In some parts of the country, people are already starting to see signs of spring {I’m super jealous!}

I admit, I’m itching for warmer weather and the excuse to be outdoors more, here in Wyoming. I think I have cabin fever and need a vacation away from the cold ASAP! Can you relate?

Since the weather is pretty unpredictable in good ole’ Cheyenne and with the odds of us seeing tons of snow in our near future – it’s a safe bet that we’ll be doing tons of indoor activities for the next few weeks.

But that’s ok because I have tons of fun {and educational} stuff planned out for Lil Man and I, which also gives me great stuff to share with you all too {a win for win!}

Last year I had my eye on these plastic carrot eggs I saw floating around on the internet, from Dollar Tree. To say I was super bummed that I couldn’t find them in my area, would be an understatement. So you better believe when the Valentine’s Day stuff was pulled from the shelves, I went hunting at my local store to find these eggs. I finally came across them about two weeks ago and I swear the clouds parted & little birds were chirping as I stocked piled them into my cart.

So without further ado – here is how I pulled together our latest sensory bin idea. I call this our Pretend Carrot Garden Sensory Bin and it’s really simple & inexpensive to pull together. In fact – all the supplies came from Dollar Tree so it was a one-stop-shop activity!

And as a quick reminder 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 Carrot Garden – Sensory Bin Idea together in no time! Then let your children explore and expand their imagination too! If you can, please share pictures with us when you are done, on our Facebook page to see it in action! #gluedtomycrafts

Carrot Sensory Bin Craft Supplies:

* Large Plastic Bin
* 2 bags of Dried Black Beans
* Plastic Carrot Eggs
* Small Plastic Watering Can
* Plastic Shovel/Rake
* Plastic Pots

Directions:

* Simply place all your supplies into the plastic bin and let children “plant” or “grow” their carrots. There are no real rules or ways to play with this. Just let those imaginations go wild!