Sand and Water Table Ocean Sensory Bin 

Sensory bins are so much fun! 

I like to pull one out when it gets a bit crazy over in our home. 🙂 

It always does its job and keeps my kids calm and loving playing with their sensory bin. 

And, let me tell you, they play for hours with their sensory bin here and there, all day! 

What is this magic you are speaking about? 

A sensory bin! 

It’s so easy to put together, and can be themed in whatever way you like. 

We themed ours for a fun sand play since it is summer time for us right now. 

If you don’t have sand, I will share some fun alternatives you probably have in your pantry right now. 

So, for now let’s get into this awesome sensory play idea for kids! 

Related: Here is an ocean themed sensory bottle we use and love! Check it out here. 

Materials: 

This post contains affiliate links. 

• Bin (We used our favorite sensory bin setup (bin and stand) by edushape)

• Beach Tools

• Sand (Favorite kid-friendly sand, here.)

• Shells

• H2o (This can be added in later.)

Easy peasy right? 

By the way, Here are some alternatives to using sand..

• Cornmeal (our favorite in autumn but can be used on any day.)

• Uncooked pasta dyed in the color blue or brown for pretend sand.

• Uncooked rice dyed in the color blue or brown for pretend sand. 

What other fun mediums can you think of in replacement of sand. 

How to set up this Sand and Water table

Here are the steps I took to set up this simple sensory play for my girls: 

• I added sandtastik sand into our sensory bin for a fun sand ocean. 

• Then, drop in sea shells or any play items you feel would work well for your sensory bin. 

• Note: If you want to add a bit of education into the mix, add your LO’s alphabet letter magnets to dig and find in this sand ocean activity. 

• Then, create a section in the sand to add in your water ocean play (we dyed ours with blue food coloring). 

• Add it in and have fun! Bring the ocean to you with this DIY ocean sensory bin. 🙂

Related: Here is a fun Ocean sensory bag that was loads of fun and my girls really enjoyed it! 

Ocean activities for toddlers

Do you have ocean toys? 

Add those right in! 

This pretend play ocean habitat kids can play and learn in is so much fun for learning while receiving the benefits of sensory play.

Create a pretend play sea habitat for kids with a bit of sand and water or any of the alternative ideas for sand mentioned above. 

Bring out a sensory bucket to play, practice fine motor by picking up and creating sand castles.

Toddlers water play can also be incorporated with less sand and a bit more water in the bin (supervision always advised). 

Include beach tools, ocean toys for toddlers and a sensory bucket as a fun game of collecting the sea animals, learning about them and releasing them back into the sea. 

Related: Here is an ocean sensory bottle that was oodles of fun! Check it out here. 

Ocean projects for preschoolers

Preschoolers can have fun and learn all that toddlers learn and more. 

Including an ocean theme preschool activity like this will allow for the benefits of sensory play along with learning about the different animals of the ocean, counting, colors and more.. 

I hope you enjoyed these water sensory bin ideas and if you try any out, leave me a comment letting me know how it went! 🙂 

Enjoy!