Bird Sensory Bin with a Nest Building Activity

This birds sensory bin uses bird seed as a base and materials for nest building. The birds included in this sensory bin are great for play.

Sensory bins are excellent for early learning, and great for children with sensory-seeking behaviors. They provide opportunities for rich learning for kids as children are engaged and using many of their senses during play. This bird sensory bin uses bird seed as filler to scoop and transfer, and encourages children to give nest building a try!

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Bird Sensory Bin

We love using bird seed as a sensory bin filler because it makes for the easiest outdoor bin! If any bird seeds spills out of the bin onto our patio – we just leave it there as a treat for our bird friends. Check out the birds that Fantastic Fun and Learning uses in their bird nest sensory bin, they are so fun too!

I like to use different trays and pans for sensory play depending on what we are doing, but a clear scrapbook paper container like this one with a lid is a sure favorite. When the kids are done playing, I can close it up and save it for another day easily.

Pro tip: We’ve transferred these contents to a couple of different containers, I find that it’s a great way to switch up the play without making a whole new bin!

What you need:

Clear bin or deep tray

bird seed

pre-made nest (find in the floral department of craft stores)

Safari LTD bird Toob

sticks

feathers

yarn scraps

cotton balls

fake moss

fake plants/trees

fine motor tools/spoon/scoopers/etc

What to do:

Fill the tray or bin with bird seed. To the bird seed, add all other materials.

Add some supplies that birds would use to make their nests so that kids can explore with these materials, pretending to make their own nests!

The bird figurines provide for a lot of pretend play opportunities. My 2 year olds loved scooping the bird seed into various places within the bin and feeding the birds. He also like hiding the birds in the trees and searching for them!

To Use this Sensory Bin with Toddlers:

Scooping and dumping is some of a toddlers best work! Sensory bins are excellent for 1 and 2 year olds, because the filler is often something that they can practice their fine motor skills transferring.

Add a few different sized containers and a variety of tools to this bin to let the kids scoop food to feed the birds!

Read some of these books before or while the kids play:

To Use this Sensory Bin with Preschoolers:

Preschool is such a wonderful time to talk about the habits of a bird! Discuss the different types, habitats, feeding habits and more! 3 -5 year olds will soak up this information, and will love to retell what they’ve learned while playing with this bird sensory bin.

To Use this Sensory Bin with Elementary Ages:

Create a STEM challenge! We’ve done nest building challenges before, and using this sensory bin as a base for this is a wonderful opportunity. Can the kids build a nest that can hold one bird? Master that? Can you build one that can hold two birds? Keep building!