet, with problem solving as well. Best part is that a lot of times you can find the materials/supplies for the bins for cheap and you can reuse them in several different themes.

So follow my step-by-step tutorial below, so you TOO can pull this EASY Scented St. Patty’s Day Sensory Bin Idea together in no time! Then let your children explore and expand their imagination too!

Supplies:

Scented Rice:
* Dried Rice
* Rubbing Alcohol
* Large Plastic Baggie
* 1 – Green Apple Single Kool-Aid Pack {or other flavor if you like}

Other Sensory Bin Items: basically anything green, rainbow colored or Leprechaun associated
* Large Plastic Bin
* Spoons/Plastic Cups/Tins/Muffin Cups etc.
* Beaded Necklaces
* Plastic Gold Coins
* Table Scatter Jewels

Directions:

* For the scented part – place your rice in your large plastic bag. Empty the contents of the Kool-aid pack into the bag, as well as a few drops of rubbing alcohol. Then close off the bag and shake, shake, shake {shake it off!} until all the rice is completely covered. {You can’t really see it in my pictures, but our rice turned a light green color}
* Next, empty out the contents of the bag on a cookie sheet and let the rice dry overnight.
* To assemble the sensory bin – place the rice and all the other items in a large plastic bin. Then let your child explore and create!

Looking for even more fun sensory bin ideas? Be sure to check out these posts to get inspired!
Ocean Sensory Bin
ABC Sensory Search
Dinosaur Dig Sensory Bin
Fall Sensory Bin
Snowman Sensory Bin Idea