Halloween Sensory Tub For Multiple Ages

Directions

1. Collect your supplies: black beans, white beans, orange lentils, sticky skeletons, plastic spiders and bugs, bouncy ball eyeballs, pumpkin containers, a scoop, and tongs. You don't need everything listed—just mix contents from older sensory bins to make a new one.
2. For a toddler version, start by pouring in the dried beans and lentils. Then add only the large plastic bugs and the pumpkin containers.
3. Place a small rug under the bin if you're on the floor; a carpeted surface helps keep beans from scattering too far.
4. Gently encourage toddlers to keep the beans inside the tub. Never scold—if spills upset you, skip this activity. Use positive guidance only, as anger confuses children and stops learning.
5. Let toddlers scoop beans back into the pumpkin containers—it's fine if they want to do that.
6. For older kids, add the “good stuff” like sticky skeletons and eyeballs. Do this when the younger child is occupied elsewhere so they don't feel left out.
7. Challenge your older child to pick up the bouncy ball eyeballs using the tongs—it's a tricky task!
8. He then decided to pick out all the skeletons from the bin.
9. He created a skeleton world on the playroom floor, using the eyeballs as bombs or something similar. He asked if he could keep playing during quiet time—yes! Mom-directed fun often leads to self-led exploration.