Safari Animal Sensory Bin with Rice

This safari animal sensory bin combines white rice and stones for a fun and engaging sensory base for animals. Kids can scoop and practice fine-motor skills.

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 post contains affiliate links.

Safari Animal Sensory Bin with Rice

This is one of the easiest sensory bins to put together! Grab some raw white rice, throw it in a bin and find some natural items such as rocks to place in the bin with the safari animals. Playing with rice has many benefits for kids, the sensation is calming and it can provide visual, tactile and auditory sensations.

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.

What you need for the Safari Animal Sensory Bin

Bin or tray
Raw white rice
Safari animal toys
fake plants
rocks
fine motor tools or scoops
silicone containers (optional)
blue marbles (optional)

What to do:

Add the rice base to the bin. To that, add the animals, rocks, plants and any other items you like for your safari!

We like to set up different areas within the bin. The rock area was a great place for our safari animals to look out over the savannah.

The blue marbles were lakes, ponds and watering holes for thirsty or hot animals.

The plants were perfect for hungry herbivores!

Sensory play is even better with a little bit of imagination.

To Use this Sensory Bin with Toddlers:

Toddlers love to scoop, pour and dump. Be sure to add some spoons or scoops along with some containers such as these silicone muffin liners for lots of scooping and dumping practice. You might want to omit some of the choking hazards like the blue marbles, and make sure that the rocks that you add to the bin are on the larger side.

To Use this Sensory Bin with Preschoolers:

This is a great age to work on fine motor skills, these are the skills that preschoolers will soon need for handwriting. Stacking stones and even picking up small animal toys are all great finger workouts.

To Use this Sensory Bin with Elementary Ages:

This is a great opportunity to learn about some of the animals you are playing with. Can your child identify the different animals? What do these animals like to eat? Which habitat might they live in? They will commit so much of this information to memory while playing and engaging their senses while learning.