Penguin Sensory Bin with Frozen Water Beads

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This penguin sensory bin uses water beads as a base, some of them frozen, for fun Winter sensory play for kids. Great for school or home.

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We love engaging in sensory play all year long. It is a really great way to discuss a topic or a learning theme. Studies show that kids retain information better when engaging the senses. This penguin sensory bin uses water beads – some of them frozen! – for some fun and engaging Winter play.

Penguin Sensory Bin

Water beads are an awesome sensory play base. Kids can help make the water beads and watch them grow, this is some fun magic. We chose to freeze some of the water beads to make an iceberg for our penguins to play on.

What you need for the penguin sensory bin: 

Water beads (light blue, clear, and white)

Large bin – we like this one with a hinged lid

Penguin toys

Fine motor tools (optional)

To Make the Penguin Sensory Bin:

Grow the water beads according to the package instructions. These do take about 4-6 hours to grow, so this is good to prep the night before.

Kids love watching these grow and it gives them practice in patience as they check and observe how they are growing.

Grow the water beads in separate bowls. Once the white water beads have grown, add a bit of water to them and place the bowl in the freezer.

This will become the iceberg for the penguins to play on!

Add the frozen water bead iceberg to a bin. Add the remaining (non-frozen) water beads to the bin as well.

Kids will love to dig right in to these!

Add some penguin toys for further play. Toddlers will love to scoop and dump the water beads, so adding some fine motor tools to the bin is great for this age.

Preschoolers and older children can use this to learn about where penguins live, what they like to do, and how they play!

My own kids loved watching the penguins slide down the iceberg, and made observations about each of the different types of penguins.

Have so much fun with this penguin sensory bin! 

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